Rangiora; A SHORT HISTORY There are various interpretations of the meaning of this name, but a prominent Maori chieftain, the late J. C. Tikao of Rapaki, said he thought it meant "good weather after a bad spell." (Possibly the spelling should be Raki-oura.) "What has Rangiora got that other places haven't?" This question is often asked, and the answer is not hard to find by anyone who has lived here. In a few words the reply is "All the joys of living in the country with all the amenities of a big city close by." Rangiora is a market town approximately twenty miles north of Christchurch, and settlement started here only some two years after Christchurch. FIRST SURVEY The first survey of the North Canterbury area was carried out by Torlesse and Boys in 1849, and the first settlers took over in 1851. The first being C. O. Torlesse, but the patriarch of the district was Mr G. Leech who settled here in 1853. His descendants still live here. THE DEVELOPING TOWN In 1857 the first sign of a township developing was the opening of the Lion Hotel, later known as the Red Lion. The following year the first store was opened, and this shortly afterwards became the first Post Office. Other stores soon appeared and a bakery, a small brewery and a flour mill were soon in operation. CHURCH LIFE By 1859 three religious denominations were meeting weekly - Anglican, Baptist and Methodist. Today there are at least eight different churches in the Borough. SPORTS GROUNDS On New Year's Day, 1859, the first community "get-together" and sports meeting was held in the Torlesse grounds near the Rangiora Bush. This was the start of a long series of New Year sports meetings which were a. feature of Rangiora for very many years. Most of these meetings were held on the Rangiora Recreation Ground which was an old Provincial Council Reserve, the only sports ground available up to 1927. In that year a 13 ½ acre block, centrally situated, became available from Archdeacon Dudley's estate and was purchased, and so Dudley Park came into being. This ground is available for football, cricket, hockey and netball and on it is situated a very fine swimming pool. NO GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION Early Rangiora was not recognised as a township by the Government of the day, and so got no assistance with roading or other public works. Even as late as 1866 the Government turned a blind eye to this developing town. INDUSTRIES In the early days of Rangiora probably the most important industry in the district was sawmilling, but as the forests became depleted, more land was taken up for farming activities, with industries such as flax dressing and flour milling, initially run by water power, also thriving. Rangiora then developed as a market town and held weekly sale days, and this attracted new businesses, trades and professions and more settlers. COMMUNICATION Communication was always a difficulty in the early days but on November 3, 1872; a broad gauge railway, 5ft 3in, was opened from Addington to Remuera. This line was opened to Kaiapoi and then Southbrook earlier in the year. It was later extended to Amberley. The opening of the line marked a wonderful step forward in the progress of the district. This railway was converted to narrow gauge, 3ft 6in, on December 21, 1877, when that was adopted as the standard New Zealand gauge. EDUCATION Early educational needs for the area were catered for by cottage schools, but these were quickly superseded by church schools. The Rangiora District School was opened on August 13, 1874, and the Rangiora High School on January 28, 1884. While Mr. J. E. Strachan, O.B.E., M.A., B.Sc. was Principal, a very fine Agricultural Course was started in the school which acquired a farm of some 130 acres. Many other educational innovations, for example the multi-course curriculum, were introduced that lead the way in educational thinking and gave the school a worldwide reputation. In 1910 the school produced the first Rhodes Scholar for Canterbury - Henry Stoke Richards. SOCIETIES Many Clubs and Societies have flourished over the years, for example the Northern A. and P. Association has continued since 1866. The Masonic Lodge was formed in 1878, and Friendly Societies have also existed for many years. The St John Ambulance, Red Cross and Plunket Society have all given most useful service over the years, while the Rangiora Fire Brigade has served since 1874. Also other organisations, such as the Musical Society, Dramatic Society and the Band, have all added to the life of the Community. SPORTING Sporting activities have also been well maintained. Race meetings have been held since 1872. The first recorded cricket match was played in 1855 and the Rangiora Cricket Club was officially formed in 1859. Other District Cricket Clubs of the early days included Kaiapoi, Oxford, Cust, Woodend, Ashley, Sefton, Leithfield and Amberley. A Rugby Football Club was formed in Rangiora in 1875 and rugby was soon prospering in such places as Kaiapoi, Oxford, Cust and Amberley. Cycling was also a most popular sport in the 1880s and following years. Other sports activities included tennis, bowling, hockey, basketball, golf, etc. HALLS Rangiora has been well supplied with halls. One of the early ones, the Mechanics Institute Hall, was built in1872 and served the town for meetings, entertainment, library, etc., until destroyed by fire in 1925. Other halls include the Oddfellows Hall, Masonic Hall, Drill Hall, Ambulance Hall, R.S.A. Hall Town Hall and various Church Halls. BOROUGH COUNCIL Rangiora acquired the status of a Borough in 1878 and the Borough Council over the years has done splendid work in improving the town i.e. installing a high pressure water scheme, sewerage, electric lighting, etc. Also the streets were kept tidy and the most recent improvement is the gradual installation of underground wiring. Victoria Park is also most attractive and a credit to the town. RECENT SOCIETIES More recent organisations are ones such as the Returned Services' Association, Jaycees, Lions, Rotary and societies such as the Photographic Society and Early Records Society. HISTORICAL MUSEUM The Rangiora and Districts' Early Records Society undertook the formation of a Museum for the area. Material for the Museum was available in quantity but the chief difficulty was display and storage space. However when the Bank of New Zealand's two-storeyed building was being removed for a new building on the site, the Society was offered the upper storey of the building free of cost if it would be responsible for its removal. The next quest was to find a suitable site and the Borough Council generously gave the Society the use of the site where the Museum now stands. The building was cut into four sections and these were transported independently and re-joined on the site and a splendid job was done by the contractor. Members of the Society got busy cleaning, painting and papering and very soon the Museum building as you see it was a reality. THE PIONEER COTTAGE The sun-dried brick cottage which stands in front of the Museum was built by members of the Early Records Society from clay and straw bricks from a cottage built in 1869 by Mr John Doak who lived on the No. 1 Drain road at Fernside. The Doak family kindly made the remains of the old home available to the Society for removal. Plans were prepared and members carefully demolished the cottage. Over 900 sun-dried bricks were shifted to the site. The bricks which weigh 801bs each and measure 16 x 12 x 6 inches were found to be as sound as the day they were made. The cottage is typical of many that were built in this area in the early days of settlement. .