Akaroa is "first"

Akaroa is proudly "first" in a number of significant ways.

• It is the oldest town in Canterbury, for example.
• It has the oldest surviving house in Canterbury.
• The first vineyard established in New Zealand was here, in Akaroa
• The country's first Catholic church was built here.
• And it was the only French colony established in New Zealand.

In the 1840s, when New Zealand was first being settled by large number of Europeans, land was critical. And both the French and the English bought land from the local Maori.

As later disputes have shown, however, the Maori had a concept of land ownership that was different to the Europeans who were buying it from them. Maori considered they were not selling the freehold title, but just the right to use the land.

In the early days of settlement, it was obvious to most pioneers that Akaroa was a far more pleasant spot than the swampy, windswept site of nearby Christchurch. But land was short in Akaroa, and widely available around Christchurch. So in due course the commercial heart of the new Canterbury province became Christchurch.

Akaroa, however, remained a pleasant place to visit and retire to, and tourism has become a major commercial foundation for the historic town.