The New Zealand program begins in country tomorrow on the South Island’s Garden City of Christchurch. Christchurch is the most populated city on the South Island with approximately 370,000 residents and the second largest, after Auckland, in the country.

The first inhabitants of Christchurch were Moa hunters, who probably arrived as early as 1000 A.D. On the coast, forests of matai and totara grew, and parts of the Canterbury Plains also may have had forests.

By about 1450 A.D., the moa had been killed off, and large parts of the forests had been burnt. North Island Moori, or Ngati Mamoe, and later Ngai Tahu, traveled south and arrived in Canterbury between 1500 and 1700, killing the remaining moa hunters or assimilating them into their tribes.

In 1850, the first organized groups of English settlers, the “founders” of Christchurch, arrived on the first four ships into Lyttelton Harbor. On July 31, 1856, Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter, making Christchurch the oldest city in New Zealand. Many of the city’s fine Gothic buildings by the architect Benjamin Mountfort date from this period. Mountfort completed the work on Christchurch Cathedral, pictured right, which is an iconic representation of the city.

Students learn of this history amongst other coursework during their first few program days spent in Christchurch.