11 April 1872
Next day Mr Rolleston took us to the Museum at Christchurch. The most striking things in it are the skeletons of the extinct wingless Bird, the Moa – one of which is about 14 feet high. The Acclimatisation Gardens also are very good indeed. The trees grow exceedingly well, a shoot of one of the Abies, or Pimms, would lengthen from 4 to 5 feet per annum. The remainder of the day was spent in anxious deliberation with Ministers on the proposed Railway Works. We could not conclude without communicating with other Ministers by Telegram and so had to wait.