Interpretation board for Anzac horses. In copyright. CCL-DW-155411. Interpretation board detailing the history of horses which served in the South African War and the First World War at Birch Hill Cemetery (130 Garry River Road), Glentui. Share your memories of Birch Hill Cemetery. Register on Canterbury Stories. Do you have any photographs of Canterbury horses which served in the First World War? If so, feel free to contribute to our collection. Explore local images and share your photos Visit the Discovery Wall and upload your images Explore Canterbury Stories View more Picturing Canterbury ..read more

We have double passes and Buy 1 get 1 free tickets to the new NZ movie The Mountain, directed by Rachel House.  They have been kindly given to us by Madman and Piki Films.  The Mountain is in theatres now. It's a heart-filled drama about three kids on a mission to find healing under the watchful eye of Taranaki Maunga, finding friendship and adventure on their journey. It also marks the directorial debut of actress Rachel House (she's been a standout in so many movies including Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok - I've just been watching her in Eagle v Shark and the Heartbr ..read more

Anzac Day will be commemorated on Thursday 25 April. All our libraries will be closed on this public holiday Read our page on Anzac Day and Gallipoli to find out more about the history of this commemoration Check out the new booklist of First World War and Anzac Day related books Spotlight on ... Finding your NZ ancestor's military record Wednesday 1 May 10.30am to 12noon at Upper Riccarton Library An introduction to the digital and physical resources that can help you find service records and information for soldiers, nurses and other military roles. Free, book your spot Anzac Day services ..read more

The Bridge of Remembrance, which crosses the Avon River from Cashel Street, was opened in 1924 to commemorate the soldiers of Canterbury who fought in the First World War. It was opened by Governor-General Lord Jellicoe, who had previously laid the foundation stone on Anzac Day in 1923. Bridge of Remembrance at dawn by Gary Mills. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. CCL-PH23-GaMi-0001 The triple-arched bridge was designed in 1921 by William Gummer, then a partner at the firm Gummer and Prouse. It is built of concrete faced with Tasmanian stone. The carved lions, which represented the British Empire, lie ove ..read more

Victorians can be a right bunch of hypocrites (people from the nineteenth century I mean, not those from the state of Victoria). All prim and proper on the surface, but full of vice underneath. Particularly awful were those who were supposed to be 'our betters' (ugh). Two such examples who spent time in Christchurch are Christopher George 'Kit' Hodgson (1827 - 1877) and Lord Frederick Montagu (1828 - 1854). Let's take a look. The Horny Lawyer Kit Hodgson came from London and was educated at Eton. Like his father he became a lawyer. He arrived in New Zealand in 1855 on the Royal Stuart, and pur ..read more

Clearing leaves. In Copyright. CCL-StarP-02914A. Council worker, Wally Clark, clearing leaves. 4 May 1984. Share your memories of autumn in Christchurch. Register on Canterbury Stories. Do you have any photographs of Christchurch in autumn? If so, feel free to contribute to our collection. Explore local images and share your photos Visit the Discovery Wall and upload your images Explore Canterbury Stories View more Picturing Canterbury posts ..read more

As the weather starts to cool down, the days get shorter and darker, and our lives get busier, it's extra important to take good care of our mental health. In times like these, we often find ourselves feeling down or overwhelmed, and this has a large impact on our overall wellbeing.  All four walls of the house need attending to Hauora, an all-encompassing, holistic Māori concept of wellbeing, is unique to Aotearoa and a wonderful philosophy that we can all live by. It contains four dimensions that are vital to not only individual wellbeing, but that of our communities and country too. Al ..read more

The universe is a forest, patrolled by numberless and nameless predators. In this forest, others are hell, a dire existential threat. Stealth is survival. Any civilisation that reveals its location is prey. The Dark Forest, Cixin Liu Cixin Liu is going to save the world!  Many of us have been enjoying The Three-Body Problem; the television adaptation of Cixin Liu's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy , on Netflix. I really enjoyed the series, which was reasonably true to the books, although with some changes (notably the characters' names and scene locations). I became so absorbed in th ..read more

Aranda Coffee Lounge employees. In copyright. CCL-Hub-0788. Three women standing outside Aranda Coffee Lounge in Hornby Mall. 1980s. Share your memories of Aranda Coffee Lounge. Register on Canterbury Stories. Do you have any photographs of Aranda Coffee Lounge? If so, feel free to contribute to our collection. Explore local images and share your photos Visit the Discovery Wall and upload your images Explore Canterbury Stories View more Picturing Canterbury posts ..read more

This Land Book 1: The Search for Māui and This Land Book 2: The Fall of Tāne are graphic novels set in a near future, post-apocalyptic Aotearoa New Zealand that has been transformed by cataclysmic events. The small number of survivors have been transformed by an event called The Fever and now have a variety of different skills, traits, and powers.  Just a selection of superpowered characters. The two books together tell a complete story that centres around the character of Hell’na of the Pāhuna, an iwi who emerged from the volcanic ruins of Auckland with hot skin and fire bending abilitie ..read more