The Queen on the square
How Canterbury’s jubilee memorial became a statue of Queen Victoria — argued over, under-subscribed, and unveiled by the mayor’s wife.
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Canterbury turned fifty in 1900, and a committee chaired by H. F. Wigram spent the winter arguing over how to mark it. Twenty-four schemes went in front of them — completing the north transept of ChristChurch Cathedral, a jubilee home for incurable and chronic cases, and more — before members were sent ballot papers and asked to choose six.
In July 1900 a memorial committee chaired by H. F. Wigram met in the city council chambers to decide how Canterbury’s fiftieth jubilee should be marked, weighing proposals that included completing the north transept of ChristChurch Cathedral and a jubilee home for incurable and chronic cases, before resolving to ballot members on the twenty-four schemes put forward.
THE JUBILEE MEMORIAL (Star, 24 July 1900) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastTHE JUBILEE MEMORIAL (Star, 10 August 1900) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastWhat the ballot settled on was the mayor's own scheme. William Reece proposed a stone obelisk surmounted by a seated bronze figure of Queen Victoria, its base carrying relief panels for the pioneers, the province's industries, and the soldiers being sent to South Africa, and a bronze tablet recording the foundation of the province. He wanted it in Victoria Square, on the band-rotunda site, where it could be seen from every approach.
In August 1900 the committee adopted a scheme by the mayor, William Reece: a stone obelisk surmounted by a seated bronze figure of Queen Victoria, its base carrying bas-relief groups for the pioneers, the province’s industries and the sending forth of soldiers to South Africa, with a bronze tablet recording the foundation of the province.
THE JUBILEE MEMORIAL (Star, 10 August 1900) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastTHE ROYAL VISIT. ENTRY INTO CHRISTCHURCH. (Evening Post, 24 June 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastThe Queen's death in January 1901 settled the figure. The committee ordered her statue from England with about £816 in hand toward the £2,000 estimate, and the subscription appeal began running in the Star week after week. Canterbury did not rush to pay: by April the committee was still some £600 short, the Ashburton Borough Council's circulated list had gathered under twenty shillings, and a list at the Farmers' Co-operative Association had drawn exactly one shilling.
After Queen Victoria’s death in January 1901 the committee decided the memorial would be a statue of the late Queen, and ordered it from England while subscriptions stood at about £816 of the £2,000 estimated cost.
JUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 23 February 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastAshburton Guardian Magnaest Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1901. (Ashburton Guardian, 21 February 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastJUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 01 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastThe public subscribed slowly: by April 1901 the committee was still about £600 short of the £2,000 estimate, the Ashburton Borough Council’s circulated list had gathered under twenty shillings, and a subscription list at the Farmers’ Co-operative Association had drawn a single shilling.
JUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 13 April 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastAshburton Guardian Magna est veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1901. (Ashburton Guardian, 21 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastThe subscription appeal ran in the Star week after week through March 1901, the committee publishing its running total — £911, then £939, £960, £1,007, £1,024, £1,032, £1,047 — as it inched toward the £2,000 estimate.
JUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 02 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastJUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 05 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastJUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 06 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastJUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 07 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastJUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 08 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastJUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 09 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastTHE JUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 30 March 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastThe royal visit gave the unfinished memorial its moment anyway. On 22 June 1901 the Duke of Cornwall and York laid its foundation stone — the only ceremony of the day — and by then it had taken on a second purpose: it would also stand as the province's memorial to the Canterbury men who had fallen in South Africa, and carry their names.
The Duke of Cornwall and York laid the memorial’s foundation stone on 22 June 1901 during the royal visit to Christchurch — the only ceremony that day — with mayor A. E. G. Rhodes handing him the trowel.
THE ROYAL VISIT. ENTRY INTO CHRISTCHURCH. (Evening Post, 24 June 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastEMPIRE DAY. (Star, 25 May 1903) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastThe memorial also stood as the province’s South African war memorial: its estimated cost covered the Queen’s statue and “the memorial to our soldiers who have fallen in South Africa”, and it was to carry the names of the Canterbury men who fell.
JUBILEE MEMORIAL. (Star, 13 April 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastTHE ROYAL VISIT. ENTRY INTO CHRISTCHURCH. (Evening Post, 24 June 1901) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastEMPIRE DAY. (Star, 25 May 1903) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastThe statue was in position in Victoria Square by April 1903, and the committee chose not to wait for the relief panels still on the water from England. On Empire Day, 25 May 1903, before a large crowd and a guard of volunteers, Mrs Wigram — the mayor's wife — drew off the royal standard that covered the figure. The statue faces Victoria Street from a high pedestal above a grassed mound.
By April 1903 the statue was in position in Victoria Square, and the committee decided not to wait for the contingent panels still expected from England about 10 June, planning the unveiling before 24 May.
Canterbury Jubilee Memorial. (Colonist, 22 April 1903) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastLAST NIGHT'S NEW ZEALAND NEWS. (Poverty Bay Herald, 22 April 1903) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastMrs Wigram, wife of mayor H. F. Wigram, unveiled the memorial in Victoria Square on Empire Day, 25 May 1903, before a large crowd; the statue faces Victoria Street from a high pedestal above a grassed mound.
EMPIRE DAY. (Star, 25 May 1903) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers PastCanterbury Jubilee Memorial. (Colonist, 22 April 1903) · · National Library of New Zealand · Papers Past