Foundations of our City are strong

Garry and Pam arrive at the Ball in Victoria Square on Anniversary Weekend (December)

I found I ended the year having made two important discoveries about the pioneers of 1850 who effectively started major European settlement in Canterbury.

The first find was a minor one. Having wedged myself into pioneering costume for a dress event or two I decided that Victorian clothing was fairly unkind to those of us inclining toward a fuller figure in the middle years!

The other discovery was the more important one — realising, by becoming involved in 150th birthday events in Christchurch, that the historic foundations of our city are strong and worth preserving and building on.

The birthday celebrations may have been slightly upstaged by the hype about the Year 2000 at the start of the year but for us here in Christchurch the more local birthday is probably the one likely to have the most lasting impact.

While I was very impressed with the final effect of the contribution in time, skill and resources made by City Council staff toward this series of events, I was also again amazed at the amount of voluntary community effort that went into the events.

People really put themselves out to make sure that the huge variety of events was a success.

For many people the 150th birthday was also a chance to celebrate and reflect on their own ancestral ties to both the settlement and development of our city.

For me, it allowed me to put a human face to a lot of our collective city history by meeting so many descendants of the original European pioneers. It was also a chance for Ngai Tahu to quietly remind us that their historic response to European settlement had been to consciously choose to welcome the new arrivals and the potential they bought to these shores.

Much as the usual yearly parade of festivals and public events does in a normal year the events provided us yet again with an opportunity to join together and remind ourselves that people are what a city is all about.