Heritage

Minutes drawn up by the First body of the Canterbury Colonists at their rooms 1A Adelphi Terrace [London] : the "Society of Canterbury Colonists" April 25, 1850

ImageSummary Original, handwritten minute book for the Society of Canterbury Colonists, a group established in London for the settlement of Canterbury, New Zealand. The minutes of the society continue as the Society of Purchasers of Land in Canterbury; the Society established when the settlers arrived in Lyttelton.

The minutes of the London meetings of the Society run from April 25th to August 15th 1850. The minutes include acknowledgment of gift of books that became part of the library of the college library; setting of fares; the take up of ship cabins; discussions on the name of the capital town of the settlement; the establishment of a paper. The first meeting minuted after arrival is December 20th, 1850. The Society reconvened as the Society of Land Purchasers in the Canterbury Settlement in 1851. The minutes of Land Purchasers meetings, held in Christchurch, start from early 1851. The final meeting in the minutes book is dated January 22nd, 1852.

Collection location Archive 16, Item 1

Publication information Unpublished

Additional information

"The Foundation of Canterbury", a Press article about the Society minutes, published 25/10/1900, has been pasted in at the front of the book.

Archive 16 contains two versions of the minutes; the original, handwritten volume, and a typescript copy. A transcript of the minutes was created in 1953 by C.R. Staubel, and gifted to the Canterbury Public Library.

Digitised items

This material has been digitised from the Archives and Manuscripts collection of Christchurch City Libraries.