Canterbury Photo of the Year Nomination

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Autumn Dawn panorama of the city by Craig of Christchurch.

Canterbury Photographic Excellence 2008 Nomination.

Humphrey Lyttelton 1921-2008

We mark the passing of Humphrey Lyttelton, most distinguished of the descendants of the 4th Baron Lyttelton (1817–1876), chairman the Canterbury Association and after whom the principal port of the province is named.

Grandson of the 6th Baron Lyttelton and son of the Hon George William Lyttelton (1883-1962), Humph was the cousin of Lord Cobham, Governor General of New Zealand (1957-1962).

Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton, trumpeter, clarinettist, bandleader, broadcaster, writer, journalist and calligrapher: born Eton, Berkshire 23 May 1921; cartoonist, Daily Mail 1949-53; chairman, I’m Sorry I Haven’t Clue 1972-2008; married 1948 Pat Braithwaite (one daughter; marriage dissolved 1952), 1952 Jill Richardson (died 2006; two sons, one daughter); died Barnet, Hertfordshire 25 April 2008.

Quote: "As we journey through life, discarding baggage along the way, we should keep an iron grip, to the very end, on the capacity for silliness. It preserves the soul from desiccation.”

http://www.humphreylyttelton.com/

Historic Buildings to be Demolished

A Christchurch City Council proposal to buy the century-old farm buildings at Mount Magdala, near Halswell, and save them from demolition has been rejected by councillors.

Developer Aidanfield Holdings Ltd has permission to demolish four of the five historic farm buildings to make way for a new housing development, but has not applied to demolish a central brick granary.

The complex of farm buildings is located behind the Halswell Residential School and near the 1912 St John of God Chapel, the former St Joseph’s orphanage and the Mount Magdala Cemetery.

The farm buildings are of historical and social significance as part of Mount Magdala. This was a predominantly self-sufficient community and pioneering Catholic social work institution designed to protect and rehabilitate women. The community was established c.1886 and operated until 1966, when the sisters moved into smaller buildings within the wider community and the complex was taken over by the brothers of the St John of God order.

At its peak in the 1930s Mount Magdala was a self-contained community housing close to 500 people, including orphans, the elderly and women ’in trouble’ because of alcoholism or crime.

The farm provided food for these residents and the farm buildings included stables, farming functions enclosing a central courtyard (a farm-steading) is unusual in the New Zealand context as is the use of brick for constructing farm buildings.

Decision angers heritage campaigners - The Press: 26 April 2008

Vital we preserve historic farm link - The Press: 21 February 2008

Podcast: Astronomy and Empire

From the BBC's In Our Time series Melvyn Bragg and three distinguished academics discuss the link between colonial expansion and scientific discovery.

The 18th century explorer and astronomer James Cook wrote: 'Ambition leads me not only farther than any other man has been before me, but as far as I think it possible for man to go'. Cook's ambition took him to the far reaches of the Pacific and led to astronomical observations which measured the distance of Venus to the Sun with unprecedented accuracy.

Cook's ambition was not just personal and astronomical. It represented the colonial ambition of the British Empire which was linked inextricably with science and trade. The Transit of Venus discoveries on Cook's voyage to Tahiti marked the beginning of a period of expansion by the British which relied on maritime navigation based on astronomical knowledge.

How had ancient trade routes set a precedent for colonial expansion? What was the link between astronomy and surveying? What tools did the 18th and 19th century astronomers have at their disposal? And how did the British justify their colonial ambition and scientific superiority?

Contributors

Simon Schaffer, Professor in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge

Kristen Lippincott, former Director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich

Allan Chapman, Historian of Science at the History Faculty at Oxford University

Listen to this 42 minute Podcast

Podcast for Anzac Day

Charles Darwin observed the inhabitants of New Zealand to be the most war-like of nations. The ways in which we continue to commemorate Anzac Day might appear to suggest that our cultural values have changed little in this respect.


Richard Norman (above), Emeritus Professor of moral philosophy at the University of Kent, is the author of Ethics, Killing and War.

In this 18 minute podcast he argues for pacificism, a position which is distinct from absolute pacifism, but recognises how difficult it is to provide any moral justification for war.

Original Audio Source

The Anzac Coves

For Australians and New Zealanders the 25th of April is Anzac Day; an annual commemoration of Antipodean soldiers who died in war.

Anzac Coves were not always beach inlets where valiant soldiers fought, there was a group of men who called themselves the Anzac Coves and dressed in Pierrot costumes.

These soldiers took temporary leave to perform sentimental songs to the troops and then went back to the trenches. Some were killed between shows.

The concert party subsequently performed "Direct from the Firing Line" from the 29th of April 1918 at the King's Theatre, Hammersmith, London.

Identified above are: Rannall Carlisle (manager) of Sydney, Harold Shaw (comedian) of Sydney, F H Crossley (comedian and raconteur) of Melbourne, Hugh Gannon (ragtime and light comedian) of Sydney, Fred Reade (light comedian and dancer) of Christchurch, NZ, Harry Ross (tenor) of Melbourne, Ben J Davies (second tenor) of Sydney, Jack L Davey (baritone) of Horsham, VIC, Leslie H Williams (bass) of Adelaide, A Roberts (comedienne) of Sydney, Ralph Sawyer (female impersonator and dancer) of Sydney, J Gibb (monologuist) of Sydney, Frank J Donovan (pianist) of Melbourne and W J Smith (mechanic).

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

Podcast - History Under Siege: battles over the past

History, like politics, is about national identity. So the work of historians frequently comes under attack, amid calls for the refurbishment or restoration of national identity. From the United States to the decolonised countries in Africa and South East Asia, the trend towards historical revisionism has been surprising in its breadth, scale and diversity of argument.

Relevant to the politically correct revisionism of New Zealand history, this 55 minute podcast is Part 3 of Australia from History in the Hindsight ABC series.

The program places Australia's 'history wars' against comparable experiences in some of the other countries featured in the series. Has the country witnessed the politicisation of Australian history over the last ten or fifteen years? And is the anxiety over the historical literacy in school children linked to these wider tensions in the history wars?

Original audio source

1864 Church Rediscovered

Long forgotten and misreported as having been demolished in the subsequent history of Christchurch is an 1864 church on Manchester Street.

In 1862 the Congregational Society purchased a site for their proposed church at the corner of Worcester and Manchester Streets. Designed by Samuel Coleridge Farr (1827–1918), the Province's first architect, a chapel was constructed of Oamaru stone in 1864 on the Southern part of the Manchester Street frontage.


In 1874 the adjoining Trinity Congregational Church was built on the corner of Worcester and Manchester Streets to a design in the Gothic Revival style by Benjamin Mountfort.


The old chapel then served as the Society's school, with another storey in mismatching stone added after 1902. The building and the adjoining church were sold to the State Insurance Company in 1973.

Humanities Podcast

Yale has long been recognized as a leader in humanities scholarship. Top University faculty and distinguished visitors in literature, language, history, political science and other disciplines share insights concerning their research and teaching.

In this podcast Yale's Sterling Professor of Law Anthony Kronman (above) explores how political correctness and the research ideal have led the humanities astray.

28 minute mp3 Podcast