13 July 1905
Construction of King Edward Barracks begins. The building was completed in an amazing 25 days. In the absence of a true Town Hall, it was often the venue for large concerts and civic occasions.
![King Edward Barracks, corner of Cashel and Montreal Streets, Christchurch [1905]](https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Photos/Disc7/IMG0067.jpg)
14 July 1945
Record snowfall 280mm (11 inches) over most of city. See our page on historic snowfalls in Christchurch.
15-21 July 1979
D’oyly Carte Opera Company gives performances.
17 July 1861
Work begins on the railway to Lyttelton. Preliminary work on the tunnel had begun in January 1860, but the original contractors had withdrawn in November.
17 July 1915
First Canterbury wounded from the war return to Lyttelton on the “Willochra”.
17 July 1964
Opening of the Government Life Building in Cathedral Square. It was the city’s first “high rise glass box”. The building’s rooftop clock and temperature readings became a familiar part of the Square.
Plans:
- Government Life Building First Floor Plan, 21 November 1960
- Government Life Building East & South Elevation, 21 November 1960
- Clock 4 July 1963
![The Post Office tower is dwarfed in this view, taken from the top of the Government Life Insurance building in the Square [Mar. 1963]](https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/heritage/photos/disc11/IMG0059.jpg)
19 July 1880
Lincoln College opens - the first agricultural college in the Southern Hemisphere.
19 July 1988
Jock Orr, nicknamed “The Birdman” after befriending birds in Cathedral Square, dies in Christchurch.
More July events in the Christchurch chronology: a timeline of Christchurch events in chronological order from pre-European times to 1989.
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