Lyttelton Harbour Board


The Lyttelton Harbour Board was established on 10 January 1877 to manage Lyttelton Harbour. The harbour had previously been managed by the Canterbury Provincial Council, but provincial government ceased to exist on 1 January 1877. The harbour board was governed by members elected during local elections. Lyttelton Harbour Board was disestablished through the 1989 local government reforms, with its functions transferred to the Lyttelton Port Company.
The Lyttelton Harbour Board held its first meeting on 18 January 1877. The ten inaugural members were Edward Richardson, John Hall, Hugh Murray-Aynsley, Peter Cunningham, Richard James Strachan Harman, David Craig, John Anderson, Edward George Wright, Henry Sawtell, and John T. Rouse. Richardson was unanimously elected as the inaugural chairman. The table below shows the original membership of the harbour board:
NameRepresentation
Edward RichardsonAppointed by the Governor and voted as inaugural chair
David CraigAppointed by the Governor
Peter CunninghamElected by members of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce
John AndersonElected by members of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce
Henry SawtellElected by voters of the City of Christchurch
Edward George WrightElected by voters of the City of Christchurch
John HallAppointed by Selwyn County Council
Richard James Strachan HarmanAppointed by Selwyn County Council
Hugh Murray-AynsleyDeclared elected unopposed for the Borough of Lyttelton
John T. RouseEx officio member as Mayor of Lyttelton

Cunningham resigned in late 1877 and was replaced by Charles Wesley Turner, the deputy chair of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. Harry Allwright was elected mayor of Lyttelton in December 1877 and thus replaced Rouse. Both attended their first meeting in December 1877.

List of chairman

The Lyttelton Harbour Board had the following chairmen: