CANTERBURY PILGRIMS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18420, 29 June 1925, Page 6

CANTERBURY PILGRIMS.

j ADDRESS BY MR GEORGE j HARPER. The quarterly gathering ot the Canterbury Pilgrims' Association -was hold I in t-lio Aft Gallery Hall on .Saturday afternoon. There wore between two to three hundred persons present, aud the chief item on- the programme was .-in address on '"Early Canterbury.'-' by Mr George Harper. Mr J. A. I'lcsher presided. Before introducing Mr Harper, the chairman expressed deep regret at the death of one of the niou prominent member.- of the in the person of Mr E. C. Mouidov. Mi- Flesher stated that t-ho late Mr Mouldey had I'een one of the passengers by the C'ressy. and since the formation of the Association had scarcely missed a meeting.- On the motion .of the chairman, a vote of sympathy was passed wiUi ■'the relatives or the deceased gentleman, members standing in silence during the passing of the motion. Mr Hari.'er. in tlu> course of hi.s address, said that it was the custom ot members of the Association to confine their reminiscences of the early days to the. period of the lauding of the pp.ssenKcrs from the hist, four ships and directly afterwards. That, afternoon, however, lie would deal with a period of the -development "r the province vhieli was oven earlier than thr.f. Although the lirst four hhins arrived in the early '-jUs. the settlement of the Canterbury plains began before that date. The speaker proceeded to detail the. 'experiences of the early pioneers who had walked ever from Port (coper to inspect- the great plains which lay on the other side' of the hills. The first man to'attempf to settle in the vicinity of Chrisuhureh was Mr Mffvinnon, who had' landed on Banks Peninsula and later crossed the Port- Hills end attempted to find a home near T)eans"3 Bush. This' prospective- settler had, however, been alarmed by -the Ma«ri« rnd had taken his wife and child back to tho Peninsula, whore thoy had suHsoqucntly settled. The Peninsula itself, said "Mr Harper, had been practically completely _ settled by the time of th-e arrival of the first- four ships and . only one family coining out on those, vessels had-'taken up residence in that locality. This' settthment hr.d commenced as early o —and pioneers had continued to come there until .i(ifit- before the Canterbury Association'"; shins arrived. -"With the aid of maps Mr Harper showed the astonishing progress which had been made during the. past 75 years. A very hearty vote of thanks was passed.to Mr Harper for his address.