The History of Lincoln
The name “Lincoln” comes originally from the Roman title for an
area in the north east of England. The area had been called Lindum
Colonia meaning “lake colony” (you can see the “Lin” and “coln” in
the Latin words). Today Lincoln, England is a manufacturing city
with an urban population of some 120,000.
The Earl of Lincoln, Henry Pelham Clinton (1811-64), was a foundation
member of the Canterbury Association, set up to organise the settlement
of Canterbury in New Zealand. The Earl of Lincoln was Secretary of
State for the Colonies and his family was associated with the town
and district of Lincoln in England. His name was given to one of
the towns planned for Canterbury before the colonists left England.
The name was first placed on maps in 1848 and initially put at the
mouth of the Selwyn River on Lake Ellesmere, but the name was transferred
to its original site in 1862. However, after the initial settlement
of Canterbury the plans for a Lincoln township did not proceed until,
through private entrepreneurship, a run holder and prominent public
figure by the name of James Edward Fitzgerald offered quarter-acre
sections for sale in 1863.
A flour mill was built to service the growing farming district and
the town was laid out in a grid with streets named after Fitzgerald
and his family members.
The new town flourished and by
1873 it boasted a post office, butcher, baker, a confectioner, hotel,
wheelwright, carpenter and blacksmith.
The railway arrived in 1875 and the Little River line was opened in 1886. By 1967 the Little River and Southbridge branches of the railway line had closed and today the Little River Rail Trail is a popular cycle way and walking track - of which the Prebbleton to Lincoln leg is used extensively.
A Māori History
Lincoln University, Lincoln township and the proposed Lincoln development lie within the takiwā (territory) of Te Taumutu Rūnanga, centred on Te Hora Marae, Taumutu, about 30 kilometres south-east of the university campus.
A formal carved gateway, known as Te Paepae Tapu a Rakaihautu, stands
in the main reception area of Lincoln University, Te Whare Wānaka
o Aoraki. It is the work of master carver, George Vincent Edwards
(Ngāi Tahu & Ngāti Irakehu) of Christchurch and apprentices under
his direction and was installed in 1995.
The tekoteko at the apex of the gateway depicts Tu Te Raki Haunoa,
who was the diety of the Waitaha people, the first Māori to settle
in Te Waipounamu (the South Island). The koruru at the centre of
the gateway’s maihi (bargeboard), depicts the leading ancestor, Rakaihautu,
who brought the Waitaha traditions and bloodlines to the South Island.
Te Ruahikihiki, tipuna of the people of the Taumutu area, is one
of four tekoteko depicted on the maihi.
In June 2006, a Charter of Understanding was signed at Te Hora Marae
between Te Taumutu Rūnanga and Lincoln University. Amo (pillars)
of the charter are education, research, cultural input, participation
in decision-making and attention to the health and life of nearby
Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere).
It is believed this was the first time in the South Island – and
probably in New Zealand – that a university had signed a formal Charter
of Understanding with a local tribe or sub-tribe. Signing of the
charter gave formal and explicit expression to what had previously
been informal and implicit – years of cooperation and endeavour between
the runanga and the university.
A further milestone took place in 2007, when Lincoln University and
Ngāi Tahu Property Limited signed a document to initiate the joint
venture development of the decommissioned Dairy Block on the west
side of the university.
