Episodes 3 and 4 of a series about Lyttelton by John Johnson (read by Bernard Smythe). He says much of the information was based on a thesis by Margaret Hunter - "Early social Life in Lyttelton" [1919].
He discusses the library, the Lyttelton Times, churches, schools, the scarcity of women and social life. He also speaks about prisons, and mentions the construction of basalt retaining walls and other works carried out by prisoners in the Hard Labour Gang (HLG). Included are details of prisoners' backgrounds, and a brief account of the great fire of 1870, when 74 buildings were destroyed.