Christchurch Cathedral

The Anglican cathedral of ChristChurch in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, was built in the second half of the 19th century. It is located in the centre of the city, surrounded by Cathedral Square. It is the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Christchurch in the New Zealand tikanga of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake destroyed the spire and part of the tower - and severely damaged the structure of the remaining building. The cathedral had been damaged previously by earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1901 and 2010.

The high altar reredos was made from kauri planks from an old bridge over the Hurunui River, and includes six carved figures: Samuel Marsden, Archdeacon Henry Williams, Tamihana te Rauparaha, Bishop Selwyn, Bishop Harper, and Bishop Patteson.

The pulpit, designed by Mountford, commemorates George Augustus Selwyn, the first and only Bishop of New Zealand. Mountford also designed the font, which was donated by Dean Stanley of Westminster Abbey in memory of his brother, Captain Owen Stanley of HMS Britomart, who arrived in Akaroa in 1840.

The Cathedral contains the throne and memorial to Bishop Harper – first Bishop of Christchurch and the second Primate of New Zealand – who laid the foundation stone of the cathedral in 1864, and preached at the consecration service in 1881. In the west porch are stones from the Christ Church, Canterbury, Christchurch Priory, Tintern Abbey, Glastonbury Abbey, Herod's Temple, St Paul's Cathedral, and Christ Church, Oxford.

The north wall includes a mural dado of inlaid marble and encaustic tiles, donated by the Cathedral Guild in 1885, which includes fylfot mofits. A memorial window above the mural was donated in memory of Sir Thomas Tancred, Bt.

The Chapel of St Michael and St George was opened by Governor-General, Sir Bernard Freyberg VC on Remembrance Day, 6 November, 1949, and dedicated to Archbishop Campbell West-Watson.