How many records does the archive hold?

65,200 records about Christchurch, every one linked at the provider that keeps the original.

How far back does the archive reach?

1800, the oldest record on file.

Where do the records come from?

30 collections: council archives, Papers Past, DigitalNZ’s partners, cemetery registers, the heritage list itself. The shelf says what exists and where it lives.

Are these documents verified?

They are leads and citations, not evidence, a record says a document exists and where to read it. What a document actually says is only claimed once somebody has read it; those readings live on the place pages.

“"Battersea Street"”, the shelf

Every record the archive holds about Christchurch, the oldest first. The originals live at the provider each row links to.

47 records matching 46 of these 47 with their text read Papers Past · Canterbury Stories · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Te Papa Collections Online · National Publicity Studios black and white file prints · TAPUHI · Canterbury Museum · Auckland Museum Collections · New Zealand Gazette · Digital Public Library of America · V.C. Browne & Son NZ Aerial Photograph Collection · Christchurch City Libraries Flickr · Hocken Digital Collections · Museums Victoria · Air Force Museum of New Zealand Photograph Collection · Wellington City Council Archives · The New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero · New Zealand Electronic Text Collection · Christchurch City Libraries Heritage Images Collection · Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho · Flickr · Radio New Zealand · Alexander Turnbull Library Flickr · Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki · Te Hikoi Museum · iNaturalist NZ — Mātaki Taiao · Manawatū Heritage · Canterbury Photography Museum · Akaroa Museum · Hawke's Bay Museum

the 1880s
27 Aug 1885
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 27 August 1885) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
28 Aug 1885
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 28 August 1885) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
5 Sept 1885
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 05 September 1885) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
8 Sept 1885
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 08 September 1885) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
9 Sept 1885
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 09 September 1885) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
10 Sept 1885
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 10 September 1885) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
27 Jan 1886
THE BEARER OF THE LETTERS. (Star, 27 January 1886) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
10 Aug 1887
DEATHS. (Star, 10 August 1887) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
the 1890s
19 Dec 1890
Page 2 Advertisements Column 6 (Star, 19 December 1890) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
26 Mar 1892
COMMERCIAL. (Star, 26 March 1892) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
17 Nov 1892
Page 1 Advertisements Column 4 (Star, 17 November 1892) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
22 Nov 1892
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 22 November 1892) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
29 Nov 1892
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 29 November 1892) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
14 Jan 1893
Page 1 Advertisements Column 4 (Star, 14 January 1893) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
1 Aug 1893
Sydenham Borough Council (Star, 01 August 1893) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
18 Mar 1897
Page 4 Advertisements Column 4 (Star, 18 March 1897) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
4 Sept 1897
Page 7 Advertisements Column 2 (Star, 04 September 1897) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
7 Sept 1897
Page 1 Advertisements Column 4 (Star, 07 September 1897) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
the 1900s
8 Jun 1901
Page 5 Advertisements Column 5 (Star, 08 June 1901) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
18 Jan 1904
CONTINUES TO SPREAD. (Star, 18 January 1904) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
22 Jan 1904
No Fresh Cases. (Wanganui Chronicle, 22 January 1904) Wanganui Chronicle · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
22 Jan 1904
SMALLPOX. (Colonist, 22 January 1904) Colonist · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
16 Jul 1904
Page 6 Advertisements Column 1 (Star, 16 July 1904) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
13 Oct 1904
Page 4 Advertisements Column 5 (Star, 13 October 1904) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
15 Oct 1904
Page 8 Advertisements Column 4 (Star, 15 October 1904) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
29 Oct 1904
Page 8 Advertisements Column 5 (Star, 29 October 1904) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
15 Nov 1904
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 15 November 1904) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
29 Jul 1905
Page 6 Advertisements Column 6 (Star, 29 July 1905) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
13 Sept 1905
Page 3 Advertisements Column 1 (Star, 13 September 1905) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
1 May 1906
Page 3 Advertisements Column 2 (Star, 01 May 1906) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 2 places
28 Jul 1906
Page 6 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 28 July 1906) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
11 Aug 1906
MATERNITY HOME. (Star, 11 August 1906) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
17 Nov 1906
Page 6 Advertisements Column 5 (Star, 17 November 1906) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
26 Jan 1907
Page 6 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 26 January 1907) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
25 May 1907
Page 5 Advertisements Column 4 (Star, 25 May 1907) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
18 Jul 1908
Page 6 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 18 July 1908) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
7 Nov 1908
Page 7 Advertisements Column 2 (Star, 07 November 1908) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
5 Jun 1909
Page 8 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 05 June 1909) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
4 Aug 1909
ACCIDENTS AMD DEATHS. (Ashburton Guardian, 04 August 1909) Ashburton Guardian · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
28 Aug 1909
Page 5 Advertisements Column 4 (Star, 28 August 1909) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 2 places
11 Sept 1909
Page 6 Advertisements Column 3 (Star, 11 September 1909) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
16 Oct 1909
Page 8 Advertisements Column 2 (Star, 16 October 1909) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
13 Nov 1909
Page 9 Advertisements Column 2 (Star, 13 November 1909) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
the 1930s
10 Jul 1930
NOT FOR FIVE YEARS (NZ Truth, 10 July 1930) NZ Truth · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
21 Sept 1931
ART UNION DRAWN (Evening Post, 21 September 1931) Evening Post · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
25 Feb 1939
DEATHS. (Evening Post, 25 February 1939) Evening Post · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
the 2000s
31 Dec 2008
Buildings on Colombo Street, Sydenham Greg O’Beirne collection · Canterbury Stories · Christchurch City Libraries

Most of these originals are not republishable here, the link goes to the provider that keeps them. A search result is a lead, not evidence: what a document actually says is only claimed once somebody has read it, and those readings live on the place pages.

“"Battersea Street"”, the shelf

The shelf

Its patch