History

Whakaraupō has been a place of settlement, trade and gathering food for many centuries. Ngāi Tahu, through the hapū Ngāti Wheke, hold mana whenua over the harbour, and Rāpaki on its northern shore remains their home. We write about this history only with care and with sources, and we point readers to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu for the iwi's own account.

The colonial town

Between 16 and 27 December 1850 the first four Canterbury Association ships arrived in a harbour that Europeans had called Port Cooper and then Port Victoria. The town laid out as the port for the new Canterbury settlement took its name from George Lyttelton, a leading figure in the Association, and the name was formalised in 1858. The streets were surveyed on a grid across a steep hillside, which is why so many of them end in steps. Much of the early plan survives, and Heritage New Zealand lists the township as a historic area.

The port and the tunnels

Everything in Lyttelton's history turns on getting goods and people over or through the Port Hills. The Bridle Path came first. The rail tunnel, opened in 1867, tied the port to Christchurch, and the road tunnel followed in 1964. Meanwhile the port grew into one of the busiest in the South Island.

Earthquakes

The earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 changed Lyttelton more than anything since the 1850s. The 22 February 2011 earthquake, centred close to the town, killed 185 people across the region, and damaged or destroyed many of Lyttelton's historic buildings. A further shock that June brought down what was left of the Timeball tower. Our stories about this period try to be accurate and respectful, and they link to the archives that hold people's own accounts.

Where to read more

Christchurch City Libraries keeps an excellent collection on Lyttelton's history, and the stories listed here each cite their sources.