Bienvenue à la Nouvelle Zélande

(with apologies to anyone whose French is better than mine (which is probably most people))

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This road sign is in Akaroa, just south of Christchurch:

New Zealand was, as everyone knows, part of the British Empire. Now it's part of the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth is head of state. None of that is news, I don't suppose. What I didn't know was that the country, or at least the South Island, came within a week of being French. What was Queen Victoria's gain was, perhaps, to the eternal loss of New Zealand cuisine...

A certain Captain Langlois was passing Akaroa in 1838 when it occurred to him that it would make a great place for a French colony. Accordingly, on his return to France, he set up a company to raise money for the venture and set off back to the southern hemisphere in March 1840, along with the French naval vessel, L'Aube.

In the meantime, the putative British administration was getting itself established at the northern end of the North Island and was negotiating with the Maori chiefs for sovereignty over the whole country, which was ultimately achieved by the Treaty of Waitangi on June 17, 1840.

Luckily, or unluckily if you're French, the L'Aube put in to visit the British administration to get news. Now, the British weren't stupid and when they realised what the French were up to, they despatched HMS Britomart under the command of one Captain Stanley post haste to plant the Union Jack at Akaroa.

The weather on 9 August 1840 was poor and the French would-be colonists were forced to put in on the north side of the Banks Peninsula to shelter, allowing the Britomart to nip into Akaroa ahead of them. The British flag was raised on 11 August, which must have been something of a disappointment for the passengers on board the French ships when they arrived 4 and 5 days later.

The settlers decided to stay and, to this day, one end of the town has French street names (such as those above), while the other end has English names.

The Britomart earned its place in New Zealand history, and its own monument in Akaroa.

The site of the French landing is also commemorated:

Akaroa has retained many of its historic buildings and character. For example, this theatre was built in 1879 by the same group as the Manchester Unity building in Melbourne. Despite appearances, it is entirely constructed of timber:

I wouldn't mind living here:

Akaroa has an excellent harbour and the entrance was guarded between 1880 and 1980 by this lighthouse, now relocated closer to the town and preserved as a historic monument:

Eventually, it was time to leave this almost impossibly picturesque little town. From across the inlet, at Duvauchelle, I took this picture. Akaroa is just above the centre of the picture on the left hand side.