DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH OF NEW ZEALAND. 



"55 



has pretty well dissipated this hope. But Mr. Reischek's researches brought to light two 

 species of bird new to science, and resulted in the discovery of a moderately extensive 

 grass-country among the hills, which was promptly taken up for run-holding purposes. 

 The Maori house was brought from Napier, and was intended for the residence of a 

 chief. It contains a fine collection of Maori curios, amongst them casts of an antique 

 Tamil bell, found in the possession of the North Island natives, and of Koratangi, a 

 carved stone bird said by the Maoris to have been brought with them from Hawaiki. 



The Public Gardens, or Government Domain, lie alongside the Museum and cover a 

 tract of eighty acres, picturesquely laid out and almost surrounded by the sinuous Avon 

 with its drooping willows. Among the earliest contributors whose interest in the Botanic 

 Gardens and Museum 

 was enlisted by Dr. 

 von Haast were 

 Baron von Muller, 

 of Melbourne, who 

 sent a collection of 

 four hundred and sixty 

 specimens of Austra- 

 lian plants, and Pro- 

 fessor Louis Agassiz, 

 to whom the Museum 

 is indebted for large 

 collections of the skins 

 of North American 

 mammals and a num- 

 ber of interesting fos- 



* 



sils. Across the Avon, and to the north and south of the Public Gardens, extends Hagley 

 Park, a reserve of four hundred acres, which was presented to the people of Canterbury 

 by a number of English well-wishers. It is environed by belts of English trees and 

 Californian pines, while the numerous shady walks make up a total promenade of ten 

 miles. At the southern end there are spacious cricket grounds, and the portion of it 

 which adjoins the Hospital has been formed into Acclimatization Gardens. To row up 

 the River by the side of Hagley Park is a delightful experience, and the time may be 

 agreeably varied by angling for some of the splendid trout that disport themselves in 

 the clear stream. But the trout have by no means a monopoly of the running water ; 

 it is also populated by shoals of white-bait. The principal arena for cricket and foot-ball 

 is at Lancaster Park, a fine reserve of eleven acres, admirably laid out and furnished 

 with the necessary buildings. Christchurch has always enjoyed considerable repute for its 

 prowess in the cricket field. The chief sporting institution of the place is the Canter- 

 bury Jockey Club, which possesses a race-course reserve of rather more than three 

 hundred acres at Riccarton, about ten miles by rail from the city. Racing found a 

 congenial home in Canterbury from the earliest days of the settlement, and the 

 "added money" offered by the Jockey Club has steadily increased from year to year. 

 The principal events are the "New Zealand Cup" of one thousand sovereigns, and 



THE HIGH SCHOOL, CHKISTCHUKCII. 



