Christchurch Introduction Walking Tour (Self Guided), Christchurch

Captain James Cook was not the first person to discover New Zealand. There is evidence that the Christchurch area was visited by groups of moa-hunting people as early as 1250 AD.

They were followed by the Waitaha from the east coast of the North Island in the 16th century. In a series of wars Waitaha were displaced by the Ngati Mamoe, who in turn were conquered by the Ngai Tahu. The Europeans arrived 600 or so years after the early moa-hunting people. The Weller brothers arrived in 1840. They were whalers from Otago and Sydney.

In 1843 the European immigration began with the arrival of 792 Canterbury pilgrims in four ships in Lyttelton Harbor. The pilgrims hoped to build a city with a cathedral and college modeled after Christ Church in Oxford, England.

Christchurch was declared a city by Royal Charter in 1856. The city was laid out in a grid with Cathedral Square as its center. It was the first chartered city in New Zealand. A great many of of the city's Gothic Revival buildings by Benjamin Mountfort were built following the charter date of 1856.

The city had a lot of room for growth, located between the Pacific in the east and the Port Hills to the south. The urban area grew rapidly, its economy based on agriculture, wool and dairying.

In the center of the city is Cathedral Square. In the center of the square is the earthquake damaged cathedral, facing years of restoration. The earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 devastated the central city, resulting in 185 deaths and many more injured. But the Cathedral Square carries on.

The earthquake damages from the quakes of 2010 and 2011 were far reaching. The Chief Post Office, the City mall, and several office buildings collapsed and many people were killed by falling masonry. Memorials of those lost include the Quake City Exhibit and the very moving Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial.

The city begins to revive, mindful of the past and with the ability to meet adversity as well as it ever has.