Canterbury Anniversary Day in New Zealand Date in the current year: November 14, 2025

The Canterbury Province, located in the center of the South Island, was one of New Zealand’s six original provinces. Its history dates back to 1848 when a group of Anglican church leaders, peers, and Members of Parliament founded the Canterbury Association to settle the South Island. The association received a royal charter in November 1849, and the first ships carrying colonists departed from Plymouth in September 1850.

The ships Randolph, Cressy, Sir George Seymour, and Charlotte Jane, collectively known as the First Four Ships, carried nearly 800 passengers. The Charlotte Jane and the Randolph reached New Zealand on December 16, the Sir George Seymour arrived the following day, and the Cressy landed on December 27. Upon disembarking, the Canterbury Pilgrims founded Christchurch.

On January 17, 1853, the Canterbury Province, along with the other five original New Zealand provinces (Auckland, Nelson, New Plymouth, Otago, and Wellington), was formed by the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. Consequently, the Canterbury Association transferred its powers to the newly established provincial government.

In the 1860s, South Canterbury attempted to secede from the Canterbury Province, but was unsuccessful. In recognition of this, South Canterbury now celebrates its own provincial anniversary, separate from Canterbury Anniversary Day. In contrast, the West Coast of Canterbury split in 1873 to form the Westland Province. However, three years later, the provincial system of New Zealand was abolished altogether.

Although the provincial system was short-lived, the anniversary days of each former province are now regional public holidays. Originally, Canterbury Anniversary Day was celebrated on December 16 to commemorate the arrival of the ships Charlotte Jane and Randolph at Lyttelton Harbour on December 16, 1850.

The province also used to have a holiday called Show Day or People’s Day, which was celebrated on the Friday of the Agricultural and Pastoral Show (A&P Show) in Christchurch. The first show was held in October 1862, and by 1918, the Friday of the show week had become People’s Day. In the late 1950s, the Christchurch City Council moved the provincial anniversary day to coincide with Show Day so more people could attend the show on their day off.

Due to the timing of the show, Canterbury Anniversary Day is officially celebrated on the second Friday after the first Tuesday in November. In practice, the holiday usually falls on the second Friday of November, though not necessarily. This date was chosen so that the show would not clash with the Melbourne Cup, which is traditionally held on the first Tuesday in November.