Introducing Mystery Class #4
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"Kia ora" and "Haere mai".
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| Our City of Christchurch or "Otautahi" | ||||
I'm Nicholas. I'm homeschooled in Christchurch, New Zealand (also known as "Otautahi"). Christchurch is in the province or region of Canterbury, and is the largest city on New Zealand's South Island, although with a population of just over 350,000 it isn't large by international standards. It is a great city to live and learn in though, so come with me as I take you on a quick guided tour.
"Kia ora" is a Maori greeting meaning hello, and "haere mai" is Maori for welcome. Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They arrived here from Polynesia some time before 1300. Christchurch appears to have been first settled by Maori about 1250. Ngai Tahu (the main "iwi" or tribe in the area today) arrived in the 1700’s. While you are in "Otautahi" (the Maori name for Christchurch) you’ll want to experience some aspects of Maori culture, since it is unique to New Zealand. I’ll take you to two specially created Maori villages. We can explore inside Maori whare, watch re-enactments of interactions between Maori and European society, experience how European arrival affected traditional Maori society, experience a "powhiri" (ceremonial welcome ceremony) and "wero" (a warrior challenge), sing "waiata", even take part in poi dances and the famous "haka". We’ll also get to eat food cooked in a "hangi" (where the food is cooked in the ground using hot rocks and steam).
In 1840 Ngai Tahu and other tribes, along with representatives of the British crown, signed the Treaty of Waitangi. Britain gained sovereignty of New Zealand but Maori ownership of their land and other treasures was recognized. Even though Ngai Tahu signed in 1840, the first permanent European settlers did not arrive in Canterbury until 1843 when the Deans brothers established their homestead.
In December 1850 four ships arrived from England with about 750 settlers from the Canterbury Association. Their aim was to create a settlement that looked just like one looked in England. By 1856, Christchurch was a city by Royal Charter, making it the oldest city in New Zealand. As we walk around the centre of Christchurch, we can still see many of the buildings that the early settlers built, including the Christ Church Cathedral, which was planned by the Canterbury Association in 1850 but was not completed until 1904! We can also view many sites of significance to early Maori.
The buildings in the Arts Centre were designed by architect Benjamin Mountfort. He designed many of Canterbury’s early buildings in this Gothic Revival style. Hopping on a tram is great way to explore the city and get to places like the Arts Centre, Canterbury Museum (which has great displays on Maori, early European settlers, and Antarctica) and the Art Gallery where we can check out works by New Zealand painters such as Rita Angus, Bill Hammond, Frances Hodgkins and many others. |
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| Our Nobel Prize Winner | ||||
One of the University of Canterbury’s (originally known as Canterbury College and then located in what is now the Arts Centre) most famous students is Sir Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealander, who was first in the world to split the atom. He explained radioactivity, worked out the structure of atoms and was the first to identify and name alpha, beta and gamma rays. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1908. Come and sit in the lecture theatre he studied at, and even see the den where he conducted his early experiments. If you have a lot of money to spend you might “see” Rutherford again – his image is on our $100 note!
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Birds and Wildlife |
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All visitors to New Zealand want to see a Kiwi. Kiwis are large, flightless birds found only in New Zealand. They are a national symbol, and New Zealanders are often nicknamed "kiwis". The female Kiwi lays the largest egg of any bird relative to its size.
Semi-nocturnal and shy, Kiwis (the birds) are very difficult to spot in the wild. Luckily, there are several places in Christchurch where we can see some of these birds . So adjust your eyes to the dark and keep quiet – we don’t want to scare them off! This particular Kiwi in the photo won't be easily scared, since it is one of several sculptures of native New Zealand fauna installed in the Botanic Gardens for the 2010 Festival of Flowers. The Tui is another bird found only in New Zealand. One of its most interesting features is actually two--specifically, the Tui has two voice boxes. With two voice boxes, the tui can make a wide variety of sounds.  Click image to enlarge While we are looking for Kiwis or Tuis, we’ll also see some other unique New Zealand wildlife. One such species is an endangered bird know as the Stitchbird. This bird is only found in sanctuaries.
The Stitchbird Another species you'd like is the inquisitive bird we call a Kea. The Kea is one of the world’s few alpine parrots. It is mainly olive green, but it also has orange-red underlings. And if you're ever near a Kea, hold on to your passport – a kea once stole a tourist’s passport!
A few other unique wildlife species you enjoy seeing in New Zealand are the endangered Saddleback, and the ancient Tuatara. The Tuatara is a reptile species which is older than dinosaurs. But lucky for all of us, and for the Tuatara, it is still going strong. (If we see a young tuatara, you may want to look twice at its eyes – it’s got three of them!)
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| Parks and Public Places in Christchurch | ||||
Christchurch is often called the “Garden City”, and not for nothing did it earn its name. The city has over 740 parks and public gardens, plus many streams and wetlands! There are plenty of opportunities to see unique New Zealand plants like the cabbage tree, flax, towering kahikatea (the tallest of New Zealand’s trees), the kowhai with its yellow flowers (the Maori word "kowhai" means yellow), and the pohutukawa, whose red flowers bloom in December, leading it to be called New Zealand’s Christmas tree.
The Botanic Gardens in the centre of the city were founded in 1863. The original oak is still standing. You might also want to walk in Riccarton Bush , where the Deans brothers established their homestead. It is a small remnant of what Christchurch used to look like before European settlement, and has kahikateas (the tallest tree in New Zealand) that are over 600 years old. Halswell Quarry supplied stone for many of Christchurch’s early buildings including the Canterbury museum. Now days it is a park, and we can picnic in the quarry while marvelling at the steep, jagged edges of rock, before taking a walk up and around the quarry. After that we can walk across and admire the Sister Cities Gardens with areas representing six of our sister cities. The Port Hills are another great place to walk – great views over the city, inland to the Southern Alps and out to sea in both directions. If you’re not keen on walking we can even take a gondola ride up and save our legs.
Kahikateas (the tallest tree in New Zealand) Punting down the Avon River, which winds through Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens, is very relaxing. If you’re feeling more energetic we can hire a rowboat or canoe instead.
Christchurch is an official gateway to Antarctica. Explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton both departed for Antarctica from Christchurch’s port of Lyttelton. Dogs and ponies for their expeditions were trained on Quail Island in the harbour. You can still see the dog kennels today. More gentle souls might prefer to get up close with penguins. Christchurch is too warm for those that live in Antarctica but you can see their small cousins, the Little Blue Penguins. Watch as these birds (which are living in captivity because they have serious injuries sustained in the wild) dive into the water, swim around for a while, and the come up dripping wet and triumphant, with a fish for their supper.
The Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott died shortly after reaching the South Pole. This statue was made by his widow. As New Zealand is an island nation, there are a lot of beaches, and most New Zealanders enjoy the beach. When you are in Christchurch you will want to go to either Sumner or New Brighton beaches. When it is hot and sunny, there is nothing more refreshing than plunging head first into ice-cold water. Afterwards you can sunbathe, swim some more, or even build a giant sand fort. Then, enjoy the usual Kiwi beach-meal of fish and chips followed by ice-cream! If you are here for Guy Fawkes (5 November) you can watch the fireworks set off at New Brighton pier. These are truly spectacular!
Before you leave you’ll want to catch a game of rugby, which is often called New Zealand’s national sport. The All-Blacks, the national team, are one of the top teams in the world and we hope they’ll win the Rugby World Cup which is being held in New Zealand next year. Our local team, the Crusaders, have won the Super rugby competition 7 times out of 14. This is impressive because teams from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand compete for the honours. Let’s hope they will win their match when you come to watch them play. |
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| Daytrips, a Few Good Books, and then Dessert | ||||
If you have the time we might be able to take several day trips out of Christchurch. Perhaps you’d like to visit the French settlement of Ankara, watch whales at Kaikoura, go bush walking or mountain biking in Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps, or maybe you’d rather have a relaxing soak in the hot pools at Hanmer Springs.
Once you are back home I recommend you go to your bookstore or library to find books written by Margaret Mahy. She used to be the Children’s librarian right here in Christchurch and has gone on to become a world famous author. She even won the Hans Christian Anderson Award, which is like a Nobel Prize for children’s literature! She’s written for preschoolers as well as young adults so, no matter what your age, you’ll really enjoy her books and poems, such as Down the Back of the Chair. Her works have been translated into at least 15 languages including German, Afrikaans, Russian, Chinese, and even Catalan and Icelandic! No matter where you come from, you should find a Margaret Mahy book in your language. The bronze bust of Margaret Mahy is part of the Twelve Local Heroes project. We can see all the sculptures in this project just outside the Arts Centre. Mahy was honoured for giving “the gift of imagination”. As you read your book you might want to eat a slice of pavlova. The pavlova is a classic Kiwi dessert resembling a giant meringue, only it’s soft in the centre as well as being crispy on the outside. The pavlova was created by a New Zealand chef in 1926 and named after the Russian dancer Anna Pavlova who was performing here at the time. Here is a recipe so you can make your own.
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| "Haere ra" and "ka kite ano!" | ||||
Sadly, it is now time for us to say "haere ra" (farewell) and "ka kite ano" (see you again). We hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to Christchurch, New Zealand. If you’ve got any comments or questions please write to us. |
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