Maori, the first people of this land, brought with them, and applied, the principles of Rongomaraeroa – the Mauri (life force) of Peace - laying the foundations for peace. Below lists most of the key activities and achievements that have happened to date in Christchurch on the road to world peace:
October 2009 Christchurch Heritage Week showcases reactions and responses to peace and conflict and how it shaped our City from 16-26 October with the theme ‘Doves and Defences: Discover Christchurch in Peace and Conflict’.
October 2009 The Christchurch branch of the World Peace March for Peace and Non-violence hold a march through the city visiting key peace sites.
November 2008 The Christchurch Art Gallery hosted a demonstration as part of an international series of events called ‘Cartooning for Peace’.
December 2007 Dr Kate Dewes, veteran peace and disarmament campaigner and Director of the Peace Foundation Disarmament & Security Centre in Christchurch, appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to his 15-member Advisory Board on Disarmament.
October 2006 A World Peace Bell, presented to the city by the World Peace Bell Association (WPBA) of Tokyo, unveiled in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. The pavilion for the bell was gifted by the Christchurch Chapter of the WPBA after two years of fundraising.
October 2006 The Christchurch City Council and the Christchurch-based Peace Foundation Disarmament and Security Centre co-ordinated a project to gift a sculpture.
2005 Mayor Gary Moore appointed to the Executive of Mayors for Peace and was elected one of 8 Vice Presidents later that year - representing the Oceania region. The Mayor and Council staff attend the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty Conference at the United Nations in New York in May.
August 2003 Mayor Moore visits Japan to sign a Peace & Friendship Agreement with Hiroshima city.
2002 The city hosts an exhibition from the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to mark the 20th anniversary of its nuclear free status. Exhibition is attended by 20,000. Visit by Mayor of Nagasaki, Iccho Itoh to strengthen the relationship between the cities.
December 2002 Mayor Moore presents eight Peace Awards to key Christchurch Peace campaigners and groups.
October 2002 Graham Bennett sculpture made from twisted steel girders from New York’s World Trade Centre unveiled at the newly-created Firefighter’s Reserve, in honour of New York firefighters who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack.
August 2002 Prime Minister David Lange opens the Mahatma Gandhi photographic exhibition at the Canterbury Museum to mark Peace Week.
1999 Christchurch joins 242 local authorities worldwide in supporting a resolution calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
1998 The Lincoln Agreement signed between Papua New Guinea and Bougainville leaders at Burnham Military Camp, ending their nine-year conflict. The government-facilitated talks results in the establishment of an unarmed international Peace Monitoring Group.
1996 New Zealand co-sponsors a United Nations resolution entitled ‘Nuclear Weapon Free Southern Hemisphere and Adjacent Areas' with local people and politicians endorsing and promoting this.
1991 Christchurch people and local politicians protest against the Gulf War 2000
During the 1980s, the Christchurch City Council hosted various Peace Festivals, and planted a peace tree to commemorate the UN International Year of Peace in 1986. Up to 40 local groups met monthly to organise activities such as peace vigils and marches, ‘Give Peace a Dance', street theatre, producing newsletters and peace education material, and seminars. They helped develop and run the Environment and Peace Information Centre (EPICENTRE) in the Arts Centre.
Christchurch became the first New Zealand Nuclear Weapon Free city. Lyttelton was the second nuclear free borough after Devonport, followed closely by Heathcote, Riccarton, Rangiora, Mt Herbert, Akaroa, Malvern, Waiwera and others.
In 1960, the New Zealand Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was headquartered in Christchurch with Mary Woodward and Elsie Locke in key leadership roles. In 1961, CND urged the New Zealand government to declare it ‘will not acquire or use nuclear weapons' and to withdraw from nuclear alliances such as ANZUS. In 1963, they presented the ‘No Bombs South of the Line' petition to parliament with 80,238 signatures (14,564 from Christchurch) calling on the government to sponsor an international conference to discuss establishing a nuclear-free-zone in the southern hemisphere. It was the biggest petition since the one in 1893 demanding votes for women.
In August 1947, Christchurch first marked the anniversary of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the early 1960s CND organised marches and speeches. Annually since 1976 lanterns have been floated on the Avon River with speeches by local citizens including politicians, mayors and councillors.
In 1897, Christchurch women involved in the suffrage movement, which won the world's first votes for women in 1893, called for ‘a permanent court of arbitration' to resolve international disputes peacefully. This court was established in 1899 and in 1946 became the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court.
