The Council and its offices
From 1862 until April 1887, Council meetings were held in the first public building erected in Christchurch on the banks of the Avon River in Worcester Street. This had been used as the Land Office in 1851 and subsequently served many public purposes - government buildings, survey office, resident magistrates court, supreme court and library, as well as municipal offices.
In 1886 the Council decided that the time had arrived to have a building more worthy of the growing city. The new offices were erected on the cleared site of the old Land Office, and the first meeting of the Council took place there on 4 April. By 1919 the building had become too small and overflow offices had been taken in Worcester Street. In 1920 the Canterbury Hall Company offered to the Council its site in Manchester Street containing the remains of the Canterbury Hall erected in 1900, but gutted by fire in 1917. In 1922 a contract was let and the new offices were opened on 1 September 1924 and the Council met there for the first time a week later.
After World War II, the functions of the Council expanded, with consequent increase in staff. Gradually overflow offices were either bought or leased in other premises in the Manchester Street / Gloucester Street area, until by 1978 the staff occupied all or part of nine separate buildings. This led to the conversion of the of the old Millers department store in Tuam Street into new offices for the Council. The Tuam Street offices were officially opened by H.R.H. The Duchess of Kent on 12 November 1980.
Records of former local authorities
In addition to Christchurch City Council records, the City Archives contain many records of former local authorities previously operating in the area now covered by the Christchurch City Council.
- Borough Councils: Riccarton, Sydenham, New Brighton, Spreydon, St Albans, Sumner, Linwood, Woolston
- Cemetery Boards: Prebbleton, Belfast, Christchurch, Lincoln
- Christchurch Drainage Board
- Christchurch Fire Brigade Board
- Christchurch Tramways/Transport Board
- County Councils: Heathcote, Paparua, Selwyn
- Domain Boards: Halswell, Hillsborough, Templeton, Fendalton, Upper Riccarton, Spencer Park, Christchurch, Rawhiti, New Brighton, Papanui, Prebbleton, Richmond, Cashmere, Marshland
- Former Christchurch City Council
- Halswell District Community Council
- Metropolitan Milk Board
- Milk Delivery Board
- Roads Boards: Heathcote, Avon, Riccarton, Spreydon, Linwood, Sumner, Woolston, Tai-Tapu, Waimairi District/County Council.
Once a record is determined to be of permanent value and regarded as an archive, it will be stored permanently.
The Public Records Act specifies significant classes of local government records, and provides that they may not be destroyed unless prior approval is given by the Chief Archivist.
These include: local authority meeting papers, electoral records, rate records, legal records, financial records, town planning records, property records, policy records, photographic master records, publicity material, cemetery records, registers and indexes of all records either destroyed or retained, staff records, works and development records, valuation rolls, maps and plans, documents formerly held by any branch of the central government and now in the custody of local government.
