Settlers Corner
In December 1850, the first ships carrying British settlers arrived in Canterbury.
Many of the colonists built huts along the Avon River in what is now North Hagley Park.
This cluster of huts became known as Settlers Corner.
V Huts
The new arrivals used some European elements in their temporary homes.
Weatherboard fronts, hinged doors and framed glass windows were sheltered under Māori whare-style ‘V’ roofs.
The roofs were thatched with native flax (Phormium tenax) and ran from central ridgelines to the ground, earning the simple structures the name ‘V huts’.
The settlers used a natural spring close to their homes which today is known as Pilgrims Well.
A stone memorial was built in 1930 that encloses this spring on the north bank of the Avon.
The memorial commemorates the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the first ships.
Pilgrims Well 1931
“The gathering of members of the Canterbury Pilgrims’ Association – at the dedication, yesterday afternoon, of the Pilgrims’ Well in Hagley Park.”
Published in The Press 29 January 1931
Pilgrims Well
Pilgrim’s Well can today be found along the Kate Sheppard Memorial Walk in the Botanic Gardens.