CHRISTCHURCH BOTANIC GARDEN MOORHOUSE STATUE

Today we have been to the Botanic Gardens to run some steam off our very active 2. 1/2 year old grandson so good opportunity for todays blip and history lesson. The Statue of William Moorhouse and the Curators House.

William Sefton Moorhouse
William Moorhouse came out to New Zealand in 1851 and settled with his two brothers at Redcliffs.
# In March 1855 Moorhouse was elected to the Canterbury Provincial Council, and in 1857 was elected Superintendent of the Council.
# Moorhouse had a vision of a railway tunnel through the Port Hills from Lyttelton to Christchurch, and won the support of the Council and the New Zealand government for the scheme. However he resigned as Superintendent in February 1863 before the Lyttelton Tunnel had been completed.
One of the 4 avenues bounding the inner city is named after William Moorhouse.
An English sculptor, George Anderson Lawson (1832-1904), produced a model based on photographs of Moorhouse. The model was cast in England and then shipped to Lyttelton, arriving in 1885. A public holiday was declared for the unveiling on 22 Dec. 1885.#