Christchurch. Capital of the South Island. Thursday 15th March 2007.

The City of Christchurch is bordered by hills and the Pacific and sits here on the edge of the Canterbury Plains. New Zealand's oldest city and the largest on the South Island, Christchurch is the Capital of the South Island. It certainly earns its name of Garden City with 11% of the city area covered by some 650 parks.

My first stop this morning was the Bridge of Remembrance by the River Avon. Built on the site where on 16th December 1867 the first parade of E.Battery Christchurch Artillery Volunteers took place; the foundation stone of the arch was laid by His Excellency Viscount Jellicoe, the Governor-General of the Dominion on 25th April 1923. Over the last century the memorial has sadly had to be updated with the wars of World War II, Korea, Vietnam etc.

The bridge was designed by W.H. Gummer and Prouse as a war memorial to the soldiers of Canterbury who fought in World War I. Featuring a triple arch at its Eastern end, the bridge was built of concrete and faced with Tasmanian stone. As a peace memorial it incorporates symbols of remembrance (like Rosemary) and sacrifice. The carved figures of lions represent the British Empire.

The Governor-General, Lord Jellicoe, declared the bridge open on Armistice Day 1924.

A small plaque I spotted on the right hand wall was dedicated in May 1990 to the memory of "all Gunners who served in the Great Wars and subsequent conflicts". I also found a World War II memorial to D. Company (Canterbury) 2nd Battalion N.Z. Scottish Regiment.

This monument fittingly remembers the role played by the Merchant Navy personnel who served with honour and courage in World Wars I and II; from the beginning to the end heroes all.

The Bridge of Rememberance was re-opened as a pedestrian area on ANZAC Day 1978.

Soldier Rest. Thy Warfare O'er. Dream of Fighting Fields No More.

I had breakfast at The Boulevard, one of the many cafes that line Oxford Terrace here along the Avon's banks.

My next port of call is the statue to Scott of the Antarctic that is the work of his widow Kathleen and was unveiled in 1917.

I do not regret this journey which shows that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one another, and meet death with as great fortitude as ever in the past.

From Scott's Diary

Robert Falcon Scott was a Royal Naval Captain when he died returning from the South Pole in 1912 with A.E. Wilson, H.R. Bowers, L.E.G. Oates and E. Evans.

The City of Christchurch is one of the main gateways to Antarctica. From the early 1900's British expeditions used the Port of Lyttelton and in 1955 Christchurch became the base for the US programme Operation Deep Freeze. Several nations today use Christchurch as a base for their explorations.

I wonder how Canterbury's founder John Robert Godley would view Cathedral Square. The Cathedral is basically surrounded by very ugly buildings (think Paternoster Square...but this is no St Paul's).

The war memorial outside reminds us of the virtues of war: sacrifice, justice, peace, youth and valour.

Christchurch Cathedral where I spend most of my day was like my old school, Brighton College (and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London), the work of Sir George Gilbert Scott.

What's in a name...

In 1832 the Rev Samuel Hinds D.D. had outlined in an essay the advantages of colonisation on a religious basis. In 1843 Edward Gibbon Wakefield conceived the idea of forming a Church of England settlement in New Zealand. So in 1847 J.R. Godley began to work for such a settlement with the Canterbury Association formed in 1848 with Dr J.B. Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury, as President. Of the fifty two original members, seventeen had been at Godley's old College Christ Church, Oxford.

As a result on March 27th 1848 the Canterbury Association resolved that "The name of the proposed settlement be Canterbury and the name of the Chief Town Christchurch"...Such history is difficult for a Merton Man like me to accept.

How a City was formed...

H.M. Queen Victoria by Letters Patent sealed with the Great Seal of the United Kingdom on 31st July 1856 did constitute and did define the boundaries of the Diocese of Christchurch and did appoint the first bishop.

Christchurch had become the first City in New Zealand.

This is a very pretty church, but it is not a Cathedral in the sense of the great Cathedral's of the world. That said it may not warrant ranking with the world's finest but it has a remarkable history.

Like all church's I have visited in New Zealand there is a wonderful Maori influence, particularly in the Pacific Chapel. I am however overwhelmed by the Chapel of St Michael and St George. This is a stunning memorial chapel that expresses the universal suffering that occurs through war.

The Peace Of This World Is Always Uncertain Unless Men Keep The Peace Of God, And War Among Men Defiles This World, But Death In The Lord Renews It, And The World Must Be Cleaned In The Winter, Or We Shall Have Only A Sour Spring, A Parched Summer, An Empty Harvest.

The foundation stone of this wonderful building was laid on December 16th 1864 with the building completed on November 11th 1904...And the views from the spire, once you have climbed all 134 steps, are well worth it.

Tonight I head down to the banks of the Avon where a live band are playing. I dine at Ferment before making my way over to listen to the Irish band at The Bog where I enjoy my first Canterbury Draught. It turns out that the barman Joe is an Old Boy of Caterham School and we know the same South Londoners and Public School boy's (me having been at The Trinity School of John Whitgift in Croydon for three years).

My life goes from the sublime to the ridiculous and I end my day having a tour of a house of ill-repute. I had lost my street and so I stopped to ask for directions. The guy on the door of what I thought was a bar invites me in after I tell him I am doing an education project. He wants to show me his facilities and the high standards that he provides for his staff.

Prostitution is legalised in New Zealand but I feel so sorry for the workers. There are no customers there at all and I am given a full tour. It is a fine establishment. The rooms would make good hotel rooms but the girls just seem so lost and lonely to me, even though they are adamant that they have made lifestyle choices. The owner assigns two people to walk me home just in case. I find the people in New Zealand so lovely and friendly and this confirms that view yet again.