(An attempt was initially made to restrict residence in the province to members of the church but this was abandoned.

[2] In 1852, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, which amongst other things established provincial councils.

[5] The first meeting place was the former office of the Guardian and Advertiser, Canterbury's second newspaper, on Chester Street near the Avon River.

In the south the course of the Waitaki River was not known and disputes arose with the Province of Otago over pastoral leases in the inland high country.

[9] It was made obsolete by the opening of a new 8 miles (13 km) line through a tunnel giving Christchurch access to the better port of Lyttelton.

Canterbury Province's was originally 16 December, the day of the 1850 arrival of the Charlotte Jane and the Randolph.

The holiday is presently defined as the "second Friday after the first Tuesday in November", ensuring that it will follow the Melbourne Cup Racing Carnival.

In 2023, these archives were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao register.