Talk:Bridle Path (New Zealand)

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History section needed

I think this article needs a History section. The use of only years in the article means the history lacks the urgency that this route was constructed. The route was surveyed in November 1850 by Edward Jollie and was cut and formed just in time for the first Canterbury Pilgrims to use it. The haste in constructing this route needs to be told alongside that of Sumner, the Sumner Bar and the Sumner Road, as well as the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel and the Lyttelton road tunnel. These various routes all were intended to provide a means to connect a deep-water port in Lyttelton with the City of Christchurch and the Plains beyond. This is a story of politics, finance, engineering and history. Understanding why the Bridle Path was built when and where it was gives a more enlightened understanding of the history of Canterbury. - Cameron Dewe (talk) 12:45, 31 December 2020 (UTC)

History section added. Content from multiple sources that provide better detail used in order to get closer to what actually happened. These early sources may contradict other sources used but seem more reliable considering who wrote them and when they were written. - Cameron Dewe (talk) 07:01, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

A very early account of the Bridle Path comes from the letters of Charlotte Godley, when she arrived with her husband, John Robert Godley on 12 April 1850. From what she says, it appears there already was a good footpath behind Lyttelton up to the Bridle Path summit and over the Port Hills to the Dean's farm. This resourceful woman even persuaded someone to show her the way and climbed to the summit herself. Also, I suspect what happened when the time came to make the Bridle Road in late 1850, Captain Thomas looked at the footpath and said to the survey staff and road building crew: "survey it, form it, and turn it into a bridle road as soon as you can." It would be interesting to locate evidence that this was the case. Meanwhile I have just reported that Charlotte Godley documented the footpath existed and let others draw their own conclusions about what this means. Please cite sources if someone is making this jump of a conclusion. - Cameron Dewe (talk) 23:27, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

Summary

Saying the Bridle Path was the only means of traversing the Port Hills is not quite accurate. Reports in the early issues of the Lyttelton Times suggests that it was the most direct and convenient route to get to out of Lyttelton but once at the summit there were at least two different ways to go. Additionally there is a suggestion in those same reports and elsewhere that one could walk to Sumner, too, via the Sumner road which had a formed footpath over Evans Pass. Heavy goods had to be shipped around the coast to Sumner and then across the bar to Ferrymead but the charges were exorbitant and the journey hazardous, with goods damaged or lost when boats were swamped, capsized or wrecked. These alternatives need to be sumarised in the article. I also think better source is needed than the website that asserts this was the ONLY path, because it is user contributed website and where they got their information from is not identified. For this article, the information in Te Ara is too sumarised to be particularly helpful, and they do not claim it was the only route. Additionally, the first three or four paragraphs, before the first section heading, ought to be a summary of the rest of the article, so it should not have any references in it, rather the summary paragraphs should be verified by the details in the body of the article. - Cameron Dewe (talk) 07:01, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

A map from 1852 ("Sheet 6 of 7, Map of surveyed districts, Canterbury. 1852". christchurchcitylibraries.com. Retrieved 12 January 2021.) shows two routes out of Lyttelton, confirming the reports in the Lyttelton Times. One is the Bridle Road, while the other is a footpath via Sumner. Edward Jollie reports that this was a formed footpath throughout. So saying the Bridle Path was the only path is inaccurate and a better descriptive qualifier is needed. I would suggest using words like usual, main or traditional route that settlers took. Other thoughts? - Cameron Dewe (talk) 20:09, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

Good spotting! "Main" would probably be an adequate description. Much shorter from Lyttelton to Christchurch if you went over the Bridle Path, of course. Mind you, this reminds me of a story that I've read about John Jenkins Peacock (father of John Thomas Peacock) about "Peacock's Gallop"; it's documented in his son's article. So Mr Peacock went via Sumner when he went to Christchurch. Schwede66 20:30, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

I think that is a story that needs to be told, though not in this article. Perhaps as part of the Sumner article. I have always been puzzled why this area below the cliffs of Clifton has been referred to as "Peacocks Gallop" in recent reporting over the past 20 years or so. It is not an official or a recorded place name, so must be something more local. Personally, I had not previously heard of the place even though I grew up in Sumner and occasionally walked along the Main Road to Moncks Bay to go fishing. We never considered going along the old road under the cliffs on account of the fallen rocks scattered over it (and perhaps an important looking sign or two saying "Danger: Falling Rocks - Keep Out" and a chainlink fence with no gates. Interesting how places acquire their names and perhaps I am showing my age. - Cameron Dewe (talk) 00:24, 13 January 2021 (UTC)