1848

March 21

Canterbury Association formed in London.

March 27

Canterbury Association decides to buy land from the New Zealand Company.

June 12

"Kemp’s Deed" signed by Ngāi Tahu giving the New Zealand Company control of land from Kaiapoi to Otago.

December 15

Captain Joseph Thomas, William Fox, and surveyors Cass and Torlesse arrive at the site of Lyttelton in the "Fly". Thomas names the harbour "Port Victoria". He and his party had been sent by the Canterbury Association to choose a site for the New colony and make the necessary preparations for the arrival of settlers in 1850.

Notes

• 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.