Prior to the erection of the bridge shown on the cover of this musical piece, a ferry operated to transfer travellers from one side of the Waimakariri River to the other. Joseph Felton and his wife Jane operated Felton’s Ferry and also kept an accommodation house, the Courtenay Arms. When White’s Bridge was completed in 1863, the Feltons lost most of their business and were forced to sell their punts and ferry gear. As the demand to travel increased over the following years, further roads, railways and bridges were constructed. Erected in 1876, the Waimakariri Gorge Bridge supported the rail line from Oxford to Sheffield from late 1884.
From Music to Light
20 November 2023
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Francis Russell’s "Waimakariri" Waltz was first played in Christchurch in 1887. Russell, involved in mid-Canterbury farming in the 1880s and later a resident of Ashburton, died sometime after 1908. His works provide a snapshot of Canterbury social life in the late nineteenth century. The cover to this particular piece is illustrated by a lithograph produced in London and features the railway bridge crossing the Waimakariri Gorge. In addition to this piece, Russell is known to have penned a Rakaia Valse and an Ashburton Waltz (no copies of the latter have been discovered to date).
Francis Russell’s "Waimakariri" Waltz
Iola Shelley - Piano; recorded by Stephen Compton School of Music, University of Canterbury
Francis Russell, "Waimakariri" Waltz (Christchurch: Spensley & Co, c.1887).
Item of sheet music comprising three bifolios trimmed to 435 x 356mm and folded to give six folios; original pagination 1–9.
Christchurch, University of Canterbury, Macmillan BrownLibrary, M32 R963w
Brass gimballed candle which belonged to Mr and Mrs Joseph Felton and was used aboard the William Hyde, 1852
Canterbury Museum, EC151.51
When Mr and Mrs Joseph Felton travelled to Canterbury on the William Hyde in 1852, they undoubtedly made use of this brass gimbal candle holder on their journey. With its swinging fitting, the gimbal candle holder allowed its candle to remain vertical even when its support was tipped. Thus, as the ship pitched and rolled, the gimbal mechanism pivoted the candle to ensure it remained always upright. Such devices could be placed on the surface of a table or desk as well as mounted on the wall.
Francis Russell's Rakaia Valse
Iola Shelley - Piano; recorded by Stephen Compton School of Music, University of Canterbury
Want to know more?
Brian W. Pritchard, 'Francis Russell's "Waimakiriri" Waltz: Colonial Familiarity', in Treasures of the University of Canterbury Library, ed. by Chris Jones & Bronwyn Matthews with Jennifer Clement (Christchurch: CUP, 2011)
