We were privileged to host Christchurch East School for our first two-day school in Tūranga, a programme called ‘Smart’ City. Christchurch is the City Of Opportunity where new, advanced technology is helping the city use resources more efficiently.
This was the focus of our programme, looking specifically at the advanced technology in the library. Jack Hartley, the Operations Support Coordinator, gave Christchurch East students an in-depth, behind the scenes tour to discuss the range of sensors used within the building.
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Little did we know there was an enormous aquifer underneath the site heating and cooling the building, or that the solar panels angle with the sun to adjust the temperatures and automate the blinds.
Our students used Microbit electronics to create their own sensors. They then filmed each floor using a 360 degree camera to capture the variety of sensors used. The footage collected was then uploaded as a virtual tour.
The fourth in a series of posts that looks at the history of the central Christchurch sites on which your new library, Tūranga, has been built.
If you were standing in front of the spot now taken up by Tūranga’s Goods Entrance on Gloucester Street on the evening of 36 November 1872 you would have been looking across at a paddock which was, at that time, playing host to a circus.
Even with all the post-demo, gravel-strewn sections in central Christchurch today, it’s still strange to think of Gloucester Street as “paddocky”. But indeed it was, during this part of its history.
Gloucester Street looking paddocky, 6 April 1864, photograph by Alfred Charles Barker. Accession number 1949.148.771, CC BY-NC 4.0
A hotel then known as The Criterion had been built in such a paddock 9 years earlier in 1863 by someone named B. Jones. Not much is known about the first proprietor of The Criterion but more is known about their successor – by July 1864 The Criterion Hotel was under the management of local hotelier John “Jack” Coker.
Coker by this time had already declared his first (of several) bankruptcies, and had started a hotel on Cathedral Square which would later become Warner’s. He cut quite the figure about town, dressing in close-fitting suits, “top boots” and carrying a hunting crop, and would be involved with several landmark hotels in Christchurch, including, naturally, Coker’s Hotel on Manchester Street. Coker’s tenure didn’t last long. By 1866 the Criterion was in the hands of a Sgt. John Edward Darby.
The Criterion would have a run of landlords through to the turn of the century, with none lasting more that a few years (Darby fell into coma after a drunken and impromptu New Year’s Eve boxing match at Coker’s Music Hall and died a few days later in January 1867, having lost The Criterion several months earlier). Another landlord (and former police officer) Robert Wallace would move on from The Criterion only to die 5 years later from injuries sustained during a wrestling match, in 1888. It seems 19th century hotel-keeping appealed to a risk-taking sort of gent.
In 1892 William Burnip, an experienced hotelier, took over The Criterion renaming it, somewhat unimaginatively, “The New Criterion”. By 1902 the state of the two-storey wooden building was such that a continuation of the license (due for renewal in June) would only be granted if building plans for a new premises were submitted in March of that year.
Criterion Hotel, Gloucester Street, Christchurch [1902] This building was condemned by the Licensing Committee in 1902 and rebuilt. File Reference CCL PhotoCD 10, IMG0025In early February of that year Burnip and his wife woke to find the hotel storeroom ablaze. No lives were lost but the hotel was gutted. The total insurance on the building and furniture was £1350, over $240,000 in today’s money. Whether there was a connection is anyone’s guess, but some papers in their coverage of the fire seem to have placed both sets of facts together in a pointed way that suggests the question was being asked, though not directly.
The new New Criterion rose like a phoenix from the ashes. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 2 September 1902. The rebuilt Criterion was in stone and brick in a “Renaissance Revival” style and was built by W. H. Bowen. It was designed by Joseph Clarke Maddison, a prominent Christchurch architect who designed several hotels in the city including Warner’s Hotel, The Clarendon, and further east the Lancaster Park Hotel. One of his best known designs is the Government Buildings in Cathedral Square.
New Criterion Hotel, Gloucester Street, Christchurch, with a band standing outside. Ref: PAColl-5471-003. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22798264
Bowen had presented Burnip with a silver trowel by way of commemoration at the laying of the foundation stone but he may have wished it were a silver spoon instead. Due to the insurance company disputing the extent of the fire damage Burnip would receive less than half the insured amount and by 1904 he was no longer the sole licensee, having taken on Messrs Fox and Samson as partners. By 1906 he had passed the splendid new Criterion on to other hands. And that’s when the real fun started.
A couple by the name of Green took on the New Criterion and would go on to scandalise Christchurch.
Jessie Green was the daughter of Tuapeka hotelkeeper Daniel Bannatyne and had earlier run the Douglas Hotel in Dunedin with her first husband Frank Guinness who passed away in 1895. With second husband John George Green she took over the running of the New Criterion and by the following year their conduct had become a scandal that was reported up and down the country.
The New Zealand International Exhibition of 1906-1907 took place in Hagley Park and brought a great many visitors to the city (2 million people visited the Exhibition, though the population of New Zealand was only 1 million at the time). Perhaps it was this influx of visitors, some of whom may have been more inclined to “cut loose” while away from home, that encouraged Mrs Green in her “questionable” management of the hotel bar and staff.
Headline from NZ Truth, Issue 118, 21 September 1907
Rumours had been circulating for months about the “going ons” at the hotel and in September 1907 the Christchurch Licensing Committee heard evidence from a succession of barmaids – evidence that prompted the New Zealand Truth to speculate in its headline “LOW DOWN BROTHEL OR PUBLIC HOUSE“. The New Zealand Herald’s coverage was positively low-key by comparison preferring to distill the story to its main, eye-catching components with the simple declaration, “GIRLS AND CHAMPAGNE“.
Mrs Green, it would seem, employed more barmaids than was usual (seven or eight at a time!) and encouraged them to be “shouted” champagne by the customers. This of course lead to better takings, but also in some circumstances, the female staff were getting drunk and “retiring” to their rooms where they would also receive “visitors”. What went on behind closed doors nobody was indelicate enough to say outright but there was a strong suggestion of “indecency”.
As always the New Zealand Truth is a treasure trove of descriptive language about the whole affair, saying of the landlady,
…it would appear that Mrs Green, wife of the licensee, John George Green, is very partial to customers who plank down the boodle and shout fizz.
And of her husband, who seemed not to have much involvement in the running of the hotel, that he must either have been blind or “a consummate ass who shouldn’t have charge of a fruit-barrow”.
Unsurprisingly the Licensing Committee did not renew the Greens’ license and six months later they moved to Tauranga. In addition, all the barmaids (whether there was any suggestion they had participated in the “champagne shouting” or not) were fired, Blenheim native Henry Macartney became the proprietor, and the hotel was re-named The Dominion. When Macartney too moved on in 1908, the Marlborough Express was at pains to point out that “under his control the Dominion Hotel ranked as one of the best conducted in the city”, such was the need to distance an upstanding publican from the Criterion scandal.
Still, a hotel is a hotel and The Dominion had its share of dramas too, such as fires and burglaries. And in 1930 some alterations were made to the building by Francis Willis (architect).
In 1980 it was refurbished and reopened as The Coachman Inn, the name possibly a nod to Bruce & Coes, a passenger and parcel service, who in the 1860s had their stables and booking office next door. Later the upstairs bar would become a separate establishment operating as The Loft and specialising in Irish music (in the 1990s changing hands and becoming The Finbar), while downstairs the restaurant would be known as Excalibur’s Theatre Restaurant featuring players like local theatre legend Elizabeth Moody.
144 Gloucester Street ,Coachman Inn by Kete Site Admin is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 NZ License
In the mid-1990s the Coachman was threatened with demolition but would eventually be acquired by Christchurch City Council due to the building’s heritage values, and would later become a protected building.
At the time of the earthquakes, the Coachman Inn operated as backpacker accommodation and was home, on its ground floor, to Fuji Japanese Restaurant.
Following the Boxing Day 2010 aftershock, the building was red-stickered, partly because a section of the parapet on the Britten building (105 Worcester St) had collapsed causing damage. The remaining piece of it was also a fall hazard. Part of the parapet of the Coachman had also collapsed on top of the roof of a smaller building at 146 Gloucester Street where The Press had its circulation and marketing teams. The Coachman was close to reopening when the 22 February 2011 quake damaged it beyond repair. It was demolished in July 2011.
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, IMG0041The 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, IMG0063In 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, IMG0039Somewhat 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.
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, IMG0062Raymond 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.
Gavin Bishop at the launch of his new book Cook’s Cook, October 2018, Tūranga
A large audience heard how Bishop spent several years researching for the book, which he says he really enjoyed, but was overwhelmed by the information he found.
One thing that struck him was the number of books that contradicted each other.
His challenge was how to find his own unique angle on the Endeavour story. As he looked through the names of the crew on the boat and their occupations, he began to wonder about the lesser-known members on board and was particularly struck by their curiously one-handed cook, John Thompson.
The story of the crew’s journey is told through food “as a point of context,” explains Bishop, with the cook as narrator. And, as his publisher Julia Marshall from Gecko Press notes “you can tell so many different stories through food—everything is here: culture, class, adventure, humour and much more.”
The Endeavour was originally the collier Earl of Pembroke and was designed for a crew of just 16 but when it sailed as the Endeavour it had 94 crew on board, packed in like sardines. And the meals were prepared on the mess deck where 74 men slept!
The cooking process on the Endeavour seemed to involve throwing everything together in a pot or bag and boiling it. Bishop says the meat became so rank that it was towed in a net behind the boat to soften it up and every second day was a vegetarian day consisting of Pease Porridge. To avoid scurvy, the cook served up stinky German cabbage. But all was not awful for the men, as it was noted how much booze was aboard the ship.
The book contains a little story about each of the countries the Endeavour visited and explains some of the names of the recipes featured such as Poor Knights Pudding, Stingray Soup, Kangaroo Stew, Dog and Breadfruit Stew and Albatross Stew “which you wouldn’t get away with today.” There were goats, dogs, pigs, sheep, cats and chickens on board. And when the ship crossed the equator everyone aboard, including the cats, were apparently tied to a chair and dipped into the water 3 times in an equator crossing ritual.
Bishop told his audience that there are two stories about the Endeavour that you won’t find anywhere else except in his book. One was told by Pete Beech, whose family was there in Picton when the Endeavour came with Cook, and tells the story of how a Māori woman was tricked into giving her taonga away for a bag of sugar. And the second story comes from an obscure poem that mentions a slave named Dalton on board who was a servant of botanist Joseph Banks. Like the Endeavour, not a centimetre of space in Bishop’s book was wasted, he says, and even the endpapers are full of illustrated facts.
At the book launch, Gecko Press were also celebrating 10 years of working with Bishop, starting with his collaboration for Joy Cowley in illustrating their successful Snake & Lizard. Marshall said what a treat it is working with Bishop: “Gavin is a true artist and very knowledgeable.” Gavin’s other book published in the past year is the illustratively stunning Aotearoa: The New Zealand Story.
Join international award-winning writer and illustrator Gavin Bishop and invited guests as we explore the Our Painted Stories exhibition and have a conversation about how seeing ourselves and our city in children’s literature helps grow a sense of identity. Wednesday 24th October 5:30-6:30pm Tūranga
Free, no bookings required Created in partnership with the Painted Stories Trust.
While visiting Tūranga, Gavin was delighted to discover a picture of his family on our Discovery Wall that even he didn’t have a copy of.
Gavin Bishop, with his youngest daughter Alexandra and his book “Chicken Licken”, 8 June 1984, Reference ID: CCL-StarP-00740A
It is auspicious that just as Gavin Bishop was the first author to have a book launched at the old central library, he is also the first author to launch a book in the new library, Tūranga, 36 years later.
18 September 1982 Gavin Bishop, with his book “Mr Fox” which was the first book to be launched at the Canterbury Public Library on the corner of Gloucester Street and Oxford Terrace. Reference ID: CCL-StarP-00739A
Tūranga opened on Friday 12 October 2018. We did a bit of a historical re-enactment with the Tūranga staff.
Back in 1982, staff were moving into their fab new digs on Gloucester Street. In 2013, librarians were clearing out stuff from their old workplaces in the Central Library. In 2018, Tūranga staff were excited about opening to the public.
Tūranga – your new central library – opens this weekend! We’ve got music from The Breeze and More FM, food trucks, and a walk-through of five floors filled with activities, new technology, and, of course, books!
There’s plenty more exciting things happening in the city so we’ve made a list of other places for you to check out to ensure that you have an awesome weekend.
Christchurch Art Gallery
Check out Wall to Wall a special exhibition where you’re invited to paint on the walls. That’s right! You can paint on the walls! All materials are provided so head on down and add your mark. The Yellow Moon exhibition, where all the art is yellow, is also a lot of fun and crocheters are invited to add a ‘crater’ to the yarn moon. Those driving in the city will be interested to know that the Art Gallery carpark has the first hour free.
Just a short walk from the library you’ll find this amazing playground on the banks of the Avon River. The BBQ and picnic area is perfect for a special lunch out. The playground features a huge jungle gym, several slides, and a flying fox big enough for grown-ups. Down by the river you might even spot an eel! Keep an eye out for the swallows and fantails darting around the riverbank.
Little Andromeda
Right across from the library you’ll find Little Andromeda, a pop-up venue hosting 75+ shows during October and November. The line-up includes live music, theatre, comedy, and dance. Something for everyone! Visit any time – there’s lot of free and reasonably priced shows almost every afternoon and evening. There’s food trucks in the courtyard which makes it a beautiful spot to just hang out. Little Andromeda will be holding events as part of FoUNd: Festival of the (Un)dead and FESTA.
New Regent Street
Fiksate Studio and Gallery is a street art and urban contemporary gallery. The Christchurch Zine Library is currently on display so pop-in and have a browse. Want to know more about zines? Check out our guide to zines in Christchurch.
Rollickin’ Gelato is handily located in both New Regent Street and the Arts Centre! Delicious and ever-changing flavours, plus some truly indulgent desserts. Dairy-free options available.
For something a bit different, give Crate Escape a go. You and your friends are locked in a room full of hidden clues and puzzles. Your goal is to solve all the puzzles within an hour and escape!
BNZ Centre
If you’re using the Lichfield Street Carpark (first hour free), take the Plymouth Lane exit and you’ll pop out onto Cashel Street and find the BNZ Centre. These laneways offer a host of lunch options. Our top pick is Wok It To Me and their bubble waffles. You’ll also find Scorpio Books here for when you just can’t wait for that library hold!
The Crossing
If you’re planning on parking at the Crossing ($2 for 2 hours) have a look around before you head to the library. The Crossing is home to several eateries such as Cookai – whose sushi train is pretty exciting – and Piki Poke. The Crossing is also a fashion hub where you’ll find brands like Witchery and Country Road. Makeup lovers will enjoy the NYX store and are only a short walk from Mecca Maxima and Ballentyne’s.
EntX
Christchurch’s new entertainment centre features a floor of eateries with unique dining areas and a state-of-the-art Hoyt’s cinemas upstairs. Hoyts Entx has comfy recliner chairs in all cinemas as well as Xtremescreen and LUX options for the serious movie-goer.
If you enjoy this dining style, visit Little High Eatery. It’s across the road from Alice Cinemas giving you another dinner-and-a-movie option!
Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities
Classics and History fans will love the Teece Museum at the Arts Centre. The current exhibition, ‘Beyond the Grave’, explores the subject of death in ancient Greek and Roman culture through the items they left behind. It may be a little museum but the artefacts are always wonderfully presented and there’s activities to keep younger visitors busy. The large mosaic of a dog is sure to delight! For those keen to know more about Ancient Rome and Greece, head along to the free talks being held as part of Beca Heritage Week and FESTA.
Arts Centre
On Saturday 13th October, the Monster Spring Clean Market will be in Market Square and The Gym from 9am to 2pm. The stallholders are having a spring clean of their craft cupboards and studios so expect to find one-off items, craft supplies, vintage treasures, and discounted seconds.
Tūranga opens at 1pm Friday 12 October. Check out your stunning new central library located at 60 Cathedral Square. There is extra fun happening over the opening weekend. On Friday and Saturday, The Breeze and More FM will be on site with special activities, giveaways, and music. Tūranga’s new Foundation Café, as well as food trucks, will be there.
Tūranga will be open from 1pm to 8pm on Friday 12 October, and from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October. It’s going to be busy, so make sure to plan your visit ahead of time.
Here are some of the special events and exhibitions you can enjoy over the opening weekend:
TOURS
There will be two walk-through options for visitors during the opening weekend. The full tour will take you through all five floors of Tūranga and will take up to 45 minutes to complete. The second, shorter tour will cover the ground and first floors only and will take around 15 minutes to complete. Both tours will include stairs, if you are in a wheelchair or have mobility issues, please advise staff when you arrive.
For the opening weekend, access to Tūranga will be from Cathedral Square only. Due to the expected high demand there will be a queue system in place with estimated queue times provided onsite. Please follow the directions of staff and signs.
Share the architectural design journey of your new central library – a 21st century centre of knowledge and exploration. A combined presentation from Carsten Auer (Architectus) and Morten Schmidt (Schmidt Hammer Lassen, Denmark) and the Christchurch City Libraries team. Free, no bookings required.
Celebrate the opening of Tūranga with author Gareth Ward. Gareth is winning awards and accolades for his debut novel The Traitor and the Thief, a rip-roaring, young-adult Steampunk adventure. He won the 2016 Storylines Tessa Duder Award,the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Awards for Best Youth Novel and Best New Talent, a 2018 Storylines Notable Book Award and was a finalist this year in two categories at The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. A.k.a the Great Wardini, Gareth is also a magician, hypnotist, storyteller and bookseller. He has worked as a Royal Marine Commando, Police Officer, Evil Magician and Zombie. Free, no bookings required.This event is generously sponsored by Gale.
Creative writing is both inspiring and challenging. In this workshop with award-winning author Gareth Ward, you will learn how to develop character, voice, dialogue, plot, find your inner creative spark and more. Free, spaces limited, bookings required. This event is generously sponsored by Gale.
Our Painted Stories Friday 12 October 2018 to Thursday 17 January 2019, Southbase Gallery, Tuakiri | Identity, Level 2
The Our Painted Stories exhibition explores the presence and importance of local Canterbury settings in children’s books and celebrates the power of visual storytelling. Featuring original illustrations from books by Margaret Mahy and Gavin Bishop. Created in partnership with the Painted Stories Trust. Free, no bookings required.
Experience the wonderful artworks created by illustrators of much-loved New Zealand children’s books. A digital exhibition created in partnership with the Painted Stories Trust. Free, no bookings required.
Re:ACTIVATE Friday 12 October to Saturday 17 November
Hapori | Community, Level 1
An exhibition featuring entries from aspiring artists and designers under the age of 18, who responded to the opportunity to have their public artwork vision become a reality and part of the 2018 SCAPE Public Art Season.
MORE TŪRANGA EVENTS
There are tonnes more neat things happening at Tūranga; here is a sampling:
The importance of identity Gavin Bishop and other guests talk about the Our Painted Stories exhibition. Wednesday 24 October 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Illustrating books for children: The inside story An evening talk, with lots of images, covering the world of illustrating books for children, through the eyes of Jenny Cooper, one of New Zealand’s most experienced and successful illustrators. Tuesday 30 October 5.30pm to 6.30pm
It was a chilly, damp, blustery and all-over a very Christchurch kind of day on Friday. Sheltered in the foyer of the Piano was a small and well-wrapped group of people, both long-term locals and people visiting just for the weekend, waiting for our 90 minute tour of the central city with Joseph Hullen (Ngāi Tūāhuriri/Ngāti Hinematua). I was really looking forward to it – I love finding out the stories behind a place, how human histories are represented in art and design. Joseph, and Ōtautahi – did not disappoint. The work that Matapopore has put into Ōtautahi Christchurch is incredible.
We started the tour in Victoria Square, near the site of Puari, a Waitaha Pā. The square was later known as Market Square after colonial settlement, and Joseph talked about the European design of the square and how it’s a bit… higgledy-piggledy (my word there, not his). Queen Victoria faces toward a building that isn’t named after her, faces away from a street that is named after her, and the closest figure to her is James Cook, a man she shares no whakapapa with. Their life spans never even crossed over.
In 1857, Ngāi Tahu rangatira, Matiaha Tiramōrehu, wrote a letter to Queen Victoria calling “That the law be made one, that the commandments be made one, that the nation be made one, that the white skin be made just as equal with the dark skin.” These words, and more from his letter, now adorn the tall windows of the Hereford Street entrance of Te Hononga, the Christchurch Civic building. A lovely link between Victoria Square and the Council building.
Joseph Hullen surrounded by the group who attended Friday’s walking tour of the city, in front of Tūranga.
Our second stop was our very own Tūranga, the new Central Library. Joseph told us the story behind the naming of the building as he explained the artwork carved into the stone above our heads. Tūranga was the place that Ngāi Tahu ancestor Paikea landed in Aotearoa, after his journey from Hawaiki on the back of a whale. It is a fitting name for a library – a repository of knowledge – as Paikea bought with him all the wisdom and knowledge from his homeland. The art on the side of Tūranga represents migration stories, and the pathways that bring people from all over the world to our shores.
Another thing to note, when standing directly under Tūranga and looking up at the building, is how ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE it is! Phwoar!
Joseph Hullen speaks to the Kirihao – Resilience sculpture in the Pita Te Hore Centre
Next we ventured down toward Te Hononga on Hereford Street to see Matiaha Tiramōrehu’s words on the windows, and explored the art and the rain gardens across the road at the Pita Te Hore Centre, where the old King Edward Barracks used to stand. Before the barracks, it was at the edge of the Puari Pā site. Joseph drew our attention to the banks of the river and the fact that the side we stood on was higher ground than the other – a very sensible place to build as it was much safer when the river flooded!
There’s a lot to see in the Pita Te Hore Centre, the landscaped courtyard in the centre of the office buildings is gorgeous. The stormwater is all treated on site in the rain gardens which are full of native plants. A moving sculpture, called Pupu Harakiki, commemorates Lisa Willems who died in the 2011 earthquake. Another sculpture, Kirihau – Resilience, speaks of the kaha – the strength and resilience of the tuna – the long finned eels – to adapt to their environment and it acknowledge the durability and adaptation of the people who live here as well.
The tiles under our feet are laid out in a poutama pattern – it looks like a series of steps, climbing toward excellence. The pattern also represents the pathway that the local soldiers took during World War One – out of the King Edward Barracks, across the river, toward the train station, over to the port at Lyttelton, and off to war.
This Christchurch City Library tukutuku panel, Poutama, shares the design with the tiles of the Pita Te Hore centre. Image reference: Poutama, tukutuku panel-04.
We followed the same path as the soldiers across the river (although there is a bridge there now – the soldiers at the time trudged across the water), across the Bridge of Remembrance. In front of the bridge is one of the series of 13 Ngā Whāriki Manaaki – woven mats of welcome. This one, Maumahara, remembers the men and women fallen in battle. Images of poppies are woven into the pattern that represents the march to war, and the journey after death to the spiritual realm.
Joseph talks about the Maumahara – Remembrance tiles near the Bridge of Remembrance
Next we stepped down toward the river where little tuna were poking their heads out from beneath the steps, drawn out by Joseph’s tempting fingers on the water. This whole area was a mahinga kai – a food gathering place – rich with tuna. This started a discussion among the group about sustainability – you get heaps more protein and calories from an acre of tuna than you could ever get from an acre of cows, and farming tuna is much better for the environment than farming cows.
Onward we walked to Hine-Pāka, the Bus Interchange, where the artwork on the ground in front of the entrance understandably represents navigation. Joseph drew our attention upwards too. Ngā whetū, constellations used for navigation, adorn the ceiling.
From the exchange we looped up Manchester Street, where the high density housing in the East Frame is going in – and the greenery around it in the Rauora Park. There’s also a basketball court and climbing frame – places to play are a vital part of any residential area.
Finally we heading back past Tūranga for a group photo, then back to the Piano where members of the group thanked Joseph with a waiata, a moving close to a really brilliant tour.
Kids can win awesome prizes by filling out this special online survey. All you have to do is help name Tūranga’s intergalactic heroes, the Bookbots.
During the month of July, local primary and intermediate students can vote on their favourite names for the digital characters and go in the draw to win prizes, including a real-life interactive robot for their school, with training provided by PBTech, and a class workshop with Imagination Station. Bluetooth speakers from Spark and giant Bookbot wall decals are also up for grabs.
Voting is open to local primary and intermediate students until 31 July 2018 (limited to one entry per student).
Kia ora. We need your input to help plan exciting programmes at Tūranga. Tell us the programmes you would be most interested in attending and what times would suit you best. This survey will take about 5 minutes to complete.
Tūranga will be nearly 10,000 square metres in size, making it the largest public library in the South Island. It is part of a network of 19 community libraries, as well as a mobile library and a digital library. In 2017, the Christchurch City Libraries network hosted 3.7 million visits and issued almost 4.5 million items.
![The Lyttelton Times agency showing the Gloucester Street frontage [ca. 1859]](https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/09/20154030/IMG00411.jpg)
![Image: A black and white photos of the Lyttelton Times' premises [ca. 1885]](https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/09/20154951/IMG0063-670x495.jpg)
![Image: Black and white photo of the Lyttelton Times office showing the Gloucester Street frontage [1884]](https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/09/20155522/IMG0039.jpg)
![Canterbury Public Library staff outside the new library building on the corner of Gloucester Street and Oxford Terrace [1982] CCL PhotoCD 11, IMG0091 Previous Photo ~ Next Photo](https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/10/15165741/IMG00911-670x469.jpg)
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 
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