Lyttelton, New Zealand - Did my memory serve me well?

 About half an hour from downtown Christchurch and through a Tunnel which burrows under the Port Hills is the port town of Lyttelton.   I carry vivid memories of the town from a visit 45 years ago. A couple of weeks ago I visited again. Well, goodness me, it is amazing how memories can become distorted over time.    In my memory the main street of shops sloped up sharply from the waterfront and the famous Time Ball was right in the heart of town.  It was a real eye opener to return and find my memories were actually quite wrong.  In fact the Time Ball is a fair distance from the main street and the shopping street runs in a level flat line across the sloping hillside.

Houses pepper the slopes of the Port Hills..... 

I was on a short trip to Christchurch so decided to take a bus trip out to Lyttleton for a look around.  Lyttleton is a quaint town boasting a population of just  over 3000.  Nestled in amongst the hills, overlooking the port, its houses pepper the steep slopes, the owners clearly swapping difficult access for spectacular views of the sublime harbour. First settled by the Maori in the 1300s and ancestral home for the South Island's largest tribe, the Ngai Tahu, its sheltered port made it an attractive landing place for whalers and settlers in the 1800s.  If you live in Christchurch it is a huge status symbol to be able to boast that you are descended from the migrants who arrived there on the first four ships in 1850.  

....and overlook the port and the beautiful harbour

Lyttelton grew up quickly to accommodate the new arrivals who mostly made their tortuous way over the hills to the new settlement in Christchurch.  Sadly a fire devastated the town in 1870  after which it was rebuilt in  fireproof stone only for many of the stone buildings to collapse in the major earthquakes of 2011. Work is continuing to replace some of the lovely old character buildings destroyed, and it is sad to see gaps where buildings once stood, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the  ambiance of this quiet, sleepy old town. It was a cold overcast day so I took the opportunity to enjoy a long conversation with the lovely woman at the information centre who told me a lot about the history of Lyttelton. Then I took a stroll around the heritage walk. 

Grubb Cottage (1851) Open to the public on Saturdays

Grubb Cottage (1851), in London Street,  the main street, survived the fire and is preserved as an example of an early settlers home. There are some attractive shops, cafes, bars and restaurants further along the street.  I was particularly captivated by the Book Shop which looks cosy and enticing and the old colonial frontages on some buildings. An excellent busker was playing his guitar and singing to no one, apart from me, the only person on the street, although I did spot quite a few people enjoying morning coffee in the cafes.

London Street blends the old with the new

An iconic feature of Lyttelton, the Time Ball was built in 1876 to aid seamen.  Everyday at 1pm a 100kg ball was dropped above the tower to aid the navigators in setting their chronometers.  The Time Ball tower was completely destroyed in the 2011 earthquakes but happily it has now been restored and is once again a much loved feature of the town although no longer in use as a shipping aid. It started to drizzle so I decided not to walk up the hill to the Time Ball although I could see it from a distance.

Lyttelton's iconic Time Ball Tower - rebuilt after the earthquake

I wandered Winchester Street, above the town, taking in the view from St Saviours at Holy Trinity church and stopping to admire  Teynham House (1851), listed as a house of high heritage significance, before heading down to the waterfront to catch the bus back to Christchurch.  What a contrast!  While the shopping area was quiet and sleepy the harbour and wharf was an absolute hive of activity.  Lyttelton is the major port of the South Island with ships coming and going, loading containers and logs for export and unloading containers  onto trucks which then travel  through the tunnel under the Port Hills delivering  imports to the rest of New Zealand.  I imagine that when work is done for the day the restaurants, bars and cafes on London St come alive with workers and seamen enjoying some leisure time.

Teynham House (1851)

The port of Lyttelton

I always enjoy picking and poking around somewhere new and Lyttelton was sort of new and no exception.  Like most places in New Zealand there are signs it is struggling post covid but, hopefully, it can come back from that.  It is amazing that my completely incorrect memories of the place are still firmly embedded in my mind, and probably always will be, even though I now have new, correct memories of Lyttelton. It is as if they are two different places that I will always remember. The mind really can play tricks on you.