History

Houses provided the boarders with their base within the school, and their names changed as Masters came and went. The name Jacobs has been retained, while others have been replaced by School, Richards and Flower's.

Initially, boarders’ meals were provided by the wives of the staff members in whose houses they boarded. However, with more boarders, this was no longer possible, and so a large Dining Hall where staff and boarders could meet and eat as a community was completed in 1925.

Dayboys had locker space, but it was not until 1909 that the first two dayboy Houses were formalised. They were named North Town and South Town, and boys were allocated to each depending on whether their homes were north or south of Gloucester Street. These Houses became Harper and Julius in 1924. Condell’s, Corfe, Rolleston and Somes have been added over the years. All the Houses have been modernised, with emphasis on earthquake proofing.

The many year groups within the Houses have always co-operated to foster House spirit and compete in sporting and cultural competitions. Cricket and football games were established as soon as there were enough boarders to compete against each other, and, gradually, Music and Drama interhouse competitions were added.

Houses have always provided the basis for the pastoral care of all boys at College, both boarders and dayboys. Housemasters, tutors, mentors, matrons and domestic staff have all worked together in association with the chaplain, counsellors and Wellbeing staff.

Since College was established, it has had 18 headmasters and employed hundreds of teachers, who have used their considerable skills and abilities to teach thousands of boys. Until the late 1980s, boys were expected to attend academic classes on Saturday mornings. Increasingly, sport encroached on this time, and Saturday activities were developed. Boys not involved in teams used the time for extra tuition or to gain skills in clubs as diverse as cooking, mountain biking and archery. From 2017, Saturday activities no longer existed.

In 1851, Susan Alport was on the Attendance List at the Christ’s College Grammar School Elementary Class in Lyttelton. She appears to have been the only girl to be formally listed as a member of College. However, she is not the only girl to have been taught by College staff. For many years, girls have been included in classes as necessary because of staffing, and College has had a long-standing relationship with St Margaret’s College and Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in both Music and Drama.

When Christ’s College moved to its present site, there were 35 pupils and three staff. The advantage of a grant by the Canterbury Provincial Council of nearly 10 acres from the Government Domain was the room to expand, and College began to acquire additional buildings. Initially, they were wooden, and these provided homes for the staff and their families and the increasing number of boarders. By 1863, the first of the stone buildings, Big School, was built on the west side of the Quadrangle, followed in 1867 by the Chapel.

The College Chapel has always been the focus of the school. However, College has never been exclusively Anglican in its acceptance of boys. The 31st May 1854 Deed of Foundation, by which the Church Property Trustees set up College, included many of the early clergy and laity as members of the Board of Governors, or Fellows of the College. The first College Warden was George Augustus Selwyn, the first and only Bishop of New Zealand. When his Diocese was divided, the position devolved to the first Bishop, Henry John Chitty Harper, and then to all subsequent bishops of the Diocese of Christchurch.

Worship in the Chapel is enhanced by the Chapel Choir. Boys have always been expected to contribute to the services of Morning and Evening Prayer and Holy Communion. Gradually, a surplice-wearing choir began to lead the music. At the time of Bishop Harper’s 50th wedding anniversary, which was celebrated in the College Chapel in 1879, it was remarked that the choir was nearly all made up of his 12 grandsons.

The Canterbury Association planned that one-third of the sale of the lands in the Canterbury Settlement would be set aside for religious and educational purposes. Others who shared their aims and ideals collected, donated and willed money over many years to create endowments for College. One scholarship has survived since that early period with its original name. It was founded by Maria Somes, second wife of Joseph Somes, one-time chairman of the New Zealand Company. She was entitled, by the purchase of a land order, to 50 rural acres in Lyttelton and either a quarter-acre section in Lyttelton or a half acre in Christchurch. She chose the former. The subsequent sales and ongoing leases continue to provide scholarships and exhibitions.

The long-standing tradition of boys coming to Christ’s College from local homes, as well as from all parts of the country, began early in College history. While some walked down the road to school, others rode their horses and later their bicycles. Many travelled long distances over many days from Hawke’s Bay and Invercargill to take advantage of the education Christ’s College offered. At the time, College taught boys as young as six, and each boy arrived with a different level of education. Consequently, there were wide age ranges in many classes and, until the number of classrooms increased, they were all taught together. Families whose sons came to Christ’s College at that time are now up to their sixth generation of attendance while other boys come from all over the world.

Sport has always been an integral part of College and a balance for academic endeavour. In 1862, the Games Committee was set up by the boys, and they managed the day-to-day running of sporting activities and the library from this elected group. They also arranged the purchase of equipment, organised coaches and set about levelling Upper so that the tussocks and hollows would not interfere with games. However, as the number of sports increased, was no longer possible for boys to undertake the increased amount of logistical work, nor for all the sport to take place within the grounds.

Above the Archivist’s computer are the following words: “Our job is to preserve the past and to record the present for the future.”

However, the Archives – in the Christ’s College context – are much wider than the expected dusty tomes and wrinkled sheets of paper. Our Archives are about recording College life, in its broadest context. It involves bringing what can be found out about and rescued from the past, and adding it to hundreds of printed pages and email messages to create a seamless, continuous record.

It is a record that relies on planned collection and serendipity, on the deliberate gathering of current information and on the generosity of Old Boys and their descendants. Archives cover socks to textbooks, examination papers to cricket caps and inkwells to ties, because they are all part of the College essence. Without these visible reminders of the past, there is a distinct lack of context for the future.

These records are used – in a variety of ways – by staff, boys, Old Boys and outside researchers, but they all have a common theme – “tell me about……” and we do our best to do so. There are times when that is not possible, when the information has not survived in its entirety, but there are always clues to follow up. Some of this research finds its way into regularly changed displays within the College Library. Other research is used within College in History classes and articles in In Black & White and College.

The Archivist works each Tuesday and Thursday. It is preferable that requests are made by email. There may be charges for research, but this will be discussed at the time.

Contact:
Email: archives@christscollege.com
Phone: 03 366 8705 ext 8834
Phone: 03 364 6834