William Howard Holmes arrived in Lyttelton in February 1851. A series of his early Canterbury views were published in London as a set of six lithographs titled Canterbury Sketches. Four of the sketches were also included in C. W. Adams’ A Spring in the Canterbury Settlement later, in 1853. Holmes moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara and his positions included that of Drawing Master at Wellington College from 1875 to 1881.