Christchurch and Canterbury

John Robert Godley, whose bronze memorial statue stands in Christchurch's Cathedral Square, would have seen the spectacular views of the Southern Alps when he paused for breath at the top of the Port Hills in 1850. The Canterbury Association, a British organization, had sent him to New Zealand to prepare for the arrival of settlers for a planned Church of England community. That year, four settler ships arrived bearing roughly 800 pioneers, and their new town was named for Godley's college at Oxford.

Built in a Gothic Revival style of dark gray stone, civic buildings such as the Arts Centre and Canterbury Museum give the city an English feel. This style, plus elements such as punting and cricket, often pegs Christchurch as a little slice of England. Though the city may have a conservative exterior, it has been a nursery for social change. It was here that Kate Sheppard, whose portrait is printed on the $10 note, began organizing a campaign that led to New Zealand being the first country in the world to grant women the vote. More recently it has become known as the southern gateway to Antarctica and is developing a keen arts community.

Beyond Christchurch the wide-open Canterbury Plains sweep to the north, west, and south of the city. This is some of New Zealand's finest pastureland, and the higher reaches are sheep station territory, where life and lore mingle in South Island's cowboy country. This is where young Samuel Butler dreamed up the satirical Erewhon—the word is an anagram of nowhere. But the towns here are no longer considered the back of beyond; communities such as Hanmer Springs, Akaroa, Timaru, and Geraldine are now favorite day-trip destinations. Arthur's Pass, to the west, is probably the best place for a one-day-wonder experience of the Southern Alps while the Waipara Valley to the north of Christchurch is one of the country's developing vineyard areas.

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