The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, is the seat of the Canterbury Regional Council (trading as Environment Canterbury) and host to the University of Canterbury.

Geography

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Canterbury is New Zealand's largest region, with an approximate area of 42,200 km². The region is bounded in the north by the Conway River and to the west by the Southern Alps. The southern boundary is the Waitaki River.

The area is commonly divided into North Canterbury (north of the Rakaia River), Mid Canterbury (from the Rakaia River to the Rangitata River) and South Canterbury (south of the Rangitata River). For many purposes South Canterbury is considered a separate region, centred on the city of Timaru.

When the current local government structure was introduced in 1989, Kaikoura District was part of the Nelson-Marlborough Region. That region was later abolished and replaced with 3 unitary authorities. Kaikoura was too small to function as an independent unitary authority and was moved under the jurisdiction of the Canterbury Regional Council. However Kaikoura remains part of Marlborough in the minds of many people.

Pre-European History

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1769 - 1850

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Colonisation

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In 1848 Edward Gibbon Wakefield and John Robert Godley established the Canterbury Association to plan a Church of England colony in New Zealand's South Island. The colony was to be based upon theories developed by Wakefield while in prison for eloping with a woman not-of-age.

Following 1850 the province developed, during this era the architect Benjamin Mountfort, as the first Provincial architect, designed many civic and ecclesiastical buildings in the Gothic Revival style.

The Province of Canterbury

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The Province of Canterbury was formed in 1853 following the passage of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 from the part of New Munster and covered both the east and west coasts of the South Island of New Zealand. On the east coast the province was bounded by the Hurunui River in the north and the Waitaki River in the south. The boundary on the west coast was largely undefined.

The capital of the Province of Canterbury was Christchurch and it was there the Provincial Council sat. Elections were held in 1853 for Superintendent and, later, for the 12 member council. These elections pre-dated any elected national assembly. The franchise was extended to men over the age of 21 who owned property in the province. The council first sat in temporary facilities but later the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings were completed in 1859 to house the council.

In 1868 the West Coast was separated from the Province with the formation of the County of Westland on the West Coast with the boundary line defined as the crest of the Southern Alps.

In the south the course of the Waitaki River was not known and disputes arose with the Province of Otago over pastoral leases in the inland high country. In 1956 the national government defined the boundary as the Ohau River to Lake Ohau and then a straight line to the summit of Mount Aspiring

In the 1860s South Canterbury made two bids to become separate province but this was rejected by the national government. Instead in 1867 the General Assembly created the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works which received a proportion of the Canterbury provincial land revenues and was authorised to maintain and build the Timaru harbour and local roads and bridges.

Superintendents

• 20 Jul 1853 - Oct 1857 James Edward Fitzgerald (b. 1818 - d. 1896)
• 24 Oct 1857 - Feb 1863 William Sefton Moorhouse (1st time) (b. 1825 - d. 1881)
• Mar 1863 - May 1866 Samuel Bealey (b. 1821 - d. 1909)
• 30 May 1866 - May 1868 William Sefton Moorhouse (2nd time) (s.a.)
• 22 May 1868 - 1 Jan 1877 William Rolleston (b. 1831 - d. 1903)

Wine regions of Canterbury

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Canterbury has two major areas of viticulture. These are Waipara and the area around Christchurch, typically labelled merely Canterbury. Recently there have been vintages from plantings from Kurow further to the south.

White wine has typically predominated in Canterbury from Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and to a lesser extent Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Pinot Noir has had some success in the province particularly in Waipara.

Very recently wine has been produced in Kurow.

Terminology

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People in New Zealand commonly refer to people from the Canterbury region as Cantabrians, a term also used for people from Cantabria, although in most contexts this is unlikely to produce confusion. People from the city of Canterbury in England refer to themselves as Cantuarians.

Sources

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• rulers.org
• An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, 1966
• Christchurch City Council

Canterbury, New Zealand | Territorial Authorities of New Zealand

Canterbury (Neuseeland) | Canterbury (Nuova Zelanda) | Canterbury (regio)