New Brighton is a coastal suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, east of the city centre. It is one of eastern Christchurch's main entertainment and tourist centres, with its architecturally unique pier and scenic coastline. The 2011 Christchurch earthquakes caused significant damage in the area. History Māori connections New Brighton is of cultural significance for the local iwi or tribe Ngāi Tahu who are the kaitiaki or guardians of this takiwa or area. Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū, a sub-tribe of Ngāi Tahu, hold manawhenua status (territorial rights) in respect to this area. Te Tai o Mahaanui refers to the coast and surrounding land of which New Brighton is a part. Naming The naming of New Brighton was apparently done on the 'spur of the moment' by William Fee, an early settler of the area. When Guise Brittan, the Waste Lands Commissioner, visited the area in December 1860, he was recognised and Fee chalked 'New Brighton' on a wooden plank, supposedly in reference to his fellow settler Stephen Brooker, who had come from New Brighton in England. The suburb is frequently referred to simply as Brighton, occasionally leading to confusion with Brighton near Dunedin. Early settlement Māori people were the first settlers in Canterbury and arrived around the 13th century according to western archaeological evidence, though Māori whakapapa (genealogies) date settlement before this period of time with the discovery of the South Island by Waitaha ancestor, Rākaihautū. Traditional food gathering or mahinga kai sites of Waitaha, Rapuwai, Kāti Mamoe and subsequently Ngāi Tahu iwi included Ihutai (Avon Heathcote Estuary) nearby to New Brighton. Walking trails between Ngāi Tahu settlements (kāika) passed close to New Brighton's present day commercial centre. A sand dune track called Pohoareare ran around Ihutai between Ōpāwaho kāika (settlement) on the Heathcote River and New Brighton, a popular iwi destination for swimming and catching horihori (sole). The first English settler's home in the area was built in 1858 by Walker. From 1860 on, increasingly more settlers started to be interested in New Brighton. The first settlers built their houses from manuka scrub and clay. These cob and sod houses were quite simple with one big room which was partitioned later, weatherboards on the outside walls, beaten clay floor and an oil drum for cooking purposes. Beside the lack of infrastructure, the first settlers had to deal with the nature of the area which consisted of sand dunes with nearly no