News / Godley Gifts - Godley Gifts

15 September 2009, London, Buckingham Palace

Presentation of Godley Gifts to Her Majesty The Queen by Lord Kilbracken.
20 March 2009, Christ Church, Oxford

Presentation of Godley Gifts to Christ Church, Oxford, England, after which Christchurch, New Zealand is named.
7 March 2009, Christchurch

Launch of the contents of Godley Gifts online. Lord Kilbracken's Letter to the Editor, The Press
2 September 2008, Wellington

The Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand presents in person a set of Godley Gifts to the 'Alexander Turnbull Library' within the National Library of New Zealand.
2007, ChristChurch Cathedral, New Zealand

Cr Bob Parker (later Mayor of Christchurch) recites first public reading of Godley Gifts' centrepiece, Seadrift, New Zealand's earliest illustrated children's book.

October/November 2008, London.

Article, 'The first Canterbury Tale' appears in the periodical magazine, NZinspired.
2008, Christchurch, New Zealand

Article, Homeward Bound, appeared in the periodical magazine, Avenues
2007, Christchurch, New Zealand

Article about Godley Gifts and Seadrift appears in Quadrangle, the Christ College Old Boys' periodical

May 2008, Auckland

Godley Gifts wins three gold medals at the New Zealand national book awards, Pride in Print 2008.

D McPhail

David McPhail

Had Christchurch become New Zealand's capital in 1856, when it became New Zealand's first city, New Zealanders might today likely have adopted Canterbury's and Christchurch's founder, John Robert Godley, as its George Washington or Thomas Jefferson since Godley, perhaps alone among New Zealand's early founders possessed comparable stature. Britain's great 19th century Prime Minister, William Gladstone, went further, describing Godley as a 'king among men', thus likening him to Agamemnon.