George Henry Moore

Shocking Suicide. — A man whose name was not known, but who was supposed to be Henry Davis, committed suicide by shooting himself, in the neighbourhood of Glenmark; and at the inquest upon his body, Mr. Moore, upon whose station the suicide was committed, said, that at about six o'clock on the night of Wednesday, March 7th, he saw an elderly man, who asked for work, and that he told him he was full-handed and did not want any one. The man then asked if he might stay the night, and was refused. The weather had been more or less wet for an hour or two preceding. Deceased then left to proceed to an accommodation-house, to which he was directed by Mr. Moore, it being then dusk: the accommodation-house was distant about three miles across the country, with no track. Mr. Moore did not hear any more of the deceased until the Friday morning, when one of his shepherds said he had seen a man lying dead about a mile or so away, with a pistol at his feet; he had no horse handy, and so sent word to Kaiapoi by the dray which was just leaving. He had an indistinct notion that some of his men asked him to have the body removed to the wool-shed, but did not remember his reply. The body remained on the same spot until Sunday, when a constable asked Mr. Moore to provide a shell for it, but he said the carpenters were on contract work, and moreover that it was the Sabbath; but he gave some woolpacks to wrap it in.

The jury, after hearing other evidence, returned the following verdict—
We are of opinion that the deceased died by his own hand, there being no evidence to show the state of his mind at the time. And the jury cannot too severely reprobate the conduct of Mr. Moore, for denying the deceased shelter, and committing him, in an exhausted state, to the inclemency of the weather in a dark tempestuous night, with an almost certainty of his not being able to find any other accommodation.

On this subject, the Lyttelton Times of March 21, says:—
A man whose daily bread depended upon his daily toil, and whose exertions to obtain work in the more settled districts of this province had not been successful, was on this day fortnight travelling northward to carry his services where they might be more acceptable. He was not strong in health, and he had little or no money in his purse; but he went along on foot as best he could, trusting that the spirit of hospitality for which our settlers are famed would shelter and forward him on his way; confident at any rate that while he should be within reach of a fellow creature he would not want the necessaries of life. He did as many rich men do — as every one must do who would travel through our thinly peopled districts, to visit or help in colonizing the extremities of the settlement — he depended upon the humanity of his fellow-man to give him at least food and shelter, necessaries which even with money he could not buy. The poor man knew that those to whom he would apply were well-to-do, men by whom a meal given to a stranger could not be felt as a loss.

As he went along, his poor and enfeebled condition was noticed by every one who saw him; keepers of houses where food and shelter are sold to the rest of the world for money as a business, allowed this poor man to eat and drink and go free on his way refreshed; his journey was eased by a lift now and then in a dray; and none refused a sick and weary fellow creature what help lay in their power, but one — that, one was Mr. Moore, of Glenmark.

Mr. Moore of Glenmark is a possessor of sixty thousand acres of land. In making so large a purchase it seems to have been his object, besides the growth of wool, to keep as far removed from him as possible the society and the sympathies of his fellow creatures. Inside his boundary humanity has no rights: he has bought them up with the freehold at so much an acre. So, when a man fatigued, sickly, and hungry came to him, on a wet bitter night, and prayed first for work and then for shelter, Mr. G. H. Moore felt that he was exercising an undeniable right in uttering a blank refusal, and shutting his door upon him. The door was shut— and not only the master's door but the servants', by the master's repeated command; the man was left outside in the bitter night; and whether from hunger, or from having lost himself in the darkness, or from the effects of the storm, or from all together acting upon a diseased frame to the injury of the mind— he took the means of speedy death which lay within his grasp, and killed himself but a mile away from the food and shelter which he had failed to obtain.

Shame— a thousand times shame— to the individual who sent from his door into the waste a famished footsore man, without a chance of reaching shelter or a prospect of a bit to eat, till morning! What man with a spark of feeling would serve a dog so? Shame to him, even though no lasting consequences might be the result of his inhuman deed! But what did Mr. G. H. Moore do when he found what had really happened ? Surely he repented his act bitterly. — Not he!

On Friday morning his shepherd came running to him in such a hurry that Mr. Moore thought that he had lost the dogs, and he hastened to help him. But the shepherd said that he had found a man lying dead; and Mr. Moore did nothing — for a message to Kaiapoi by a bullock dray does not deserve to be called anything. When a constable came up on Sunday he found the body of the unfortunate man lying where it had fallen, exposed to sun and weather, not a human hand having been moved to rescue the remains of humanity from being literally a prey to the beast of the field and the bird of the air. Nor was common help in the performance of the constable's official duties forthcoming. What indeed could the inhuman rich man care about the miserable body, who had but now sent the soul from his presence to bear witness of his barbarities in the presence of the Maker of them both.

When Mr. Moore is summoned to answer at the inquest, he swears that the man who died was drunk. The evidence of all others who met the poor fellow proves that he neither was nor could be drunk. Mr. Moore had formed an opinion that the man was an impostor; and by that "opinion" of his own, he thought himself justified in suffering the other to starve. He gave no help to the constable, for one reason— because it was the Sabbath. Mean, hardhearted, barbarous, blasphemous man ! Possibly he who so venerates the Holy Day of Rest, may know what is promised to those who see the hungry, and feed them not; the naked, and clothe them not; strangers, and take them not in.

But we have not to do with this view of the subject, further than to express our loathing at religion being made an excuse for want of charity. We cannot say with certainty that Mr. Moore's offence is within the letter of the law; perhaps it may be. But this we do know — that after this, no hands of a Christian man should clasp that of Mr. Moore, till he has done penance for his deep crime against the laws of God and man.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XIX, Issue 28, 7 April 1860, Page 4

Peacock, John Thomas

John Thomas Peacock

above - Hon. John Thomas Peacock
photo by Clarke, Wellington.

The Honourable John Thomas Peacock, Member of the Legislative Council. is one of the small band of early colonists who landed at Port Cooper in 1844, some years before the Canterbury Settlement was Inaugurated. He is the eldest son of the late Mr. John Jenkins Peacock, was born in 1827 in the Hawkesbury district, New South Wales, and was educated at Sydney College. At the age of fifteen Mr. Peacock accompanied his father to this colony, and for twelve years was engaged in trading on the coast. Mr. Peacock commenced business in Christchurch under the style of J.T. Peacock and Co., as merchants and shipowners, and for seven years conducted a large and growing trade. Retiring in 1863, he built his handsome residence in Papanui Road, known as “Hawkesbury,” where he has since resided. He bears the reputation of being a most enterprising colonist, and has never hesitated to risk his energies and money in enterprises deemed to be of advantage to the country. He is one of the original promoters of the Kaiapoi Woollen Company, and to his enterprise in purchasing the plant of the original company, which would otherwise have been sold for export, is due the credit of saving for Canterbury the nucleus of this splendid industry. Mr. Peacock is chairman of the local board of directors of the Alliance Assurance Company, of London, and was one of the founders and continuously a director of the Union Insurance Company, which was acquired by the former society. He is a director of the Christchurch Meat Company and of the Permanent Investment and Loan Association of Canterbury, and is one of the largest proprietors of the Christchurch Tramway Company. Mr. Peacock was one of the promoters of the New Zealand Shipping Company, and continued to act as a director until it was decided to use steamships, when he resigned, as he considered the proposal premature. He was a member of the Provincial Council of Canterbury in the early days, and held the position of Secretary of Public Works for two years before the abolition of the provinces, the late Mr. W. M. Maskell being Provincial Secretary, Sir Cracroft Wilson, President of the Council, and the Hon. W. Rolleston, Superintendent. In 1869 Mr. Peacock was returned to the House of Representatives as Member for Lyttelton, which he represented for three years, and five years later was elevated to the Legislative Council. Mr. Peacock is a Justice of the Peace, and has served on local governing bodies. He was the first mayor of the Borough of St. Albans, and filled the chair for two years; for nearly a quarter of a century he has held a seat on the Lyttelton Harbour Board, of which he was some time chairman.
The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Morepork chick

above: possibly Brownings Beach near Lyttelton

Furniture Workshop

Timaru

BRITTAN, William Guise (junior)

William Guise Brittan
(junior)
1845-1916

Burser at Christ College 1875-1916. Son of William Guise Brittan of the Canterbury Association and Commissioner of Crown Lands.

above - the headstone of William Guise Brittan in St Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery, Papanui, Christchurch.
(photo - AGR June 2010)

Rapaki

"Lyttelton from Ruapaki (Maori Pah)"
Rapaki
about 1901
by an unknown photographer

Above - a view from above Rapaki looking toward Lyttelton

above -the habour at Lyttelton

above - Rapaki

above - a landslip above Cass Bay

above - two houses a Rapaki

BUSS, William

William Buss

Mr William Buss, who lived for a great many years at Rangiora, died yesterday at his residence in Christchurch, at the age of sixty-eight years. Mr Buss was born in 1840 at Sellinge, Kent, England, and arrived in Lyttelton by the ship Roman Emperor in 1860. He settled immediately at Rangiora, on the Woodend Road, and there he had his home until recently.

In 1862 Mr Buss founded a large auctioneering business, which he successfully conducted for forty years, retiring in 1902. He claimed to have held an auctioneer's license continuously for a longer period than any other auctioneer in Canterbury, and he was the first resident auctioneer in the district.

Mr Buss established the weekly Tuesday market in Rangiora many years ago. As a farmer he worked 1600 acres of agricultural land, and from 6000 to 7000 acres of pastoral land for very many years. He was first secretary of the Northern Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and held the offices of secretary and treasurer for fifteen years, he was subsequently president of the Society for three years.

The funeral will leave the Rangiora Saleyards on Saturday afternoon for the Church of England Cemetery.

Star, Issue 9367, 16 October 1908, Page 1

KOHN, Heindrich

Heindrich Kohn

The death took place in Christchurch yesterday, of Mr Heindrich Kohn, proprietor of the jewellery business of Messrs B. Peterson and Co.

Mr Kohn was born at Kohmar, Germany, in 1847, and arrived in Christchurch forty-eight years ago. He was in business for some time in Auckland. Twenty years ago he acquired the business of Messrs Petersen and Co. He was of a retiring disposition, taking no part in public affairs. Among his friends he was very popular. The late Mr Kohn, who was sixty-four years of age, has left, two daughters, one of whom is married. He was a brother-in-law of Mr Hugo Friedlander, of Ashburton.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8347, 20 April 1911, Page 2

Master's House, Christ's College

Master's House, Christ's College, Christchurch
[Architects, C. J. Mountfort, and Collins & Harman]

The design illustrated is that of a master's house, being the first instalment of a scheme which has been launched under the auspices of a joint committee appointed from the governing body of Christ's College and the Old Boys' Association, for the purpose of replacing the present wooden buildings, and also for erecting along the frontage on Rolleston Avenue buildings for class-rooms, schools, etc. The building which the present one is superseding was erected in 1858. This east front of the new building, the foundation stone of which was laid by His Excellency the Governor, on 22nd February, will be in Halswell rubble, with white stone dressings, the other elevations being in brick. It is 122 feet long and 72 feet wide. The main elevation fronts the quadrangle, and is three storey in height. On the ground floor entrance is gained under a cloister to the main hall 15 ft. wide. Off the hall to the right is a dining-room, 40 ft. x 18 ft. Passing out of the hall into the corridor, 7 ft. wide, on the left hand side of the hall is the commonroom, 40 ft. x 20 ft. To the westward of the corridor are the kitchen and offices. In the southern wing are situated bath-rooms, change-room, lavatories, etc. The north wing is devoted to the master's quarters, which include private entrance hall, dining-room, study, drawing-room, maids' sitting-room, store-room, etc. On the first floor are studies, prefects' rooms, house-master's rooms, matron's rooms, work-room, servants' bed-rooms, bath-rooms, etc., and also bed-rooms, bath-rooms, etc., for the resident master. On the second floor are five dormitories for boarders, house-master's bed-room, linen-rooms, sick-room, nurse's room, bath-rooms, etc. The architects for the building are C. J. Mountfort and Collins and Harman, all of whom are old boys of Christ's College. The builders are D. Scott and Son, the contract price being £9500.

Progress, Volume III, Issue 7, 1 May 1908, Page 236

WEBB, Henry Richard

Obituary
Mr H. R. Webb.

Regret will be felt by a large circle of friends at the news of the death of Mr Henry Richard Webb, F.R.M.S., which took place rather unexpectedly at his residence, Merivale, last evening. Mr Webb had been ailing for some months, but was able to be present at the manoeuvres of the Imperial troops in Hagley Park last Friday, and on the following day he attended the funeral of the late Dean Jacobs. He was suffering from gastritis, and after his exertions of the previous two days he had a relapse on Sunday morning, and he gradually became worse until he died last evening, at the age of seventy-two years.

Mr Webb was born in Sydney, and was educated at the College there. At an early age he took a position in a business office, and later on became the head of the firm of Messrs Ferguson, Webb and Co. In 1851 he visited Auckland, and in 1868 he returned to New Zealand, where, for several years, he was manager of Peacock's Wharf. In 1880 he was appointed manager of the Permanent Investment Association of Canterbury, a position which he held for over ten years until he retired. He was at one time a member of the Provincial Council, and was the Provincial Secretary when the Provinces were abolished. From 1873 until 1875 he was member for Lyttelton in the House of Representatives, but was displaced by Mr H. P. Murray-Aynsley, who beat him by one vote.

Mr Webb always manifested a lively interest in any movement for the advancement of the province, and since his retirement from business has devoted his time exclusively to his duties as member of several local bodies. He always took great interest in educational affairs, and was for some years a member of the North Canterbury Board of Education, of which he also held the office of chairman. For eighteen years he was one of the School Commissioners for Canterbury. He had been a member of the Canterbury College Board of Governors from its inception, and held the chairmanship continuously from 1894 up to the time of his death.

Mr Webb was a leading member of the Anglican Church, and has been for many years a member of the Christchurch Synod and of the Diocesan Standing Committee. He was a great lover of flowers, and made a study of botany, and held the position of chairman of the Christchurch Horticultural Society, of which he was an enthusiastic member.

Mr Webb leaves a widow and a family of seven sons, and two daughters to mourn their loss.

The Cathedral bells were tolled this morning, and many flags in the city were at half-mast out of respect to his memory. The funeral will take place at the Papanui Cemetery at 3.30 p.m. to-morrow.

Star, Issue 7022, 12 February 1901, Page 3

above and below - the Webb family headstone in St Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery, Papanui, Christchurch.
Florence Augusta Webb died 14 (sic) May 1884 aged 14 years 4 months

Henry Richard Webb died 11 February 1901 aged 71 years 9 months
Augusta Ann Webb died 12 May 1914 aged 78 years 4 months
Ephrath Theresa Webb died 25 March 1940 aged 81 years

photographs AGR June 2010.

Scientific. — We are informed that Mr H. R. Webb, of Lyttelton, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society of London.

Star, Issue 1215, 13 January 1872, Page 2

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]
Henry Richard Webb

Mr. Henry Richard Webb, F.R.M.S., was a native of the Colony of New South Wales, where he was born in 1829, his parents being amongst the passengers who arrived in the previous year in the ship “Eliza.” Mr. Webb was educated at the Sydney College, and entered mercantile life in that city, subsequently going into business as a member of the firm of Fergusson, Webb and Co., merchants. He was for a long time connected with the Horticultural and Agricultural Society of New South Wales. Settling in Canterbury in 1868, Mr. Webb for some time had charge of Peacock's Wharf at Lyttelton, prior to the establishment of the Harbour Board. Then he was for thirteen years manager of the Permanent Investment and Loan Association of Canterbury. Mr. Webb represented Lyttelton in the Provincial Council till the abolition of the provinces and was also Provincial Secretary and chairman of committees. He sat in the House of Representatives as member for Lyttelton. Mr. Webb was actively associated with the cause of education; he was chairman of the Lyttelton School Committee, subsequently became a member of the North Canterbury Board of Education, being for some years chairman of that body, and he was a member of the Board of Governors of Canterbury College from its inception, occupying the position of chairman from 1893 until his death in 1901. Mr. Webb was a member of the council of the Philosophical Institute and president of the photographic section. He was very closely identified with the Anglican Church in Christchurch, a member of the diocesan synod for many years and chairman of committees; he was also a member of the General Synod of New Zealand, representing the Western district Mr. Webb was elected a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society of London in 1880. He was married in 1857, in Sydney, to a daughter of the late Mr. J. J. Peacock, sister of the Hon. J. T. Peacock, M.L.C., Christchurch, and had seven sons and two daughters. Mr. Webb died on the 11th of February, 1901

Victoria University of Wellington

also see - Wikipedia entry for Henry Richard Webb

Henry Richard Webb was the son of Henry Webb and Susannah Rickards, they married on 24 February 1825 at Old Church, Saint Pancras, London, England.

children of Henry Richard Webb:
seven sons - two daughters alive in 1901

By special license, on Thursday, 27th October [1853], at St. Paul's Church, Auckland, by the Rev. T. F. Lloyd, M.A., Mr. Henry Richard Webb, of Miller's Point, Sydney, to Ann, second daughter of G. Vaile, Esq., Auckland. (George Vaile - architect)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1295101
The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 9 December 1853, page 5
she died 21 December 1854 at 6. Victoria Terrace, Miller's Point

from marriage to Ann Vaile:
1. Ann V. R. Webb born 6 December 1854, 6 Victoria Terrace, Miller's Point Sydney.
Registration Number V18554169 42B/1855. She died in 1856. Registration NumberV18565238 122A/1856

On Thursday, 15th instant, by license, at the Centenary Chapel, York-street, by the Rev. J. G. Millard, Henry Richard Webb, to Augusta Ann, second daughter of John Jenkins Peacock, Esq., of Urgent Cottage, Miller's Point.
The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 23 October 1857, page 1
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13001982

from marriage to Augusta Ann Peacock:
2. Ephrath Theresa Webb (daughter) born 27 September 1858, 6 Victoria Terrace, Miller's Point, Sydney. Registration Number 2007/1858 Sydney. Died 25 March 1940 aged 81 years, headstone in St Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery, Papanui, Christchurch.

3. Henry Peacock Webb born 21 June 1860, 6 Victoria Terrace, Miller's Point, Sydney.
Registration Number 1578/1860 Sydney. Died 27 October 1920 aged 60 years. Registration Number 1920/6369. Buried Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch block 36, plot 91. Civil Engineer of 16 Holly Road, Christchurch. (lived at 16 Loftus Street, Sydney)

4. William Jenkins Webb born 17 October 1862 at 16 Crown Street, Miller's Point, Sydney. (sheep farmer of Dunsandel) Registration Number 2004/1862 Sydney. Died 12 November 1926 aged 64 years. Registration Number 1926/8872

Star, Issue 6679, 28 December 1899, Page 3

5. Albert John Webb (sheepfarmer at Waipahi, Otago)born 14 March 1864, Augusta Villa, Burwood, Sydney. Registration Number 3938/1864 Concord. (died in 1942 aged 78 registration number 1942/30026?)

6. Edward Rogers Webb born 3 March 1866 at Augusta Villa, Burwood, Sydney.
Registration Number 4060/1866 Concord. (accountant, bursar at Christ's College) married Frances Mary Young Taylor 18 April 1907 at St Mary's Church, Merivale, Christchurch. Died 30 November 1954 aged 88 years. Registration Number1954/35833 . Buried Waimairi Cemetery, block AN12, plot number 6, aged 88 years, of 27 McDougall Avenue, Christchurch. (his son was William Rogers Courtney Webb)

Star , Issue 8915, 29 April 1907, Page 3

7. Florence Augusta Webb born 7 January 1870, NZ - 1870/9910, died 11 May 1884 aged 14 years 4 months At Merivale, Christchurch, buried in St Paul's Anglican Church Cemetery, Papanui, Christchurch. (note - the headstone shows 14 May 1884, however the Star newspaper of 12 May shows she died on 11 May 1884.)

8. Malvina Mary Webb born 29 December 1870, Lyttelton, New Zealand, registered 1871/10623. Died 2 December 1964. Buried Linwood Cemetery block number, 11 plot 15A aged 93 years. Married Robert Ewing McDougall.

Star, Issue 5802, 20 February 1897, Page 4

9. Ernest Courteney (or Courtney) Webb (sheepfarmer at Hororata) born 23 May 1873, NZ - 1873/11847. Died 27 June 1957 aged 84 years. Register number 1957/24487 . Buried Ruru Lawn Cemetery, block 37, plot plot 226. Farmer of French Farm, Banks Peninsula.

10. Lilian Kate Webb born 1876, New Zealand, she died aged 5 months in 1877. Register number 1877/3708

11. Steffano Francis Paulovich Webb (photographer) born 16 October 1880 at Sherwood House, Christchurch, New Zealand. Died 22 December 1967 at Windsor House, Christchurch.

12. Rickards Hickman Webb (company manager/mercantile clerk) born 27 April 1884 at Hawkesbury, St Albans married Kathleen Eva Hartley about 1920. Died 5 September 1964 aged 80 years, registration number 1964/45488 (children - Pamela Webb and Bruce Anthony Webb)

others?

4. Mr. William Webb, Manager of “Springbank,” was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1862, and educated at Christ's College, Christchurch. He joined the Bank of New Zealand, in which he passed four years, and then exchanged the desk for station life, which he followed at “Birch Hill” and at “Springbank,” and the latter property was managed by him for several years. He afterwards visited Australia, where he studied wool-classing and attended the technical college at Sydney. He and his brother, Mr. A. Webb, bought Ngakorua estate, at Pleasant Point, South Canterbury, in 1895, but after a time he again entered on the management of “Springbank.”
The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Charles Martin Buck

Canterbury Centennial Procession 1950

Canterbury Centennial Procession 1950
A series of 12 photographs
(photographer unknown)

below - The Birthday Cake - The Christchurch City Council’s
entry in the Canterbury Centennial Procession

The Municipal Buildings

The City Council Offices, Christchurch, NZ
W & T Series

Whitcombe & Tomes Ltd

This Queen Anne style building designed by Samuel Hurst Seager opened in 1887 and was used as the City Council Offices until 1924.

After 1893 Samuel Hurst Seager became a lecturer in architecture and decorative design at the Canterbury College School of Art and continued in this position until 1918. He served on the college's board of governors from 1910 to 1919 and his 1913 scheme for the completion of the college buildings played a decisive role in ensuring that the complex was architecturally coherent. [1]

Samuel Hurst Seager born 26 June 1855 London, England - died 5 October 1933 Sydney, Australia.

The Municipal Buildings.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE
THIS DAY.

[16 March 1886]

At noon, to-day, his Worship the Mayor, in the presence of a large number of ex-Mayors and past and present Councillors of the city, laid the foundation stone of the new Municipal buildings. At the time appointed, the Union Jack was hoisted, and his Worship ascended the scaffolding erected for the purpose, and Mr Martin presented him with a handsome silver trowel. After the usual ceremony of placing sealed bottles containing copies of the local papers in the cavity beneath, and of lowering and levelling the stone, had been gone through, his Worship declared the stone to be "well and truly laid." He then addressed the assembled crowd to the following effect:— The present occasion was a very important event in the history of the city. The associations connected with the site on which he stood were of a very varied character. Those present who had been here for a number of years would remember the importance which had always been attached to that spot. He had been credibly informed that the site on which he had had the pleasure of performing the ceremony was the first site on which any public building had been erected within the City. Here had been the first Government buildings, the Land Office, the Survey Office, and the office of the Supreme Court. Here also had been the Hall of the Masonic body, who first met here in their solemn conclave. The events of the day were interesting from various aspects. There were some who could say that these buildings should long since have been erected. All would admit that this was the case. His predecessors had expressed to him that they had often felt a degree of shame when Mayors from other places came to the city to have to show the old buildings as the Municipal offices. However, what had been in the past, was no longer to obtain in the future. Some people might have had a difference of opinion as to the place where these buildings ought to be erected. It was natural and often beneficial that in all matters there should be a difference of opinion. He might say that no one had complained that the Council had not been ambitious enough before now. All, he thought, would remember that the City Council had had the ambition to build a town hall, but the means at their disposal had been insufficient to carry out their ideas in a proper manner. What was being done that day was absolutely necessary. He could not help being struck when he had that day got the picture which he now showed. That picture represented the site they were on as it appeared thirty-four years ago. It was really worth looking at in the light of the present day. Anyone who had seen the place as there represented would have considered it incredible had he been told that it would be as it was now, especially when it was borne in mind that there had been no goldfields or anything of that kind to promote the growth of the City. The people here had had to pass through periods of depression to some extent, but when it was remembered that that picture represented the site as it was thirty -four years ago, there was sufficient to make every citizen of Christchurch proud that he was so. It should be remembered that if the City Council had not erected large municipal buildings they had done good work in making the City what it was, a desirable place of residence. It might be said without fear of contradiction that very few cities had made so great an advance, or had effected so many improvements in the same short space of time. What had been done should stimulate the citizens to further exertions; though perhaps under a cloud at present, they should be prepared to put their shoulders to the wheel. If they had made so many improvements during the past thirty-four years, they might reasonably be prepared to expect even greater results in the future. He would not detain them longer except to wish prosperity and success to the new Municipal Buildings and to the Colony generally. He thanked those present for their attendance, and invited them to inspect the picture representing the site as it appeared thirty-four years ago. The following inscription was on the stone:-
"This stone was laid
"March 16, 1886.
"A. Ayers, Mayor.
"S. Hurst Seager, A.R.I.B.A.,
"Architect.
"England and Martin,
"Contractors.
The trowel used was of silver, with an ebony handle, and made by Messrs Jones and Gapes. It bore the following inscription, surmounted by the City arms, enclosed in a wreath of ferns:-
"Presented to Aaron Ayers, Esq., Mayor of Christchurch, By the contractors, Messrs England and Martin, on the occasion of his laying the foundation stone of the Municipal Building. March 16, 1886."
After the ceremony, His Worship invited the Councillors and ex-members of the Council to a glass of wine in the temporary offices, where the health of the ex-Mayor, Mr C. P. Hulbert, was drunk and responded to.

The Star, Issue 5568, 16 March 1886, Page 3.

[1] Lochhead, Ian J. 'Seager, Samuel Hurst 1855 - 1933'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007
URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/

143 Colombo Street, Christchurch

Aitken and Roberts
Furnishing and General Ironmongers
corner Cashel and Colombo Streets, Christchurch.

Star, Issue 4859, 26 January 1894, Page 2