“A monument worthy of his memory”: The Godley Statue, unveiled 6 August 1867

The Godley statue was unveiled on the 6th of August 1867, after much delay.

It was inscribed:

John Robert Godley, Founder of Canterbury

The statue, the first public commemorative statue in New Zealand unveiled to a single person, was sculpted by the English Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner. In 1907 the statue was hidden from public view by the tram shelter. Despite public deputations to the Council, the statue was not moved to a more prominent public position on the north side of the Cathedral until 1918. There it remained until 1933 when it was returned to its present and original site.

The statue fell from its plinth during the 22 February 2011 earthquake and has become one of the most photographed symbols of the damage to Christchurch. It was on display in the Quake City exhibition in the Re:START Mall, but is now back in Cathedral Square. Here he is, I think he has swagger.

Godley statue
John Robert Godley statue. Cathedral Square. 23 July 2015. Flickr 2015-07-23-IMG_8326

In The Press on 7 August 1867:

The Godley Statue inaugural address by C. C. Bowen, Esq., R.M.

In some future day, when this generation is dead and gone, to those who look up inquiringly at this statue it will be told how the fathers of the colony left their homes and tamed the wilderness under the leadership of a man of heroic type; how, when he died, the representatives of the people, appreciating his character, determined to erect a monument worthy of his memory, and how a great sculptor in executing the work impressed it with the stamp of his genius. "So shall some old man speak in the after time To all the people, winning reverence." And now I may congratulate the city that this statue is about to be handed over to its care, worthy as it is of admiration, like King Arthur's sword of old, not only for the memory of a great man, but on account of its own intrinsic beauty not like that sword, to disappear from the eyes of men, but to be preserved by us and our successors as a possession for ever.

Inauguration of the Godley Statue Press, Volume XII, Issue 1480, 7 August 1867, Page 2

Survivors of the first six ships grouped around the Godley statue, Cathedral Square, Christchurch [1925] Passengers who arrived by the Charlotte Jane, Randolph, Sir George Seymour, Cressy, Castle Eden and Isabella Hercus took a prominent part in the celebrations of Christchurch's 75th anniversary. They are shown at the foot of the statue of John Robert Godley, the founder of Canterbury
Survivors of the first six ships grouped around the Godley statue, Cathedral Square, Christchurch [1925] Passengers who arrived by the Charlotte Jane, Randolph, Sir George Seymour, Cressy, Castle Eden and Isabella Hercus took a prominent part in the celebrations of Christchurch's 75th anniversary. They are shown at the foot of the statue of John Robert Godley. CCL PhotoCD 5, IMG0075

Godley statue