Christchurch's strong Antarctic connection
 Antarctica has captured the hearts and minds of New Zealanders since the early part of last century when explorers passed through our ports on their way to the ice. Scott and Shackleton and their crews both passed through Christchurch on their way south. Scott's memorial statue, sculpted by his widow Kathleen, still resides on Worcester Boulevard.
The Christchurch connection has been strengthened over the years after the establishment of Deep Freeze American base in Christchurch in 1955 and New Zealand’s Scott Base in 1957. In 1958 the Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition, led by Vivian Fuchs, with Sir Edmund Hillary, achieved Sir Ernest Shackleton’s goal of crossing the entire Antarctic continent. Hillary’s tractor and Fuchs’ snow cat are displayed at the Canterbury Museum. Scott Base is located in the Ross Dependency, which New Zealand has administered since 1923.
Antarctic Festival
Christchurch is hosting the 2008 Antarctic Festival, one of the biggest ever, before the festival takes a break for 2009. There is a huge range of events on offer including rare film footage of Sir Edmund Hillary, Scott, as well as the Terra Nova expedition. There are events for everyone to enjoy. For full details see the Christchurch Antarctic Festival website.
How the ice changed one man’s life
 Henry Sunderland is well-known in Canterbury as a gnomologist, artist and tutor. Less well known is the fact that thirty years ago Henry spent a summer on the ice as a mess cook, occasional cartoonist and part-time cod fisher. In a personal account, Henry tells how the Antarctic changed his life and how he delivered the first gnome to the South Pole in 1977. Accompanying the article is a copy of one of the cartoons that Henry drew for the McMurdo Sometimes, the newspaper for personnel on the ice.
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This week in Christchurch history
What interesting things happened in Christchurch this week? Find out with the help of the Christchurch Chronology on the library website.
- September 20, 1916 Canterbury Aviation Company founded by Henry (later Sir Henry) Wigram.
- September 21, 1867 Trout introduced from Tasmania. The ova were reared in special covered ponds built in Hagley Park next to the hospital. Salmon were introduced a year later.
- September 23, 1914 First Canterbury contingent sails on "Tahiti" and "Athenic" from Lyttelton for the war in Europe.
- September 23, 1977 First Vietnamese refugees arrive in City.
- September 24, 1881 Telephone exchange (the first in New Zealand) begins operation.
- September 24, 1960 Jellie Park Pool opens.
- September 25, 1965 Riot at Paparua Prison. 40 warders and police injured.
- September 25, 1983 Coldest recorded day in September with a maximum of 5.9 deg C.
- September 26, 1897 Reading of the Riot Act to an angry crowd of about 6000 in Lichfield Street as a result of religious imposter A.B. Worthington’s "Temple of Truth" fraud. Beginning in 1890, Worthington’s sect had built a “grecian temple“ in Latimer Square.
- September 26, 1945 Charles Hazlett Upham (born Christchurch 1908) awarded second V.C. for gallantry in the Western Desert, 1942. He won his previous award in Crete during May 1941.
- September 26, 1975 Noahs Hotel opens.
- September 26, 1976 Orana Park Wildlife Reserve opens.
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