Chapter VIII.
Christchurch Life in Early Fifties.
These were not only the young days of the settlement, but were also the young days of most of the settlers, who had come out with their life’s work before them. Even the leaders were not old; Sir George Grey, when he welcomed the Canterbury Pilgrims, was in his thirty-ninth year; Mr. Godley was thirty-six; Bishop Selwyn forty-one; Mr. FitzGerald was under thirty when he became Superintendent; Sir Charles Bowen was only twenty-four when he became Provincial Treasurer. According to a census taken in March, 1857, there were 6,230 persons in Canterbury, of whom 5,577 were under forty years of age, and only forty-two over sixty years old. By way of comparison, it may be noted that out of a similar number to-day, there would be about 400 persons of sixty years or over.
Naturally, in a community consisting almost entirely of young people, there was a greater freedom of social intercourse—life was brighter and friendships more easily formed.
Among the various records of those days, one of the most graphic is the unpublished diary of Mr. Henry Sewell, covering the period 1853-1856; it was intended to be read by the members of the writer’s family in England, and to take the place of letters. Writing for so intimate a circle, Mr. Sewell allowed himself a frankness of expression in describing his friends and acquaintances which might cause offence, and the diary was therefore left by him to be held in trust by the Bishop
