Christmas Books for Christmas Time

Ah, Christmas. That busy time of the year when families come together, follow family traditions, and generally stay inside eating, sleeping, and watching television despite the gorgeous summer weather outside. If we did this on any other summer day people would think we were mad, but because it’s Christmas no-one bats an eyelid.

This year I’m heading away to house-sit at a friend’s place over the Christmas holiday. It will just be me by myself on the 25th, and so I have complete say over how festive I want the day to be… or not to be. At the moment I’m thinking of just having a relaxing day without too much Christmassy stuff – a sleep in, a walk along the beach, maybe check out a movie. Pure bliss!

But don’t worry, I’m not anti-Christmas. Over the past weeks I’ve been reading and listening to lots of Christmas stories to get in the festive spirit. I’ve read novels, short stories, kids’ books, and more, and here are some of my favourites to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

What would you do if your daughter went travelling overseas, and you didn’t want to celebrate Christmas without her? Skip Christmas and book an overseas cruise, of course! At least, that’s what the Kranks have planned, and so they buy their tickets, get their tans, and start dieting to look their best on their tropical holiday. But even the best-laid plans can go awry, and the Kranks’ neighbours won’t let them off easily with not celebrating the Christmas season …

This is a fun, light read, and I bet you’ll see some of your own neighbours in the characters living in Hemlock Street.

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but until I’d read this, I’d always thought Truman Capote and Al Capone were the same person. I couldn’t wait to read about how an American gangster celebrated Christmas as a kid!  Needless to say, this wasn’t the book I expected it to be…

What this book was was a lovely stroll down memory lane. A beautifully-illustrated short story, it takes you back to a simpler time, when your biggest Christmas worry was whether 7-year-old you and your 60-something-year-old friend would have enough money to buy the secret ingredient to go in your Christmas fruitcake to send to the President. A lovely quick read that will leave you feeling sentimental about childhood Christmas memories.

Blackadder’s Christmas Carol by Richard Curtis

Hands up if you grew up with Blackadder and his friends Baldrick, Darling, Queenie, et al! If so, you don’t want to miss their take on Charles Dickens’ classic tale, A Christmas Carol.

It’s Victorian England, and when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert set out to reward the good and the generous, they come across Ebenezer Blackadder, ‘the nicest man in England’. While in Dicken’s story, the villain comes good after being visited by Christmas ghosts, this version has the opposite outcome – the lure of wealth and power can turn even the kindest of souls.

This has all the humour of the Blackadder shows you love, and is a highly enjoyable hour of audio. Plus, it’s written by the same Richard Curtis who brought us that other guilty Christmas treat, Love Actually, so what’s not to love?

Christmas: A Biography by Judith Flanders

Moment of truth – I’m not actually finished this book just yet, but that doesn’t matter. This book is fantastic, and I am loving every minute I’m reading it!

Detailing the traditions of Christmas, where they came from, and how they came to be in the form we recognise today. Christmas trees, yule logs, carollers at the front door – OK, it *is* a very British and Euro-centric book –  this book is a wealth of interesting tidbits that might help you out at a pub quiz some time in the future. Maybe it’s just because I’m a language geek, but the way this book uses excerpts of ‘ye olde English’ to illustrate the information is one of my favourite parts of this book. For example, did you know that Christmas carols were originally written as ‘macaronic carols’ (carols written in two different languages). I didn’t know that word – I had visions of sheet music made out of macaroni elbows!

A perfect read for the geek in your life.

The Best Christmas Present in the World by Michael Morpurgo

I’ve always been a fan of Michael Morpurgo – I remember reading My Friend Walter as a 10-year-old, and being struck by the way he told the story of a modern day girl and an Elizabethan ghost. I’ve read many more of his stories in the years since, and this short story has become one of my annual Christmas reads.

When people get older, and move in to nursing homes and retirement villages, they leave behind furniture and other belongings that tell the stories of their life. In an abandoned desk, we find a letter telling the story of the great Christmas Day truce and football game between the British and German soldiers fighting each other in 1914. It’s a lovely story, and shows that even they we all have our differences, we have more in common. A beautiful book to share with children 8 years and up.

Whatever you choose to do this December, I hope you have a lovely summer break, and a Happy New Year, and remember to check out Christchurch City Libraries for more Christmas reads, watches, and music.

• Looking for fictional Christmas reads for adults?
• Want to increase your knowledge of Christmas, or get some ideas for tasty treats or homemade presents?
  Looking for Christmas books and stories for the kids and teens in your life?
• Too busy for reading – try an audiobook instead!

Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete – Christmas Greetings to you all, and see you all in 2019.

Cool stuff from the selectors: History in colour

The colour of time: A new history of the world, 1850 to 1960

A history book spanning one hundred years is nothing out of the ordinary, however what makes this book so unusual is that all the photographs have been fully and painstakingly redigitised in colour by Brazilian artist Marina Amaral. The detail and exhaustive research that has gone into ensuring the colours are correct is amazing. The black and white pictures come to life, bringing new meaning and poignancy to many famous photos that we are familiar with. It is a shame the cover is so dull and monochrome but perhaps this is to heighten the surprise of what is inside.

Scenic Playground: The story behind New Zealand’s mountain tourism

This book is an absolute treat and is beautifully produced by Te Papa Press. The blurb describes it as “lavish” and it really is. Highlighting old advertisements, photos (many hand-coloured, quite different from The Colour of Time, but just as beautiful) and paintings, the New Zealand alpine experience is brought to life. As an aside, I couldn’t get over how well-dressed and smart the people are in all the photos, no tatty jeans, nasty track pants or daggy shorts here, they all look incredibly glam and well put together in amongst the most stunning scenery.

 

Podcast – Teaching war, teaching peace

Christchurch City Libraries blog hosts a series of regular podcasts from specialist human rights radio show Speak up – Kōrerotia. This show is created by Sally Carlton.

11 November 2018 marked one hundred years since the signing of the Armistice that ended the First World War. The scale of this war makes a compelling argument for commemorating it – we must remember in order not to repeat the mistakes of the past – yet does this argument hold true? Guests are invited to ponder the question: Does teaching about war translate into teaching about peace?

Part I: Rowan Light (University of Canterbury)
ANZAC Day commemoration as teaching; changes to ANZAC Day over time including shift from veteran- to state-led event.

Part II: Katerina Standish (National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago)
Acknowledgement of violence in New Zealand curricula and its impact on teaching war and peace

Part III: Laura Jones (Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum)
The ‘Gallipoli: Scale of our war’ exhibition; role of the museum in encouraging audience reflection on notions of war and peace.

Transcript – Teaching war, teaching peace

Find out more in our collection

• Find titles about New Zealand and the First World War
• Find titles about The Anzacs
• Find titles about New Zealand peace movement
• Find articles war commemoration in New Zealand (access with your library card & password / PIN)

   

More about Speak up – Kōrerotia

• Speak up – Kōrerotia on Facebook
• Contact the host of the show via speakupkorerotia@gmail.com.

The show is also available on the following platforms:

• Plains FM website
• SoundCloud
• iTunes

Dan recommends: The best recreational non-fiction of 2018

2018 has been a stunning year for me when we talk about books and reading, and here’s a selection of recreational non-fiction titles that I have enjoyed in the back half of 2018 and that you too can enjoy over the New Zealand summer season!

First up; an audiobook! A Collection of Conversations With Richard Fidler Volume 3

Volume 3 is another outstanding collection of conversations with Australian ABC Arts journalist and author Richard Fidler. His genius with interviewing technique unwraps some amazing stories from people who have done amazing things with their lives. The common thread among all of these interviewees is their passion for continued learning, their curiosity about the world, and their passion for life. In this volume we hear from a blind woman who navigates by sonar, a Bundjalung woman who rose to become one of Australia’s brightest lights, a man who spent 10 years alone in the bush before gaining a doctorate while being homeless, the animalistic life of comedian Bill Bailey, and many more fascinating stories. A great summer’s day listening at the bach, maybe with a glass of something refreshing…

Next we have the soon-to-be-considered-classic work of Philip Hoare Leviathan, Or, The Whale

I was lucky enough to see/hear Philip Hoare speak at this year’s Word Christchurch festival, and it was the realisation of a dream that I didn’t know I had – to meet the man who has had me mesmerised with his writing about the sea and natural science too often to count. Philip Hoare writes of the sea in such powerful and beautiful language. This particular book is his own graceful exploration of whales, their place in our world, our human history interacting with them, and the perils that they face at the hands of humanity and environmental changes. A book to read slowly, embracing every sentence for its beauty and poetic brilliance.

In completely the other direction, 2018 was the year I discovered this book from long ago – Wisconsin Death Trip

This book is a surreal journey about the real events surrounding the town of Black River Falls, Wisconsin way back in the 1890s. Over a decade or so the townsfolk underwent what can only be called a mass-mania with incidents of murder, arson, infanticide, institutionalisation, and all manner of other horrors. These stories are told through archival newspaper reports and the most astonishing images taken from glass-plate negatives taken during the time. Haunting images and crazy stories… an amazing piece of captured history.

And perhaps in the lead up to Christmas you could indulge in a British custom and read about the history of the Royal Institute’s Christmas Lectures 11 Explorations Into Life on Earth

A very compelling volume of short accounts of the sessions delivered by many noted British scientists including Richards Dawkins and the great David Attenborough himself. These lectures were aimed to get kids excited about science and they are very entertaining and informative – you’ll love them too!

And the last title I’ll share with you is a micro-history. A micro-history is a work which focuses on one very specific piece of human or natural history. In the past I’ve enjoyed brilliant micro-histories like Salt by Mark Kurlansky – the amazing story of the most popular food seasoning in the world, or The Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester (a repeat offender when it comes to micro-histories!) – an account of a madman who made the most significant contribution to the English language dictionary. I may one day write a blog just about the amazing world of micro-histories (Alina has done a very good microhistories list to start with) but for this time it’s all about Krill in The Curious Life of Krill.

This is a fascinating read about one of the most bountiful and important food sources in the Earth’s oceans. Written with an expert’s mind and a writer’s sense of storytelling this is a most enlightening read. Krill; they’re not as small as you think, and they are almost definitely the most important link in the food chain for life on Earth. Great read. Cool creatures. Think of them when you’re BBQ-ing your prawns this Christmas! 🙂

And that’s the back half of my 2018 reading in recreational non-fiction. These are not all the titles that crossed my path but definitely the most interesting and the ones I would like to share the most.

Happy Christmas season to y’all and happy reading for the rest of 2018!

^DevilStateDan

Auckland’s Pop-up Globe: Richard III

Last week at the fabulous Pop Up Globe in Auckland, I went along to see Richard III, Shakespeare’s depiction of the last Plantagenet monarch’s rise to power.

Richard III is often simultaneously described as being a comedy, tragedy and historical play. This production perfectly captured the comic side which can often be difficult to portray with such a villain at its centre. Richard mercilessly manipulates and murders his way to the top, still managing to win audiences along the way with his wonderful way with words and memorable speeches. Think House of Cards but with fantastic Jacobean period dress and swords.

Is it also a tragedy? This, I guess, will depend on how attached/frustrated/indifferent you become towards the other figures in the play. Richard’s contemporaries are certainly not portrayed as being the biggest and brightest on the block (unfortunate pun that I am sure Shakespeare would approve), with some, such as Lady Jane, seemingly complicit in her own doom.

As to the play’s historical label, audiences have to be wary of Shakespeare’s bias (or perhaps just adaptability to the times), considering his audience included Elizabeth I, the granddaughter of Richard’s successor, Henry Tudor. In this production there were also some modern references – the two princes in the tower were sulky teens sporting headphones, while Richard’s hired thugs presented themselves as street wise gangsters. These small hat tips to the modern day were subtly done and received some good laughs.

Against the beautiful backdrop of the replica Globe Theatre, the performance was given just as it would have been in Shakespeare’s day, without microphones and depending solely on the power of the actor’s voice. The cast really knew how to draw in their audience – at times even making their audience the actual audience, to Richard’s coronation, for example.

As with all of Shakespeare’s plays, universal and timeless themes come through, such as the abuse of power and man’s journey into evil. If you think Shakespeare isn’t for you and you don’t see the point of pondering over all those footnotes, you really should think again. It is often said that everything you need to know is in Shakespeare – and really who could disagree? No one has ever managed to capture the good, the bad, the ugly, the wise and unwise quite like the Bard, and no one has ever managed to surpass his beauty and mastery over the English language.

The library has many resources to help you start or continue your journey through Shakespeare’s oeuvre including copies of his works and free to borrow DVDS of his plays. If you can’t make it to the Pop-up Globe, locally our own Court Theatre often has a Shakespeare production on the way, and there is also Top Dog’s open air theatre to keep an eye out for.

Further reading

• Staff Picks list – Shakespeare Retellings, best movie adaptations and even a little poetry.
• Shakespeare’s Richard III
• Richard III – biographies

A fire, a mysterious lady and a singed parrot

Today we know the Ilam Homestead as the University of Canterbury’s staff club and for its connections to the Parker-Hulme case, but another house existed on the site and burnt down in 1910.

The old Ilam Homestead destroyed by fire in 1910, File Reference CCL-KPCD12-IMG0019

This wooden house was built in the 1850s for the Hon. J. C. Watts Russell, a prominent early settler. It changed hands several times and in 1910 was owned by the Countess Reina Ruys Fortega de Fresnedo. The Free Lance newspaper of 5 October 1907 tells us that she is a lady of ‘Spanish birth and estates’ and that she is a ‘countess by her own inheritance’. In 1907 she was making her first trip to the colonies, having done much travelling in the Old World.

The Countess is something of a mysterious figure and I haven’t (so far) been able to find out much about her, such as where she came from and what happened to her after the fire. However, the New Zealand Truth, a good old fashioned scandal rag, reveals that she was sued by her gardener in early 1910 for non payment of wages. (What ever did we do before Papers Past?)

Headlines from A COUNTESS “COURTED”., NZ Truth, Issue 243, 19 February 1910

Reports on the Press and the Lyttelton Times, both on 23 August provide quite a lot of detail abut the fire. The Countess was away in Australia, leaving the caretaker, Mr H. J. Croker as the only occupant. He escaped, but rather stupidly went back in the retrieve his gold watch (do not do this!) Thankfully the house was insured (for £2000) but the contents – which included some splendid furniture, silverware, and a new piano and pianola – weren’t.

Fortunately the cats and dogs managed to save themselves, but sadly a number of guinea pigs and canaries were not so fortunate. There were also two caged parrots (or possibly cockatoos). The fire seems to have destroyed or melted the cage and one of the parrots didn’t make it, but the other one did, albeit in a singed condition.

The Press reports that the ‘origin of the conflagration is a mystery’ but the Lyttelton Times suggests that there could have been sinister motives afoot:

Mr Crocker states that his opinion that the fire was willfully started is strengthened by the fact that some months ago the Countess received an anonymous letter stating that she would see Ilam burnt down.

Might this possibly be a case of a disgruntled gardener? I’m presuming that there must have been some kind of inquest, but I’m yet to track that down…

Do you know anything more about this fire or the mysterious Countess Fresnedo?

Inside the Four Avenues – exhibition opens Wednesday 21 November, 5.30pm at Tūranga

Nearly eight years on, the yearning for a vibrant city centre still persists, but there is hope. Hope captured in the moments of collective celebration; the intimacy between two young students; the connection between friends and neighbours as they work, live and play – all within the boundaries of an inner city reinventing itself. In fact, more than hope, there is sense of quiet wonder and anticipation captured by Thomas Herman, Elise Williams and Summer Robson in the fourth and latest instalment of The Christchurch Documentary Project: Inside the Four Avenues, 2018.

Top images by Elise Williams. Bottom left image by Summer Robson. Bottom right image by Thomas Herman.

The Christchurch Documentary Project is a collaboration between Christchurch City Libraries and the University of Canterbury, School of Fine Arts. Internship positions are offered to photography students in their 3^rd or 4^th year of study with the brief to create a documentary photographic record of a Christchurch community. The work is then included in the Christchurch City Libraries Digital Heritage Collection.

To date, over 1000 images have been made of communities across our city; beginning with the Halswell Project in 2015, Edge of the East  in 2016, Bishopdale in 2017 and now the central city. Collectively these projects document the lives of Christchurch residents and the changing face of our communities as the city rebuilds and evolves after the Christchurch Earthquakes.

Come and celebrate with us as the exhibition for Inside the Four Avenues, 2018 launches at Tūranga on Wednesday 21 November 5:30pm.
The exhibition is on until 23 January 2019. It is outside the TSB Space, Hapori | Community, Level 1.

Sam Depree-Ludemann, Team Leader Spreydon Library

Armistice Day 2018: Remembering 100 Years Ago

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of November in 1918, the First World War – ‘The War to End All Wars’ – ended; this day is known as Armistice Day. The 11th of November 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of this day. 18,200 New Zealanders died and 41,300 were wounded. Let’s take this opportunity to remember the millions of people worldwide who lost their lives in the First World War, and remember how horrible this event was — in the hope that such large-scale war never happens again.

World War One was the first modern war that made use of modern advancements in technology and machinery. This led to wholesale destruction across greater Europe, Northern Africa, and areas of the Middle East that would sow the seeds for not only World War Two, but the years of conflict in various parts of the world to come. Working class people from all around the world were conscripted to fight in World War One, in what was almost certainly an invitation to go die on foreign soil for an empire.

In remembering the 100th anniversary of the end of The Great War, let’s remember the human cost of war, not just for the soldiers involved, but for entire communities, cities, and the generations that came after.

So at 11 a.m., on the 11th day, 11th month, let’s not glorify this tragedy, but remember the lives and generations lost to it.

Get involved with these events across Christchurch and Canterbury

• Armistice Day centenary People are invited to gather at the Bridge of Remembrance at 11am on Sunday to mark the centenary of the end of World War I. Read more at Newsline: Lest we forget: Armistice Day centenary
• Armistice Concert For Peace, Air Force Museum of New Zealand, 45 Harvard Ave: Sunday 11 November, 10:45am – 1pm
• Harewood WW1 Centenary Service, Harewood School, 721 Harewood Rd: Sunday 11 November, 10:15am – 11:15am 
• Akaroa Armistice Service, Akaroa Memorial, Rue Lavaud, Banks Peninsula: Sunday 11 November 2018, 10:50am
• Witch Hill Armistice Celebration, Witch Hill Memorial, Summit Road<, Banks Peninsula: Sunday 11 November 2018, 9:30am – 1:00pm
• Armistice Day Parade and Hall Opening, Lakeside Soldiers Memorial Hall 164 Harts Rd, Leeston, Canterbury: Friday 30 November 2018 10:30am – 12:30pm

At the Field of Remembrance in Cranmer Square, a field of white crosses marks the centenary of the Great War. 4389 crosses and one Star of David depict the heavy losses suffered by Canterbury families.

Nationwide Armistice Day events

• Send your message to the Armistice beacon
• Join the Roaring Chorus

You can see a full list of events across the country at the WW100 Armistice Day events website.

Crowd in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, celebrating Armistice Day. Head, Samuel Heath, d 1948 :Negatives. Ref: 1/1-007108-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22898377

Armistice Day and the First World War

Web pages

• Armistice Day
• First World War 1914 to 1918
• First World War digital collection
  Our digitised First World War resources includes diaries, letters, booklets, and memorabilia.

Just some of the resources on WW1 that Christchurch City Libraries has to offer on display at Spreydon Library.

Books

• From The Trenches: The Best of World War 1 ANZAC Writing: A collection of letters and other writings written by ANZAC soldiers during and about WW1
• The library also has heaps of wonderful books on World War 1 to borrow.

eResources

Britannica
Online and interactive version of Encyclopædia Britannica. All branches of knowledge are covered in this resource aimed at older students and adults. You will require a library membership to access:

• Remembrance Day: An Article on Remembrance Day, the British Public Holiday that has its origins in the original Armistice Day celebration in 1919.
• World War 1: The Britannica online article on World War 1

World Book

• World War 1: A good comprehensive overview of World War 1 and its background.

Armistice Day and the First World War resources for kids

Britannica Kids A great resource to help kids with homework and other school work.

• Remembrance Day: An Article on Remembrance day designed for kids.
• World War 1: The Britannica Kids article on World War 1

World Book Kids Online encyclopedia with short and easy to understand articles.

• Remembrance Day: World Book Kids’ article on Remembrance day

More Armistice Day and the First World War resources

Armistice Day is the last day of the Canterbury Museum exhibition Canterbury and World War One: Lives Lost, Lives Changed.

Canterbury Museum has launched an online version Canterbury and World War One: Lives Lost, Lives Changed.Canterbury Museum Acting Director Jennifer Storer says this will give visitors ongoing digital access to content and stories after the physical exhibition closes on Armistice Day, 11 November.

WW100 Infographic on World War 1
This is an interesting and easy to understand infographic that aims to prevent key information about WW1 in regards to its effect on New Zealand.

The New Zealand history page on Armistice Day, World War 1, and Māori and the First World War

Off with her head!

I recently read an article about Marie Antoinette’s jewels been auctioned, which got me thinking about how far back our newspaper archives go and I thought try Proquest Historical Newspapers which has The Guardian (1821-2003), The Observer (1791-2003); Irish Times (1859-2010); Weekly Irish Times (1876-1958). So I simply put in “Marie Antoinette” in the search terms to see what I would get, I then re-ordered my search so I got the oldest items first and voilà, there in my search results was the Trial of Marie Antoinette and the Execution of the Queen of France, all from 225 years ago.

Trial of the Queen

The Observer published this article about the trial and execution of Marie Antoinette about 10 days after her execution.
This article includes commentary of the day some transcription from the trial including –

On Tuesday morning at nine o’clock, she was conducted in a private coach by Henroit, Commandant of the National Force of Paris, to the Revolutionary Tribunal. The people lined the streets, through which she passed, and repeatedly exclaimed “Vive la Republique!” …

The Greffier read the Act of Accusation as follows:

Marie Antoinette, widow of Louis Capet, has, since her abode in France, been the scourge and the blood sucker of the French.

Read the full article: FRANCE. (1793, Oct 27). The Observer (1791- 1900)

Execution of the Queen

Here is some of the account of the execution:

Nothing like sorrow or pity for the Queen’s fate was shown by the people, who lined the streets, through which she had to pass. On her arrival at the place de la Revolution, she was helped out of the carriage, and ascended the scaffold with seeming composure. She was accompanied by a Priest, who discharged the office of Confessor, and gave her absolution,before she was fixed to the fatal machine. She was in a half-mourning dress, evidently not adjusted with much attention. Her hands were tied behind her back, she looked around, apparently without much terror; her body being then bent forward by the machine,the axe was let down, and at once separated the head from the body. After the head was displayed by the Executioner, three young woman were observed dipping their handkerchiefs in the streaming blood of the deceased Queen. They were taken into Custody.

Read the rest of the article: EXECUTION of the QUEEN OF FRANCE. (1793, Oct 27). The Observer (1791- 1900)

Before Tūranga – The Lyttelton Times

The third in a series of posts that looks at the history of the central Christchurch sites on which your new library, Tūranga, has been built.

Next to Cathedral Chambers/Hobbs’ Corner was the home of the Lyttelton Times and the Star.

The Lyttelton Times originally set up in Lyttelton with the printing press that arrived on the Charlotte Jane, one of the ‘first four ships’. They published their first paper 26 days after the printing press arrived in 1851 and the run continued till 1935. For a taste of the Times, we have digitised the first issue, 11 January 1851, for you to read online. Marvel at the adds for bullocks and unbroken fillies for sale and wonder at the plea by John Robert Godley, on behalf of the Canterbury Association, who were in desperate need of pickaxes and shovels.

While the headquarters started out in Lyttelton, the newspaper had an agency in Christchurch that sat around about the middle of Tūranga now. Here it is in 1859, facing Gloucester Street.

The Lyttelton Times agency showing the Gloucester Street frontage [1859]. File Reference CCL PhotoCD 8, IMG0041

The Lyttelton Times moved its headquarters to Christchurch in 1863, after their two-storey wooden building was finished in 1862. Here’s what it looked like, if you were peering through the trees on the Square in 1863:

The Lyttelton Times office showing the frontage to Cathedral Square. File Reference CCL PhotoCD 8, IMG0040

Come out from the trees and this is what it looked like, still facing the square:

The Lyttelton Times’ old premises [ca. 1885]. File Reference CCL PhotoCD 2, IMG0063

In the photo above, taken in 1885, you can see the flagstaff that was used to signal to the people of Christchurch when ships arrived in the port over the hills. If you knew the code, you could be in the Square and know that a brig was arriving from the North by the blue flag that would be waving at the head of the mast. Very handy if you knew which ship brought in the mail! It was an important spot in Christchurch for staying connected with the outside world.

On the right side of the photo is Warner’s hotel (where the Novotel is now) whose guests would complain about the noise of the printing press lasting long into the night (this wing of Warner’s was eventually demolished and replaced with a theatre (The Liberty, later The Savoy), the building intended to act as a buffer for sound and vibration. In later years the situation would be reversed. Following the demolition of the theatre, vacant space between the buildings became a beer garden for Warner’s hotel and bar, while the Times building by then had been converted to backpackers’ accommodation. Band performances and music in the beer garden were required to stop at a reasonable hour in order not to disturb the sleep of the guests in rooms next door. Later still, this wing of the building would be reinstated, and is now the only part of Warner’s that remains.

On the left in the above image is Cathedral Chambers. The taller building behind the Lyttelton Times was still part of the Lyttelton Times premises, which was added in 1884. While it looks fairly drab from behind, it’s pretty spectacular facing Gloucester Street. Here’s the handsome frontage (134-140 Gloucester St) in 1884:

The Lyttelton Times office showing the Gloucester Street frontage. File Reference CCL PhotoCD 8, IMG0039

Somewhat confusingly the building was home to 3 newspapers (the titles of which can be seen engraved into the front of the building): The Lyttelton Times, The Canterbury Times (a weekly started in 1865), and The Star (an evening paper started in 1868). All 3 papers were produced by the Lyttelton Times Company, and for different audiences and purposes.

You could also head down to the Lyttelton Times building to get things printed, just like you can do in Tūranga. We too can boast a large assortment of plain and fancy types, just like Ward and Reeves, the printers who worked from Lyttelton Times Office building.

Star, Issue 883, 27 March 1871

Well the Lyttelton Times, they kept a-changing, and by 1903 had grown into the majestic beast below, with an addition designed by the Luttrell Brothers on the Cathedral Square side becoming the first building in New Zealand to adopt the Chicago skyscraper style. It was also known as ‘gingerbread style’ or even ‘streaky bacon style’. You can see why looking at the colour pictures of it – it does have a kind of foody look to it. With Oamaru stone facings on a Post Chalmers bluestone base, it was the tallest building on the Square at the time it was built. Here’s the new building decorating its corner of the square in 1904, a black and white photograph from our collection and a pen and ink watercolour by Raymond Morris:

The Lyttelton Times’ new premises, 1903. File Reference CCL PhotoCD 2, IMG0062

Raymond Morris’s painting, ‘Lyttelton Times Building (1906) Identifier: qsr-object:214465, Creative Commons BY-NC 3.0.

The Lyttelton Times changed its name to the Christchurch Times in 1929, then stopped publishing in 1935 because the competition was too great. When it ended, it was the oldest newspaper in the country. The building was still used for newspapers though – New Zealand Newspapers Ltd, formerly the Lyttelton Times Company, kept publishing the evening Star-Sun, which had started as the Star in 1868. In 1958 the Star-Sun moved out of this building to a new location in Kilmore Street, and changed its name to the Christchurch Star.

Once all the newspapers had departed, the building was occupied by several different commercial tenants over the years, including The Record Joynt and the fondly remembered Atlantis Market, described by journalist Russell Brown as “a long-gone hippie emporium”. Before the 2011 earthquake, there was a Tandoori Palace restaurant on the ground floor and Base Backpackers above. On the Gloucester Street side, the ground floor was home to a number of restaurants including Samurai Bowl, O-cha Thai, and Le Pot Au Feu. By August that year the building would be demolished.

Lyttelton Times Building in 2008 by Lisa T, with the new portion of Warners Hotel under construction at right, via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.0

The connection of the site to Christchurch’s historical newspapers continues in Tūranga with our collection of back copies of local newspapers on microfilm, including the Lyttelton Times and the Star. Come and visit them on Tuakiri | Identity, Level 2.

Next week: The Coachman Inn

Further reading

• Round the Square: A History of Christchurch’s Cathedral Square
• Christchurch newspapers
• 134-140 Gloucester St New Zealand Historic Places Trust
• 56 Cathedral Square New Zealand Historic Places Trust
• Our pages about Early Christchurch
• About Tūranga, Christchurch’s central library