Canterbury

Canterbury, a 'provincial district' of New Zealand (q.v.), in the centre of the South Island; till the abolition of the system of provinces (see NEW ZEALAND) in 1876, it was a province, with Christchurch as its capital, and Lyttelton as its port. Its area is about 13,000 sq. m., and it is divided into two portions by the river Rangitara. The district was settled in 1850 by the Canterbury Association, a society of peers, bishops, and commoners interested in the colonisation of New Zealand. It has a coast-line of about 200 miles, a breadth of about 150, and is well watered by numerous rivers. Banks Peninsula, in its peaks, ridges, and basins, bears evidence of volcanic action. Coal in abundance, iron ore, fireclays, quartz, and gold exist, and several coal-mines are in operation. On the eastern side of the great range of hills are the far-famed Canterbury Plains, the great sheep district of the colony—'three millions of acres rolling back in gentle rise forty miles, to the foot of the central highlands, watered by twenty rivers, and spreading north and south farther than the eye can reach.' There is railway connection between Christchurch and Dunedin, with various branch lines. The staple trade is in wool and grain, with exports of flax, preserved provisions, skins, leather, and dairy-produce. The silkworm has been introduced. The Bishop of Canterbury is primate of New Zealand. The medicinal hot springs at Hanmar Plain in Amuri district have considerable celebrity. Mount Cook (13,200 feet) is the highest mountain in New Zealand. In 1881 the population (91,922 in 1878) had increased to 111,049; in 1891 to 128,471.