50 Fun Facts About Christchurch

Which unusual job did Christchurch City Council pay Ian Brackenbury Channell $16,000 a year to do until 2021?

Wizard was his official post: from 1998 the council paid him to provide acts of wizardry promoting the city, after gallery directors had declared him a living work of art.

Which everyday material forms the giant tubes of Christchurch's Transitional Cathedral, opened in 2013?

Cardboard tubes form the walls and roof of the A-frame building, which was designed to last about 50 years rather than to be permanent.

After the 2011 earthquake, the Re:START pop-up mall in central Christchurch housed its shops inside what?

Shipping containers made a colourful temporary mall on Cashel Street, and it proved so popular with locals and tourists that it stayed open until January 2018.

When James Cook charted the volcanic Banks Peninsula beside Christchurch in 1770, what did he mistake it for?

An island is what Cook recorded, deceived by the outline of the land behind, and he named it Banks Island after the botanist aboard his ship.

Which director's 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, starring Kate Winslet, dramatised a notorious Christchurch murder case?

Peter Jackson co-wrote the screenplay with Fran Walsh, and the film gave both Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey their first feature film roles.

Which Nobel laureate, called the father of nuclear physics, studied at Christchurch's Canterbury College in the 1890s?

Ernest Rutherford is remembered on the old campus by Rutherford's Den, a small museum in the rooms where he studied, now part of the Arts Centre.

Which Christchurch suffragist organised the 1893 petition that made New Zealand first to give women the vote?

Kate Sheppard's portrait appears on the ten-dollar note, and the Christchurch house where she lived during the campaign is now a museum.

Christchurch has sent off explorers since 1901 and still hosts American and Italian bases for expeditions where?

Antarctica is supplied through Christchurch Airport, the take-off point for the main air route south to the American station at McMurdo.

Which soil effect pushed thousands of tonnes of silt up through Christchurch streets in the 2011 earthquake?

Liquefaction turned the wet, sandy ground of the eastern suburbs to slurry and undermined foundations, badly damaging 80% of the water and sewerage system.

Christchurch most likely takes its name from Christ Church, a college and cathedral at which English university?

Oxford's Christ Church was the old college of several of the founders, though the reason for the choice was never recorded and many early colonists disliked the name.

Which river, named by a pioneer after a stream in his native Scotland, winds through the centre of Christchurch?

The Avon takes its name from a stream near a pioneer's grandfather's farm in Scotland, not from Shakespeare's river, and visitors now glide along it in punts.

An unofficial Christchurch memorial to the 2011 earthquake victims was made of 185 white-painted what?

Chairs painted white by a local artist went on show on the first anniversary, and the short-term installation lasted until April 2023.

Which Christchurch-based side is the most successful team in Super Rugby history, with titles stretching back to 1998?

Crusaders teams won three straight titles from 1998 to 2000, even though each of those finals was played away from home.

Which form of public transport, gone from Christchurch by 1954, returned in 1995 as a central-city tourist loop?

Electric trams ran from 1905 until buses replaced the last line, from Cashmere to Papanui; the revived loop runs restored heritage cars.

Which multi-sport event did Christchurch host in 1974, with New Zealand introducing colour television in readiness?

Commonwealth Games events were held at the purpose-built Queen Elizabeth II Park, and it was the last edition to carry the word British in its title.

Which Christchurch-born fast bowler became the first cricketer to take 400 Test wickets, doing so on his home ground?

Richard Hadlee reached the milestone against India while a group of old boys from his former school sang their school song, and he was knighted the same year.

Which Christchurch baking powder brand's cookery book, first printed in 1908, has sold over three million copies?

Edmonds first tucked recipes inside its baking powder tin lids, and the firm's factory in the suburb of Linwood later featured on the book's cover.

Which fast shallow-water craft was developed by engineer Bill Hamilton, whose company moved to Christchurch in 1948?

Jet boat pioneer Hamilton never claimed to have invented water-jet propulsion; he joked that the honour belonged to Archimedes.

What is the Māori name for Christchurch, taken from a chief's seasonal food-gathering site beside the river?

Ōtautahi means the place of Tautahi, and it was adopted as the name for the whole city only in the 1930s.

Which port town, linked to Christchurch by a road tunnel since 1964, received the first four settler ships in 1850?

Lyttelton lies over the Port Hills, so the first settlers reached the plains by climbing a steep track that became known as the Bridle Path.

Which harbour town near Christchurch was settled by French emigrants in 1840 and still has streets named Rue?

Akaroa began with 57 settlers who sailed from Rochefort, only to learn on reaching New Zealand that Britain had already proclaimed sovereignty.

Which scenic train leaves Christchurch, runs through the Otira Tunnel and ends at Greymouth?

TranzAlpine trains take almost five hours over 223 kilometres, passing through 16 tunnels and over four viaducts on the way to the West Coast.

Which green space in central Christchurch, reserved for public recreation in 1855, contains a famous cricket oval?

Hagley Park covers about 165 hectares, with the river looping through it, and its founding decree promised it would stay open for the enjoyment of the public.

Which Christchurch department store burned in 1947 in New Zealand's deadliest fire, which killed 41 people?

Ballantynes had grown into a maze of joined buildings with no sprinklers or alarm system, and the inquiry that followed called for urgent changes to building and fire-safety rules.

Which British explorer, whose Christchurch statue was carved by his widow Kathleen, led the Terra Nova Expedition?

Robert Scott sailed from the local harbour in 1910, and his marble statue broke in two when the 2011 earthquake threw it off its plinth.

Which Christchurch-born 'Queen of Crime' created the gentleman detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn in 1934?

Ngaio Marsh was born and died in Christchurch, where as a girl she was one of the first pupils at the newly founded St Margaret's College.

Which Christchurch singer, who began by busking in town, topped the UK classical charts in 2003 with Pure?

Hayley Westenra sold more than two million copies of the album, a mix of classical, light pop and traditional Māori songs.

Christchurch's vast central playground, opened in 2015 after the earthquakes, is named after which children's author?

Margaret Mahy gives her name to a riverside playground billed as the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and built as part of the recovery plan.

The 'disaster architect' who designed Christchurch's Transitional Cathedral free of charge came from which country?

Japan's Shigeru Ban worked out the concept during a single visit to Christchurch, then designed the building with local firm Warren and Mahoney.

What do Christchurch locals call the hot föhn wind from the mountains that sometimes reaches storm force?

The nor'wester often arrives under a band of high white cloud that looks like an arch in an otherwise clear blue sky over the Southern Alps.

Which style did architect Benjamin Mountfort use for Christchurch's Canterbury Museum and Provincial Council Buildings?

Gothic Revival buildings in stone became the look of the early city, and Mountfort is credited with importing the style to New Zealand.

Which architectural style unites all 40 shops of Christchurch's New Regent Street, a shopping street finished in 1932?

Spanish Mission design ran through the whole private development, which is now regarded as a forerunner of the modern shopping mall.

What kind of ride carries visitors from Christchurch's Heathcote Valley up Mount Cavendish in the Port Hills?

A gondola climbs the slope on a 1,000-metre course, and from the summit riders can see across the plains to the Southern Alps.

In 1994 Christchurch became the first place in New Zealand to open which kind of venue?

A casino opened there before anywhere else in the country, with hundreds of slot machines and entry restricted to patrons over 20 years of age.

Which New Zealand first opened in 1863 between Ferrymead and Christchurch, before the harbour tunnel was finished?

Public railway services began on this short line because the tunnel through the hills was still being dug, and the site is now Ferrymead Heritage Park.

Which Christchurch-born soldier is the only combat serviceman ever awarded the Victoria Cross twice?

Charles Upham won his first for courage in the Battle of Crete in 1941, and the only other double winners in history were both doctors.

Which fly-half, the highest points scorer in Test rugby, played his Super Rugby for Christchurch's team from 2003?

Dan Carter finished with 1,598 Test points for the All Blacks after growing up in the nearby town of Southbridge.

Which Christchurch engineer and his friends hand-built the V1000 racing motorcycle that won at Daytona in the 1990s?

John Britten made heavy use of carbon fibre and tucked the radiator under the seat, and only ten of his V1000 bikes were ever produced.

Juliet Hulme, convicted of a 1954 Christchurch murder at fifteen, later became which bestselling crime novelist?

Anne Perry served a five-year sentence, changed her name and returned to Britain, and her past stayed secret until 1994.

Which seaside suburb of Christchurch got a new 300-metre pier in 1997, over a century after its first one?

New Brighton's first pier was opened in 1894 by the Governor, the Earl of Glasgow, and the suburb lies about 8 kilometres east of the centre.

Which iwi, whose tribal area is the largest in New Zealand, counts Christchurch among its traditional lands?

Ngāi Tahu are the principal Māori tribe across the southern half of the country, although the iwi originated far to the north in the Gisborne district.

Addington Raceway in Christchurch, nicknamed The Met, is best known for feature races in which sport?

Harness racing's New Zealand Trotting Cup is run there, and the home club first raced at Lancaster Park before settling in Addington.

Christchurch's tap water, famous for its purity, is pumped from which natural source?

Underground aquifers fed from the foothills of the Southern Alps filter the water naturally, and more than 50 pumping stations bring it to the surface.

Which of Christchurch's 'First Four Ships' was first to arrive, reaching harbour on 16 December 1850?

Charlotte Jane arrived after a voyage of about three months, and the settlers carried by the four ships became known as the Canterbury Pilgrims.

Which Scottish pioneers, farming at Riccarton from 1843, proved the swampy site of Christchurch could be farmed?

The Deans family, led by brothers John and William, named Riccarton after their home parish in Ayrshire and in 1848 agreed to protect the forest that survives as Riccarton Bush.

Which German-born geologist founded Christchurch's Canterbury Museum and served as its first director?

Julius von Haast ran the museum until his death in 1887, and he also gave his own name to Haast Pass and the Haast River.

Charles Kingsford Smith ended the first trans-Tasman flight in 1928 at which Christchurch air base, now a museum?

Wigram was the first operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, on land given for flying in 1916, and now houses the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.

Which Australian state capital, also planned on a grid ringed by parkland, has been Christchurch's sister since 1972?

Adelaide was laid out by Colonel William Light with five squares and a ring of parks, a plan that echoes the squares and green spaces of Christchurch.

Christchurch Botanic Gardens began in 1863 with the planting of which tree to mark a royal wedding?

An oak was planted to celebrate the marriage of Prince Albert Edward and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and it was an English species rather than a native one.

Which Christchurch daily newspaper, first published in 1861, began life as a weekly rival to an older local paper?

The Press was founded by James FitzGerald, who had been the first editor of the rival paper, and its Māori name, Te Matatiki, means The Source.