provisional contract with Messrs. Holmes and Co. (Mr. George Holmes and Mr. E. Richardson), He also made arrangements with the Union Bank there to float a loan of £300,000 at the rate of £50,000 per annum, and on his return to Lyttelton, on April 28, 1861, accompanied by Mr. George Holmes, he met with a great reception from the Canterbury public, as it was recognised that the undertaking had been placed on a sound and promising footing.
On Bay 16, 1861, the provisional contract and loan arrangements were confirmed by the Provincial Council. The contract sum was £240,500, slightly more than that arranged with Messrs. Smith, Knight and Co., but it included other work outside the Tunnel, and was considered more favourable to the Province. Mr. E. Richardson followed his partner to Lyttelton, and took charge of the work, and on July 17, 1861, the first sod was turned by Mr. W. S. Moorhouse, and the event was celebrated by a banquet, under the chairmanship of Mr. Richardson.
Looking back, one cannot help being amazed at the intrepidity shown by so small a community in undertaking so gigantic a task. One must remember, however, that those were the prosperous days of Canterbury. The land sales, for instance, during the first half of 1862, amounted to £131,655 10s. The finances of the Province were in so flourishing a condition that the Provincial Council (January 10, 1862) decided to purchase and cancel the first year’s instalment of the railway Loan, £50,000, thus making the payment out of revenue.
It may be added that Messrs. Holmes and Co. successfully carried out their contract, and on May 24, 1867, the Tunnel was pierced by breaking into a drill hole, and five days later, May 29, a practical opening was made, through which some of the miners and Superintendent Moorhouse passed. The first trial trip of an engine through the Tunnel was made on November 18,
