John Deans (4 May 1820 – 23 June 1854) was, together with his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, a pioneer farmer in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, New Zealand. He was born in Kirkstyle,

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scotlan ...

, Scotland. Their Riccarton farm in New Zealand was the first permanent settlement by immigrants on the

Canterbury Plains The Canterbury Plains () are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in t ...

. Deans returned to Scotland in 1852 to marry Jane McIlraith. They returned to New Zealand, where he died from tuberculosis at Riccarton Farm on 23 June 1854, not before he had asked Jane to keep the adjacent

Riccarton Bush Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of the city centre, separated from it by Hagley Park. Upper Riccarton is to the west of Riccarton. History On 12 April 1840, the ship ''Sarah and Elizabeth'' landed Herriot, McGillivray, ...

in perpetuity. The Deans had one son, also called John. The Deans brothers named the Christchurch river Avon after the stream on their grandfather's farm. Deans Cottage, which was built in late 1843 and where Jane and John Deans first lived, is today the oldest building in Canterbury. It is registered by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

as a Category I structure and features as a museum. Jane Deans had

Riccarton House Riccarton House is an historic building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is part of the Riccarton estate, the first area in Christchurch lived in by white settlers, after which the suburb of Riccarton, New Zealand, Riccarton is named. The house ...

built in 1855/56; a project that her husband wanted to do but that started only after his death. Riccarton House is also registered as a Category I structure and is today a restaurant and function centre. Riccarton Bush was donated by the Deans family to the people of Christchurch in 1914. At that time, it was formally protected through a campaign led by MP

Harry Ell Henry George Ell (probably 24 September 1862 – 27 June 1934), commonly known as Harry Ell, was a Christchurch City Council, Christchurch City councillor and a New Zealand Member of parliament, Member of Parliament. He is famous for his conserva ...

and botanist Dr

Leonard Cockayne Leonard Cockayne (7 April 1855 – 8 July 1934) is regarded as New Zealand's greatest botanist and a founder of modern science in New Zealand. Biography He was born in Sheffield, England where he attended Wesley College. He travelled to Austra ...

. Today, the bush is administered by a trust. The bush contains mostly

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was fi ...

of between 400 and 600 years of age; it is the only lowland forest left in Christchurch, and is probably New Zealand's oldest protected natural area. A predator-proof fence was installed in 2000, and the bush remains a popular urban visitor attraction. The Christchurch suburb of

takes its name from the Riccarton farm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deans, John 1820 births 1854 deaths Scottish emigrants to New Zealand People from East Ayrshire People from Christchurch Burials at Barbadoes Street Cemetery

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...