Where is the Statue of Apollo Now?

"Yesterday one of the largest blooks of stone from any of the local quarries was delivered at Mr D. Reese's yard, St Asaph Street west, from the White Rock quarries. The stone, which is 10 feet 4 inches by 4 feet 1 inch by 2 feet 4 inches, is to be carved into a figure of Apollo, to be placed on the pediment of Messrs Milner and Thompson's new music warehouse, now in course of erection in High street."

The Star, 27 February, 1883.

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"The elevation of the stone figure of Apollo to the pediment of Messrs Milner and Thompson's new music warehouse was the occasion of some excitement, and caused a considerable crowd to collect in front of the building this afternoon. In order to provide against the musical divinity suffering any personal injury during the ascent he was enclosed in a sort of cage, and protected by swathing bands of canvas. The figure was successfully hoisted and lowered into position about 2.30 p.m."

The Star, 16 April 1883

In 1874 Robert Henry Thompson (1835-1915) and Benjamin Milner established the Canterbury Music Depot on the north-east corner of High & Cashel Streets.

Manufacturers and Importers of Pianos and Organs and General Musical Warehousemen, they prospered to the extent that nine years later they were able to erect a three storey stone building next door. For the pediment of their new premises they commissioned a statue of Apollo, the god of music from classical antiquity.


The business continued to expand and in 1895 moved to much larger premises on the corner of Bedford Row and Manchester Streets (that building, next to the former Majestic Theatre, barely survives in a derelict condition, behind a 1930s facade).

It's likely that the Apollo statue was moved with the company, but was not placed on the pediment of the newer showrooms. The circa 1930 photograph below shows Milner and. Thompson's 1883 building, with the statue removed, occupied by the photographic supplier and chemist Wallace and Company.


By the 1980s the High Street building had fallen prey to the Southland Building Society. Below: stripped of its cornice and some of the architectural ornamentation, the stone facade was painted in garish colours.


Surviving into its third century, the old building is currently the premises of Quest, purveyors of lifestyle attire and accessories for those of the alipne persuasions.


Thanks to Sarndra for asking the question, for which the above is the answer.

Recent Photographic Acquisitions

Some previosly unpublished, restored and geo-tagged images of old Christchurch that have recently been added to the archive.


An 1883 northery aspect of Colombo Street from near the northwest corner of Cashel Street. The view is across The Bottleneck at the junction with Hereford and High Streets. To the far Left are the premises of the Confectioner Thomas Gee, who would later occupy the northeast corner of Colombo Street at Cathedral Square as the Broadway Tea Rooms.

This is a circa 1877 photograph of the Botanic Gardens on Rolleston Avenue. Taken from near the main gates of the gardens, it is a southerly view towards the 1866 South Lodge, home of the Botanic Garden's first Curator John Francis Armstrong (1840-1902). The lodge was replaced by the extant Curator's House in 1919. Beyond it can be seen the early buildings of the Christchurch Hospital.

A circa 1875 view of the 1858 Ohinetahi homestead at Allandale, Governors Bay on Lyttelton Harbour. Built by Thomas Henry Potts (1824-1888), it is the home of the Architect Sir Miles Warren in 2008.

A circa 1875 southeasterly view of the 1859 water mill, situated where the Hereford Street bridge on the Avon River now stands. The Mill was demolished in 1897.

A pair of photographs depicting St Michael's Church and Vicarage on Oxford Terrace at the junction of Lichfield and Durham Streets. The circa 1885 photographs are attributed to Alfred V. Gadd (1833-1910), whose London Portrait Gallery was active from 1876 to 1893.

A part of the photograph showing the winter scene was published in Gwenda Turner's 1999 book Christchurch - An Enchanted Journey Through the Garden City.

An elevated northeasterly view from the tower of Ward's Brewery on Fitzgerald Avenue. Taken about 1885, it includes Avonside Drive and River Road. To the lower Right foreground is the extant 1852 Englefield Lodge (the city's oldest house). This photograph currently forms the Right hand end of an eight photograph panorama from the brewery tower, which will be published when the missing two photographs have been located.

Known as the Ilam homestead, this huge house began life as a pair of joined kit set houses bought from England in 1858 by John Charles Watts Russell, J. P. (1826-75). Originally situated on a fifty acre rural block between Fendalton Road and the Deans farm, two branches of the Waimairi stream passed through the ten acres of gardens (below).

In 1866 John Russell sold most of his property and returned to England, He came back to Christchurch in 1871, where he died four years later aged 49 years and is buried in St Peter's Churchyard at Upper Riccarton.

Mrs Russell subsequently married A. R. Creyke and the Ilam land was subdivided in 1880. Later owners of the property included Leonard Harper, "Ready Money" Robinson, Patrick Campbell and G. D. Greenwood, but what had been the largest private residence in Canterbury was destroyed by fire in August, 1910. 

Edgar Stead rebuilt the house in 1914 and also developed a renowned Azalea and Rhododendron garden. Stead sold the property to the University of Canterbury and his home is now the University's Staff Club.

Bonnington House Restoration

Begun in December 2006 the restoration by the KPI Rothschild Property Group of the 1883 Bonnington House on Christchurch's High Street is nearing completion.

George Bonnington (1836-1901) opened his first Chemist shop in 1854, the pharmacy closed 120 years later, but more than a century and a half after its invention Bonnington's Irish Moss Cough Mixture is still manufactured by the Glaxo Smith Kline company.

This is an image of the interpretive display prepared by Canterbury Heritage for the foyer of the restored building.

Satellite view of the building's location