Natural history The land, water, flora, and fauna of Canterbury has a long history, stretching from creation of the greywacke basement rocks that make up the
Southern Alps to the arrival of the first humans. This history is linked to the solidification and development of tectonic plates, the development of oceans and then life itself. The region is a part of the larger
Zealandia continent, itself a part of the larger Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. In the first instance, the land is based upon the constructive tectonic forces of this convergent and transformational tectonic plate boundary. In the second instance, the erosive forces of rain, snow, ice, and rock grinding against rock have developed large gravel fans that extend out from the mountains. In the third instance, there is volcanism punching through the basement rocks and blanket of sediments to the surface. Upon this solid foundation, and slowly over the billions of years, life made up of a countless generations of interconnected adaptations developed into the unique flora and fauna of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The remnants populations of these unique species are visible today in the publicly protected conservation lands. The species of Waitaha/Canterbury were adapted to the climate and geography that traverses inland from the coastline to the highest peaks, and from the warmer climes in the north to the colder in the south.
Before European settlement Canterbury has been populated by a succession of
Māori peoples over the centuries. When European settlers arrived, it was occupied by
Ngāi Tahu, whose numbers had been greatly reduced by warfare, among themselves and with
Te Rauparaha and his
Ngāti Toa from the North Island, in the early 19th century.
Colonisation In 1848,
Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a Briton, and
John Robert Godley, an
Anglo-Irish aristocrat, founded the
Canterbury Association to establish an
Anglican colony in the
South Island. The colony was based upon theories developed by Wakefield while in prison for eloping with a woman not-of-age. Due to ties to the
University of Oxford, the Canterbury Association succeeded in raising sufficient funds and recruiting middle-class and upper-class settlers. In April 1850, a preliminary group led by Godley landed at Port Cooper – modern-day
Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō – and established a port, housing and shops in preparation for the main body of settlers. In December 1850, the first wave of 750 settlers arrived at Lyttelton in a
fleet of four ships. The modern Canterbury Region has slightly different boundaries, particularly in the north, where it includes some districts from the
Nelson Province.
2010–2011 earthquakes September 2010 , corner Manchester Street, with
ChristChurch Cathedral in the background (September 2010) A
magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred in the region on Saturday 4 September 2010, at 04:35 am. The epicentre was located west of Christchurch; south-east of
Darfield, and had a depth of . The earthquake caused widespread damage to buildings and power outages, but no direct fatalities. Sewers were damaged, gas and water lines were broken, and power to up to 75% of the city was disrupted. Christchurch residents reported chimneys falling in through roofs, cracked ceilings and collapsed brick walls. A local
state of emergency was declared at 10:16 am on 4 September for the city, and evacuations of parts were planned to begin later in the day. People inside the Christchurch city centre were evacuated, and the city's central business district remained closed until 5 September. A curfew from 7 pm on 4 September to 7 am on 5 September was put in place. The
New Zealand Army was deployed to assist police and enforce the curfew. There were 63 reported aftershocks in the first 48 hours, with three registering 5.2 magnitude. The total insurance costs of the event were estimated as up to $11 billion, according to the New Zealand Treasury.
February 2011 showing the effects of the February 2011 earthquake (tower under demolition) A large aftershock of magnitude 6.3 occurred on at 12:51 pm. It was centred just to the north of Lyttelton, 10 kilometres south-east of Christchurch, at a depth of 5 km. Although lower on the
moment magnitude scale than the quake of September 2010, the intensity and violence of the ground shaking was measured to be VIII on the
MMI, which is among the strongest ever recorded globally in an urban area due to the shallowness and proximity of the epicentre. Many residents in and around the hillside suburb of Sumner self-evacuated. Further damage was reported to buildings inside the cordoned central business district, with an estimate of 75 additional buildings needing demolition. Among the buildings further damaged was the Christchurch Cathedral, which lost its iconic
rose window. There was one death and multiple injuries. == Geography ==