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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
- December 21, 1877
- New Christchurch railway station opens.
- December 21, 1977
- New Zealand’s first closed circuit central city television traffic control system in operation for City Council.
- December 22, 1885
- Statue of William Moorhouse unveiled in the Botanic Gardens.
- December 23, 1876
- Lyttelton time-ball station in operation. Its time signals to shipping were superseded by radio signals in 1934. See also 1978.
- December 23, 1911
- George Bolt flies a glider from the Port Hills.
- December 23, 1974
- State Insurance Company announces the purchase of Trinity Church, (designed by B.W.Mountfort, built 1874) and its conversion into the State Trinity Centre. The completed project was opened on November 22, 1975.
- December 24, 1864
- First gas street lights.
- December 24, 1953
- 4 Christchurch victims among 151 dead in Tangiwai railway disaster.
- December 25, 1864
- Durham Street Methodist Church opens - the City’s first stone church.
- December 25, 1891
- Foundation stone laid for the "Temple of Truth" - but the sect was a fraud - see 1897.
- December 26, 1863
- Opening of the Royal Princess Theatre, the city’s first true theatre. It had been the Canterbury Music Hall, see 1861.
- December 26, 1870
- First rowing regatta on the Avon.
- December 26, 1879
- Serious Catholic/Protestant riot in Manchester Street.
- December 26, 1905
- Automobile Association holds a "Great Automobile Gymkhana" at Addington trotting grounds. 30 cars took part, and the programme included New Zealand’s first official car race.
- December 27, 1850
- “Cressy” arrives. These 4 ships brought a total of 773 settlers. Although Cantabrians like to commemorate these “first four ships”, there were actually 8 chartered vessels which brought 1500 Canterbury Association settlers in the first few months. By the following December, 19 ships had brought over 3000 settlers.
- December 27, 1987
- Rewi Alley dies in Peking, China. He left Christchurch for China in 1926.
