How many records does the archive hold?

63,896 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.

“"Columbo Street"”, the shelf

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

26 records matching 19 of these 26 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 1850s
15 Nov 1851
Page 1 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 15 November 1851) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
22 Nov 1851
Page 4 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 22 November 1851) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
1 May 1852
Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 01 May 1852) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
7 Aug 1852
Page 2 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 07 August 1852) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 5 places
14 Aug 1852
Page 2 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 14 August 1852) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 5 places
14 Aug 1852
Page 12 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 14 August 1852) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 2 places
14 Aug 1852
Page 11 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 14 August 1852) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 2 places
21 Aug 1852
Page 2 Advertisements Column 2 (Lyttelton Times, 21 August 1852) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 4 places
28 Aug 1852
Page 2 Advertisements Column 1 (Lyttelton Times, 28 August 1852) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 7 places
16 Sept 1857
Page 7 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 16 September 1857) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
19 Sept 1857
Page 7 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 19 September 1857) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
23 Sept 1857
Page 7 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 23 September 1857) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
30 Sept 1857
Page 7 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 30 September 1857) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
3 Oct 1857
Page 7 Advertisements Column 5 (Lyttelton Times, 03 October 1857) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
10 Feb 1858
Page 10 Advertisements Column 3 (Lyttelton Times, 10 February 1858) Lyttelton Times · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
the 1890s
12 Sept 1891
Columbo Street, looking south from the cathedral by New Zealand Graphic · Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Auckland Libraries
21 Aug 1897
Page 7 Advertisements Column 6 (Star, 21 August 1897) Star · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
25 Mar 1899
Page 1 Advertisements Column 1 (Ellesmere Guardian, 25 March 1899) Ellesmere Guardian · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 1 place
5 Apr 1899
Page 1 Advertisements Column 1 (Ellesmere Guardian, 05 April 1899) Ellesmere Guardian · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read · about 2 places
the 1900s
19 Jan 1904
SMALLPOX IN CHRISTCHURCH (Clutha Leader 19-1-1904) Clutha Leader · Papers Past · National Library of New Zealand · text read
the 1910s
1 Jan 1910
Cathedral Square, Christchurch by Radcliffe, Frederick George, 1863-1923 · Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · no. 276472 · Auckland Libraries
1 Jan 1910
Cathedral Square, Christchurch by Radcliffe, Frederick George, 1863-1923 · Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · no. 276461 · Auckland Libraries
1 Jan 1910
Hereford Street, Christchurch by Radcliffe, Frederick George, 1863-1923 · Photographs / He Whakaahua · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Auckland Libraries
1 Feb 1912
South side of Cathedral Square and Columbo Street from the Cathedral tower. by Leslie Adkin · Photography · Te Papa Collections Online · Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
the 1920s
22 May 1929
In the picturesque 'City of the plains': a striking street scene from Christchurch, Canterbury by Auckland Weekly News; Green and Hahn · Auckland Weekly News · Kura Heritage Collections Online · Auckland Libraries
the 2010s
1 Jan 2013
Effects of the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, particularly of aerial views of Christchurch City CBD and suburbs TAPUHI · Alexander Turnbull Library · about 1 place

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.

“"Columbo Street"”, the shelf

The shelf

Its patch