Chapter X.
1857.
Christ’s College—The Sumner Road—Departure of Mr. J. E. FitzGerald.
Bishop Harper, before leaving England, had interested himself in the foundation of Christ’s College, and had collected funds for the purpose. On his arrival in Christchurch, he continued to devote his energy to the same object. An interval occurred while he attended the conference at Auckland, in June, at which the Constitution of the Church of England in New Zealand above referred to was drawn up, but shortly after his return, he performed his first important function in Christchurch, when on July 24, 1857, he, as Warden of the College, laid the foundation stone of Christ’s College.
A main feature in the plan of the Canterbury Association was the foundation of a Church of England College, to be called Christchurch College. There were to be two departments, an upper College for young men over the age of seventeen, and a lower Grammar School on the model of similar schools in England, for boys from seven to seventeen. It was then intended that the College should be situated close to the Cathedral, in the Square, and that the upper department, or College proper, should be the predominant consideration.
The Rev. Henry Jacobs, M.A., was appointed by the Canterbury Association, in May, 1849, to take charge of the collegiate department, and also to superintend the Grammar School at the outset. He came out in the “Sir George Seymour,” acting as chaplain on the
