Christchurch: A Chronology to 1989

A timeline of Christchurch events in chronological order from pre-European times to 1989.

Go to a year between 1700 & 1989

September 18, 1980: Theatre Royal bought by Theatre Royal Charitable Foundation to be renovated and preserved as a theatre.
September 18, 1989: Final meeting, (its 4,032nd), of the old Christchurch City Council before amalgamation.
September 19, 1865: South Island Separation Bill defeated in Parliament by 31 votes to 17.
September 19, 1904: Concert by pianist Jan Paderewski. He later became Prime Minister of Poland.
September 19, 1977: Visit by Prince and Princess Prem Purachatra of Thailand.
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.

Information for this resource was based on the second edition of John Densem’s Christchurch chronology: a history of settlement. Environmental Policy and Planning Policy Unit, Christchurch City Council, 1990.
More about the Christchurch Chronology.
This resource includes links to various other local history resources on our websites and images from our photographs collection - clicking on the image will take you to a larger version of that image.