Monday 26 May, 2008

Something fishy's going on ...

Christchurch and Canterbury are renowned as areas that have great fishing, great rivers and an abundance of accessible coastline that lends itself to throwing a line in the water to see what's nibbling.

New Brighton is a popular fishing spot and there are a variety of species to catch. Red cod, kahawai, dog fish and mullet are all swimming around out there. Cutting and washing boards are provided - great for a family fishing excursion.

Aquariums in Christchurch

In 1875 Andrew Mensal Johnson (d. 1916) established a fish hatchery and aquarium at Opawa, on the south bank of the Heathcote River, calling it Troutdale Farm (right). It became popular as a picnic grounds until it closed in the early 1930s.

See localeye for listings of Christchurch aquariums. Some Christchurch Libraries have aquariums - Linwood, Hornby, Central all have a few fish that are on public display.

Inaka – whitebait, a delicacy like no other

A slippery little creature found across New Zealand is the whitebait (inaka or inanga). The Māori custom of fishing at several mahinga kai (food gathering places) was well established before European settlement at places such as Puari. Mill Island, near the corner of Hereford Street and Oxford Terrace, was a well-known spot. Even now eager anglers wade in the water during August and September each year to net the slippery delicacy, the young members of the galaxiid family. In early days, they didn’t have to worry about didymo, so anglers please check, clean and dry your gear so we can keep our rivers clean for the fish in the future.

Win an iPod Touch valued at $749 RRP

There are two ways to be in to win this fantastic prize during New Zealand Music Month.

Give us your opinion about music at the library by completing our short web survey. All completed entries go in the draw.
Borrow 3 Music CDs and get the 4th free. Pick up a loyalty card from any of our libraries, or print one here and we'll give you a bonus stamp, so you only need to borrow 2 to get 1 free.

Full details are available on our Music Month page and make sure you check out free, live concerts in libraries this month.

We recommend: Fish and fishing resources

Our online resources:

Our community information directory CINCH is the home of fishing and hunting groups in Christchurch. One example is the Christchurch Fishing and Casting Club. Open to women and men, it offers fly fishing courses, fly tying, trips, workshops and visiting speakers Others include
localeye lists:
- Fishing Lodges and Tours
- Hunting & Fishing : City Life Shops selling guns and fishing rods and other equipment related to hunting, fishing and shooting
- Fishing : Work & Play Everything for the angler
- Fishing and Fisheries : Business & Finance Fish farms and fishing companies
- Fishing Equipment : Work & Play Suppliers of fishing equipment in Canterbury.
Fishing spots in Christchurch from the Christchurch City Council
The food we love – the tastes of New Zealanders
Traditional Māori Food – explore Aotearoa’s culinary origins

Our Internet Gateway recommends:

Fishing and hunting
Fish and Game New Zealand The agency responsible for managing freshwater sportsfish fisheries and gamebird hunting
Fishing and Hunting New Zealand
fishing.net.nz New Zealand's largest and most comprehensive website devoted to recreational fishing
Game and Forest Foundation of New Zealand
Recreational Fishing Te Tautiaki i nga tini a Tangaroa From the Ministry of Fisheries (MFish)
Tides from MetService
Kai Moana - fisheries information
Aquaculture and Fishing websites

Browse the resources in our libraries:

New Zealand fishing, incuding:

This week in Christchurch history

A handy feature for those keen to find out about local history is the Christchurch Chronology on the library website. Here’s a selection of what happened in Christchurch this week in history:

May 26, 1859 Public Library begins as the Mechanics Institute in Town Hall.
May 26, 1906 Statue of William Rolleston (outside the Canterbury Museum) unveiled.
May 27, 1949 New Zealand’s first commercial aerial topdressing on Banks Peninsula.
May 28, 1840 Major Bunbury on HMS “Herald” visits Akaroa collecting signatures of Maori chiefs for the Treaty of Waitangi.
May 28, 1866 George Dobson (brother of Arthur Dudley Dobson) murdered by the Burgess and Kelly gang in the Southern Alps. The gang mistook him for a gold courier.
May 28, 1955 First parking meters installed.
May 29, 1886 First trotting meeting held at Lancaster Park.
May 29, 1926 New Zealand’s first sports broadcast - a rugby match from Lancaster Park. Commentator Allan Allardyce was soon to pioneer broadcasts of racing, cricket and hockey for station 3YA. He also gave live coverage of Kingsford-Smith’s landing at Wigram in 1928.
May 30, 1874 First rugby match played.
May 30, 1912 First netball match in City.

We recommend: Online resources

What’s new on the blog

The Christchurch City Libraries' blog is written for people who love books, movies and music and want to know about the latest developments and trends in the book world. Last week a team from Christchurch City Libraries filed audio and blog reports from the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival:

What’s new on the library website?

Fragments from the official career of John Dwyer, Superintendent of Police, 1878 to 1921
Junot Diaz, the devil and me - interview
Simon Sebag Montefiore - interview
An hour with Mo Hayder - interview
Canterbury pilgrims
Old Maori place names round Akaroa harbour
Sarah Hall takes a 'cold eye' to her work - interview
Three cheers for cronehood - interview with Tessa Duder

Suggest a theme:

We want your feedback on our editions - feel free to suggest a theme that you think other library users would find useful.

Next week: Royalty

In honour of Queen's birthday we'll take a look at Royalty resources in the library collection, including information in Māori royalty in Aotearoa New Zealand.