Townsend, Mary, 1822-1869 :Port Lyttelton. Victoria Harbour. Etched by T. Allom. From a drawing by Miss Mary Townsend. London, John W. Parker, 1851.

View looking across the harbour from a position on the water, inwards and across towards the Lyttelton waterfront. There are several rowboats in the foreground, and the "Cressy" stands at anchor at the left. Labelled features from left to right are: The ship "Cressy" arriving, Bridle Road to the plain, wharfs and pier, Emigration barracks and Mr Godley's house, Sumner Road to Lyttelton.

The accompanying descriptive text reads: This view shows the site of the town of Port Lyttelton, with the hills which separate it from the great plain; the Sumner Road, leading by way of Sumner to Lyttelton, the capital of the Settlement; and the four ships of the first expedition, the last of which, the "Cressy", has just cast anchor. Mr Godley's house, part of the Emigrants' Barracks, the wharves and jetty, and some storehouses and huts. are indistinctly visible. A bridle-path over the hills, the only available road to the Plain when the first colonists landed, may be discerned. Immediately behind Mr Godley's house and the barracks, is a fifty acre section of land, presented to the College by the widow of the late Mr Somes, M.P. for Dartmouth, the whole of which is sure to become town land, and highly valuable. This property is given for a scholarship to be named after the founder. At the time represented, the Sumner Road was still unfinished at some places of difficult engineering; and the first settlers, having but just arrived, had erected no permanent residences. At the time of the latest advices (March last), the passengers by the first four ships had selected their rural lands, and the greater part of them had removed from the Port to settle at and near Lyttelton in the Plain. The highest point of land indicated in this view, is Mount Pleasant, 1670 feet above the sea.

Quantity: 1 b&w art print(s).

Physical Description: Tinted etching, black and white, 162 x 270 mm