Christchurch is a city in the province of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand which is oftentimes referred to as probably the most English city beyond England. Additionally it is also known as the Garden City as it features a lot of striking gardens. The urban region contains a population of just under 400 000, which makes it the second biggest city in New Zealand after Auckland. The Avon River goes via the centre of the city with many different parks located along its banks with Hagley Park being a main characteristic of the city. At the centre of the city is Cathedral Square featuring the landmark Anglican cathedral which is currently being refurbished because of earthquake damage.
The farming and agricultural industry is the economical heart of Christchurch and most of the initial business there was designed to service this. Travel and leisure is now another sizeable factor for the local overall economy, with the city promoting itself being a gateway to the South Island having its exceptional scenery, snow skiing as well as adventure tourism. It is also the gateway to the Antarctic, with the city having a long reputation of engagement in Antarctic investigation. It has an International Antarctic Centre that provides both base amenities and a museum that has a visitors center. The US Navy uses Christchurch Airport as the take-off place for the key supply option to its McMurdo as well as Scott Bases in Antarctica.
There does exist some information that people first settled in the Christchurch location in approximately 1250. Settlement became popular early in 1840 after the acquisition of land in what is currently Riccarton by the Weller brothers as well as a group of European settlers led by Herriott and McGillivray set up themselves in what is now Christchurch, at the start of 1840. The Canterbury Association organised The First Four Ships to bring 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour. The ships were the Randolph, Charlotte Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Cressy. The Charlotte Jane got there initially on 16 December 1850. The Canterbury Pilgrims were going to construct a city about a cathedral dependant upon the city of Christ Church in Oxford, England, hence the name of Christchurch.
Quite a few important incidents have molded Christchurch. In 1947, a fire happened at Ballantyne's Department Store in the central area with 41 people being killed in a blaze which demolished a group of buildings. It remains New Zealand's most severe fire catastrophe. Between September 2010 and January 2012 Christchurch suffered a series of serious earthquakes with the most severe happening on Tuesday 22 February 2011 with 185 people being killed and 1000s of buildings collapsing or suffering considerable damage. After the disaster over 1500 buildings in the city had been taken down, resulting in a still ongoing recuperation and restoring task. The city did have some rapid growth after the recovery started. On 15 March 2019, fifty one individuals were killed during 2 terrorist attacks at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre by a white supremacist who had entered NZ from Australia. These terrorist violence had been described by the Prime Minister of NZ, Jacinda Ardern as "One of New Zealand's darkest days".
