Heritage

Christchurch: a chronology

A timeline of some Christchurch events in chronological order from 1700s to 1989.

Go to a year between 1700 & 1989

Begin at the beginning Start here

This week in history

November 2, 1899
Balloonist "Captain" Lorraine lost at sea after an ascent from Lancaster Park.
November 2, 1906
Foundation stone laid for the Technical College (now Christchurch Polytechnic).
November 2, 1914
Riccarton (Deans) Bush presented to the city by the Deans family.
November 4, 1876
Second Theatre Royal opens. Built in only 17 weeks on the same site as the first, the new theatre was claimed to have the largest stage in New Zealand.
November 4, 1897
Night cycle races held at Lancaster Park. The experiment was not a success - the gas illumination was completely inadequate.
November 4, 1986
23 week old Mary Ellen Foulds becomes the youngest baby to be born at Christchurch Womens Hospital (normal gestation is 40 weeks).
November 4, 1989
Record crowd of 60,000 at Lancaster Park to see Irish Rock Band U2.
November 5, 1886
New Zealand Kennel Club inaugurated in Christchurch.
November 5, 1913
"Battle of Featherston Street" in Wellington as strikers try to stop racehorses being shipped to Christchurch.
November 5, 1979
Regent Theatre gutted by fire.
November 5, 1984
The Christchurch Civic Trust Board buys the Mt Vernon property for a public park.
November 6, 1830
Te Rauparaha’s war party massacres the inhabitants of Akaroa and returns to Kapiti Island with captives and a cargo of human flesh.
November 6, 1852
First Canterbury sitting of the Supreme Court at Lyttelton.
November 6, 1866
Serious fire on the north-east corner of Armagh and Colombo Streets.
November 6, 1899
Addington Raceway holds inaugural meeting.
November 6, 1918
Beginning of the influenza epidemic which was eventually to kill 466 people in Christchurch.
November 6, 1930
Weekly air service (New Zealands first regular service) begins to Dunedin.
November 7, 1896
First commercial screening of "Edison’s Cinematograph".
November 8, 1918
Huge crowds gather in streets after false reports of World War I armistice. The Canterbury Battalion’s losses in the war had been 2353 dead.
November 8, 1956
Last trolley bus runs.
November 8, 1983
Opening of Canterbury Centre. The building (55m) becomes the city’s tallest, above the Police Station (53m) and the University Hight Library (51m). But the Cathedral spire at 62m remains the highest structure.

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