Despite its conservative face, Christchurch is a rather quirky place - surely no other city in the world can boast an official wizard paid for by the council and recognised by the Prime Minister? Its apparent 'Englishness' stems partly from the Gothic-revival architecture so popular in the 19th century Britain, partly from the Anglicised gardens, planted with oaks and daffodils and partly from the climate which, in winter at least, is as cold and wet as the home country. Christchurch was the last and most successful colonising project inspired by Edward Gibbon Wakefield's New Zealand Company. Named Canterbury initially, it was rechristened after Christ Church College, Oxford - appropriately enough for a university town. It is now New Zealand's second largest city with a population of 350,000.