Mouldy council documents and old newspapers have been found in three time capsules recovered from the wreckage of the Christchurch earthquake.
Mayor Bob Parker opened the capsules on Tuesday.
Two were found under the damaged statue of Irishman John Robert Godley in Cathedral Square in the weeks following the quake on 22 February.
Another was recovered from the destroyed Civic Building on Manchester Street.
The newspapers date from 1933 and 1918, while the council documents contained a two-page typed annual plan from the 1920s.
John Robert Godley (1814-1861) is considered to be the founder of the province.
His statue was erected in 1867 in front of Christchurch Cathedral but moved in 1918 to make way for toilets and a tram shelter.
It is believed the time capsules were placed in the statue's plinth when it was moved.
The papers will be on display at the Canterbury Museum when it reopens in the next few weeks before being returned in a new capsule from where they were found.
