Herriott. — History of Haglcy Parh. 437 



In 1888 four cricket clubs in South Park and eight football clubs in 

 North Park together occupied 49 acres. In 1913 the ap[)roximate area of 

 sports-grounds was estimated at 68 acres. 



The Soil of Hagley Park. 



The nature of the soil on which any plant association is found is always 

 important in the study of the plants forming that association. The soil of 

 Haglev Park is for the most part very sandy, with patches of shingle and 

 smaller areas of swampy ground, though the latter is not now so extensive 

 as it once was. Geologically the Park belongs to the Canterbury Plains, 

 and some account of their formation has been taken from Sir Julius von 

 Haast's report of 1864.* 



After describing the probable state of this South Island during the 

 Tertiary and succeeding glacial periods at the close of which the Canter- 

 bury Plains began to be formed by the deposits carried down by the 

 glacier torrents, he postulates the formation of a huge lagoon extending 

 from the Rakaia to the Waimakariri. This he considered was formed by 

 a bank composed of deposits of sand and silt carried down by the glacier 

 torrents and so enclosing an arm of the sea. The bank was added to by 

 the drift sand along the coast. Of this lagoon only Lake EUesmere now 

 remains. The rest has been filled up partly with deposits of silt or glacial 

 mud brought down by the big rivers Rakaia, Selwyn, and Waimakariri (all 

 of which he considered emptied into this huge lagoon), partly by deltas 

 formed by these rivers, and also by the invasion of drift sand from the 

 seashores. By slow upheavals swamps were probably formed, giving rise 

 to extensive beds of peat, by means of which the ground gradually became 

 still higher, so as to offer the necessary conditions for the growth of the 

 kahikatea (white-pine) (Podocarpus dacrydioides) and other forest-trees, 

 whilst in the intersecting channels between the dry lands the deposits of 

 silt were still thrown down to form beds of clay and loam (p. 55). 



The swampv ground on which Podocarpus dacrydioides established 

 itself is farther to the north and west of Hagley Park, but certain 

 small areas within the Park are still swampy, and Victoria Lake marks 

 the site of the largest swamp of more recent years, which for long 

 was an eyesore to the beauty-loving section of the Christchurch public, 

 but, as mentioned above, formed the home of many of our native 

 swamp-plants. The other swampy areas are indicated by the presence 

 of the sedge Schoeniis pauciflorus. The greater part of the Park,' how- 

 ever, is shingly or sandy in character. The shingle has proved a source 

 of revenue to the Domain Boards for many years, while the sand is 

 everywhere present at a gieater or less depth from the surface. This 

 sand was a serious trouble to the early Boards. The question of how to 

 stay its inroads or prevent its drifting was at length answered by the hajipy 

 suggestion of one Board member in 1881 that the City Council be asked 

 to deposit all grass scrapings from the streets on such areas. That appa- 

 rently settled the difficulty, for no more complaints concerning sand-drifts 

 are heard in the Board meetings. Instead, complaints of a different nature 

 were heard, to the effect that the City Council were exceeding their ])rivi- 

 lege by depositing more than grass scrapings, and so making of the Park 

 an unsightly dumping-ground for all kinds of city refuse. 



* Geological Reports to the Provincial Council o/ Canterbury : 2. Report on Formation 

 of Canterburv Plains, Session XXII, 186-t. 



