Hehhiott. — History of Ilagltij tark. 429 



into North and South Parks, which are separated by Riccarton Road. 

 The North Park is bounded on the south by Riccarton Road, on the west 

 by the W<'st Belt, on the north and <>ast by the River Avon. A small 

 plantation, known as Hehnore's Plantation, is cut off on the north of 

 North Park by a public road. The South Park is bounded by the 

 South Belt, the West Belt, Riccarton Road, and Lincoln Road. In the 

 same block of land as the North Park are the Botanic Gardens. On the 

 north these are bounded by a straight line running at right angles to 

 RoUeston Avenue along the College boundary-fence as far as the river, 

 thence by the river itself to the south end of Rolleston Avenue again. 



The exact areas of these various portions are rather difficult to determine 

 from the records. In the Lyttelion Times of the 20th April, 1852, the Land 

 Office of that day advertises the 445 acres of Hagley Park as available for 

 depasturing, at a rental of 2s. 7d. per acre. The Govei'nment Domain, of 

 64| acres, is also advertised, at a rental of 4s. 7d. per acre. Whether this 

 Government Domain is part of the original reserve and is the area now 

 occupied by the Botanic Gardens is not quite certain, but, assuming that 

 it is, the total area of the reserve as surveyed in those days would be 

 509|^ acres. This is greater than any later estimate. By the Public 

 Domains Act, 1895, the area of Hagley Park and Domain is described as 

 originally 495 acres This includes the 10 acres vested in the Christ's 

 College authorities, the Hospital ground, and also the areas occupied by 

 the roads through the Park, altogether 35 acres, leaving under the direct 

 control of the Domain Board 460 acres. In 1905 the North Park was 

 surveyed by Mr. N. C. Staveley, of the Canterbury College Physics Depart- 

 ment, and in 1906 the South Park by students of the Engineering Scliool, 

 under Mr. W. F. Robinson, and the areas were computed as follows : North 

 Park, 210 acres ; South Park, 174 acres 1 rood 4 poles : total, 384 acres 

 1 rood 4 poles. The accompanying table shows the latest areas recorded 

 for each division of the original reserve : — 



^&" 



North Park 



South Park 



Christ's College . . 



Museum 



Magnetic Observatory 



Domain Garden 



Hospital 



Acclimatization Society . . 



Total . . . . 471 19 



Subtracting from this total the areas handed over to Christ's College and 

 to the Hospital Board, a total of 447 acres 2 roods 1 pole is left under the 

 control of the Domain Board, thus making a shortage of 22 acres 1 rood 

 39 poles from the estimated 460 acres of 1895. 



Early History. 



The administration of the land of the public reserves was at first in the 

 hands of the Land Office. The earliest reference found was in the LytteJfon 

 Times of the 3rd April, 1852, where, over Mr. W. G. Brittan's signature, 

 was the advertisement for receiving tenders to depasture " the land known 

 as the Town Reserve surrounding Christchurch, Hagley Park, and the 



