Talk:Christchurch

Christchurch
Rfv-sense
 * The largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (named after the town in England).

The Wikipedia entry does not say that it is named after the town in England, nor does the this New Zealand tourism website. Is this accurate? 65.95.15.144 15:06, 3 March 2011 (UTC)


 * Seems to be controversial - see . SemperBlotto 16:19, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
 * That's etymology anyway, just remove it and close the rfv, please. Mglovesfun (talk) 13:46, 4 March 2011 (UTC)
 * ✅ —Ruakh TALK 18:35, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

The two main NZ sources for the city's etymology ("Wise's New Zealand Guide" and A.W.Reed's "Placenames of New Zealand") both state that it is not named for the English town. According to Reed, the city's founder, John Robert Godley, named it after Christ's Church College, his Oxford University alma mater. According to Reed: In a letter to his father three years later, Godley wrote: "I hope that my old college is grateful to me for naming the future capital after it." Wise's Directory also claims that the city is named after the Oxford college. 203.184.2.36 11:11, 5 March 2011 (UTC) (User:Grutness, not logged in) 203.184.2.36 11:11, 5 March 2011 (UTC)