This week in Christchurch history (9 to 15 February)

9 February 1917
Scott statue, sculpted by his widow, unveiled opposite the (then) Municipal Offices in Oxford Terrace.

10 February 1864
First Council artesian well drilled at the corner of Tuam and High Streets. It gushed to a height of 3 or 4 metres above ground level.

10 February 1913
News reaches Christchurch of the Scott expedition’s fate. The city’s special relationship with the expedition caused deep mourning over the tragedy.

11 February 1843
Deans, Gebbie and Manson families sail from Wellington on the “Richmond” to settle at Riccarton.

12 February 1905
Catholic Cathedral (the Basilica) opens. Designed by F. W. Petre, it is widely regarded as the finest Renaissance-style building in New Zealand.

Image of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Barbadoes Street, Christchurch [ca. 1905]
CCL PhotoCD 4, IMG0042
13 February 1951
Waterfront strike begins, with all New Zealand ports idle by February 19. As in previous strikes, Lyttelton avoided the worst of the violence and confrontations which occurred in other ports.

15 February 1840
Chiefs Tairoa, Tuhawaiki and Karetai “sell the South Island” to John Jones and W. C. Wentworth for £500.

More February events in the Christchurch chronology: a timeline of Christchurch events in chronological order from pre-European times to 1989.