Christchurch is the city in the region of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand that is oftentimes labelled as one of the most English city not being in England. It's also known as the Garden City as it has a great number of beautiful gardens. The urban region contains a population of just below 400 000, making it the second biggest city in New Zealand after its rival, Auckland. The Avon River passes through the center of the city with many parks located alongside its banks with Hagley Park being a main characteristic of Christchurch. In the middle of the city is Cathedral Square featuring the landmark Anglican cathedral that is currently being restored following earthquake damage.
The farming and agricultural market is the economical root of Christchurch and the bulk of the initial business there were set up to support that. Travel and leisure is now additionally a major factor for the local overall economy, with the city marketing itself being a portal to the South Island having its remarkable scenery, snow skiing and also adventure tourism. It is also the gateway to the Antarctic, with the city developing a long reputation of assistance in Antarctic research. There is an International Antarctic Centre that provides both base services and a museum which has a visitors centre. The United States Navy uses Christchurch Airport as the entry stage for the major supply route to its McMurdo as well as Scott Bases that are in Antarctica.
There is some data that individuals first moved in the Christchurch area in approximately 1250. Settlement became popular early in 1840 after the acquisition of land in what is now Riccarton by the Weller family and a group of European settlers brought by Herriott and McGillivray established themselves in what is now Christchurch, at the start of 1840. The Canterbury Association chartered The First Four Ships to bring 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour. The sailing vessels were the Randolph, Charlotte Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Cressy. The Charlotte Jane got there first on 16 December 1850. The Canterbury Pilgrims wanted to create a city around a cathedral in line with the design of Christ Church in Oxford, UK, and so the name of Christchurch.
Several critical incidents have shaped Christchurch. In 1947, a fire occurred at Ballantyne's Department Store within the central area with 41 people were killed in a blaze that destroyed the collection of properties. It is still New Zealand's most severe fire tragedy. In between September 2010 and January 2012 the city had a lot of serious earthquakes with the most severe being on Tuesday 22 February 2011 when 185 individuals were killed and 1000s of structures collapsing or enduring considerable damages. After the disaster over 1500 structures in the city had been taken down, leading to a still ongoing recuperation and rebuilding undertaking. Christchurch did have some quick growth after the earthquakes. On 15 March 2019, 51 citizens were murdered in the course of 2 terrorist attacks in the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre by a white supremacist that come in from from Australia. These terrorist violence ended up referred to by the leader of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern as "One of New Zealand's darkest days".