- Diamond Harbour is a small settlement on Banks Peninsula, in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is on the peninsula’s northern coast, on the southern shores of Lyttelton Harbour, and is administratively part of the city of Christchurch.
- When the first settlers arrived here they called it Diamond Harbour because of the way the sun reflected off the water giving a diamond like appearance.
- The area was named by Mark Stoddart, who bought 500 acres (200 ha) of land in the area in 1856.
- A ferry connects Diamond Harbour to Lyttelton, on the harbour’s northern shore. In combination with buses from Lyttelton to Christchurch, this allows residents of Diamond Harbour to commute to the city.
- Until 2012 Godley House, built in 1880 by Harvey Hawkins on land purchased from Stoddart, was still standing. However, it was critically damaged in the 2011 earthquake and has since been demolished.
- Stoddart Cottage, built for Stoddart’s wedding in 1862, is the oldest building still standing in Diamond Harbour, and was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I historic building in 1990. The artist Margaret Stoddart grew up in the cottage.
Gondola Christchurch