A timeline of some Christchurch events in chronological order from 1700s to 1989.
Go to a year between 1700 & 1989
Begin at the beginning 
This week in history
- March 31, 1854
- Weld and Clifford pioneer the inland stock route to Marlborough.
- March 31, 1863
- 21 Canterbury military volunteers sail north on Phoebe for duty in the Waikato land wars.
- March 31, 1904
- New Zealands first coin-in-the-slot postal franking machine on public trial in Christchurch.
- April 1, 1903
- Sydenham, Linwood and St Albans amalgamate with City to form greater Christchurch. Henry F. Wigram becomes Mayor.
- April 1, 1907
- Beckenham and Fisherton join City.
- April 1, 1911
- North Linwood added to City.
- April 1, 1911
- Spreydon Borough formed.
- April 1, 1915
- First regular supply of electricity from Lake Coleridge received in Christchurch.
- April 1, 1921
- Spreydon Borough joins City.
- April 1, 1923
- Bromley and Papanui join City.
- April 1, 1932
- New Regent Street opens, built on the site of the old Colosseum. (See 1908)
- April 1, 1941
- Huntsbury and Borough of New Brighton join City.
- April 1, 1943
- St Andrews Hill (Mt Pleasant) joins City.
- April 1, 1945
- Sumner Borough, McCormacks Bay and Hillsborough join City.
- April 1, 1949
- Sign of the Takahe opens. This was the completion of the Summit Road developments begun by Harry Ell in 1908.
- April 1, 1955
- Part of Halswell area joins City.
- April 1, 1962
- First City Council district planning scheme becomes operative.
- April 1, 1962
- Mt Pleasant Valley and Cannon estate join City from Heathcote.
- April 1, 1979
- Lyttelton road tunnel becomes toll-free.
- April 1, 1980
- Canterbury Regional Planning Authority merges with Canterbury United Council.
- April 1, 1983
- City Council takes over central area parking enforcement from Ministry of Transport.
- April 2, 1873
- First and second Town Halls destroyed by fire. It took 99 years to replace this civic amenity.
- April 3, 1912
- Lyttelton dredge "Manchester" leaves port for new owners in Sydney. The ship and her crew disappeared without trace during the voyage.
- April 3, 1914
- North Richmond joins City.
- April 3, 1967
- Re-built Ferrymead Bridge opens.
- April 5, 1844
- Frederick Tuckett and a party including surveyors, land at Lyttelton from the Deborah looking for a suitable site for a Scottish settlement in the South Island. They subsequently got lost in the swamps, so it is not surprising that their eventual choice was Otago, not Canterbury.
- April 5, 1985
- Visit by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
- April 6, 1982
- Premiere of "Roadshow" road safety stage show. The show was later taken on a national tour for 6 months from February 1983. It played to a total audience of over 250,000, probably the biggest of any New Zealand musical show.