We have been in the Christchurch area for some
time but skirted around the ”elephant in the room”.
Christchurch is the biggest city in New
Zealand’s South Island, the first in New Zealand to become a “city” by Royal
Charter in 1856. Europeans first settled the region some forty five years after
Cook called, in the “first four ships” during 1850 to 1851. Just as the more southern city of Dunedin was
settled principally by Scots, Christchurch was settled by the English and reminders
continue to this day with place names and the general feel of the place.
Amazingly, despite the more recent natural disaster, the population of Greater
Christchurch has changed little: in the 2006 Census the population was 424,935
while the 2013 Census reported 436,056, an increase of 2.6%. This does astound
me when I would have thought there would have been a mass exodus in the
interim, however one should take the figures in the context of the national
population; during that same time the national population increased by 5.3%.
The “disasters” were of course the earthquakes
of September 2010 followed by the more severe one in February 2011. The 2010
earthquake struck with a magnitude of 7.1 and was followed by aftershocks , the
greatest of these that on 22 February 2011 at a magnitude of 6.3, centred much
closer to the city centre and far more destructive, resulting in the deaths of
185 people. As such it has been labelled New Zealand’s deadliest peacetime
disasters. Those living in China or Chile, Iran, Turkey or Ecuador, will see
these statistics as poor cousins to similar disasters in their own countries,
however we in New Zealand were so unprepared for this, despite having been
taught from the age of five at school that the safest spot in an earthquake is
under your desk, considered this a major disaster. Needless to say regular
civil defence messages are heeded a little more diligently these days than in
the past.
We visited Christchurch a couple of times before retirement came and we travelled across the ditch, and I, an
antipodean, not familiar with European antiquity or even the grandness of
structures erected in Australia during the boom years late in the nineteenth
century, was greatly impressed with the quiet grandeur of Christchurch architecture;
the colleges, the Cathedral and the plethora of fine buildings in the heart of
the city. Alas now, most are either gone or hanging by a thread to their
continuing existence, 70% of them either already demolished or destined for the
same end.
Today we wandered about the central heart of
the city, dismayed to see the wide open spaces where once there was grandeur,
or fractured structures propped up hoping against hope there might be a future.
Massive construction projects are happening all about, but nothing to relieve
the sadness and gloom of the surroundings. Where are all the people? Those who
remain are the tourists such as ourselves who wander aimlessly about or the
swarm of tradesmen working against the clocks to restore the life blood to the
city. Dotted about the city are brightly coloured plaster giraffes, even
brighter wooden sheep-like sculptures, oversize “furniture”; all to brighten up
the city and the gloom that pervades in the first instance.
In Cathedral Square, we peered through the high
fences at the broken Christchurch cathedral, built between 1864 and 1904.
Interestingly the building, mostly the spire was damaged by earthquakes in
1881, 1888, 1901, 1922 and of course that in September 2010, all suggesting
that no one should have been surprised in 2010! The February 2011 earthquake
destroyed the spire and part of the tower and severely damaged the structure of
the remaining building.
The Anglican Church hierarchy, who of course
own the property and are totally within their rights to make such decisions, is
determined to demolish the building and replace it with a new structure. As you
can imagine this has been a most controversial issue, because the cathedral had
been so much more than a place of Anglican worship or exhibitionism to most Cantabrians
and New Zealanders at large. The justice courts have been involved and the
latest word is that demolition will occur. This makes our visit today and the views
of the propped up out of bounds ruins rather special.
As we wandered about, I imagined that it must
have been a little like this to visit Dresden, Germany after the Allied bombing
in the Second World War, or in a lesser way, London after the Luftwaffer
bombings. But from the ruins new lives begin, and here in Christchurch, this
was the result of a natural disaster, not vindictive human action.
We found our way to the transitional Cardboard
Cathedral, designed by Japanese Shigeru Ban, one of his famous “Emergency
architecture” buildings from ninety six cardboard tubes and framing. Opened in
August 2013 it has become a symbol of innovation, hope and inspiration.
Unfortunately for us, and for the bereaved, a funeral was being celebrated in
the building when we finally arrived, and so our exploration was limited to
external views.
Back toward the Avon River, we found the Re: Start container mall, a collection
of refashioned shipping containers housing displaced shops, banks and cafes. This
was where we found the holiday crowds and buskers; here the mood was vibrant
and uplifting. Here too we found the CERA (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery
Authority) information container. We sat and watched a brief DVD film that
spelled out the plans for the city and chatted for some time with a couple of
youthful “guides”. After doing so we left full of hope and excitement for the
city, almost a blank page for fresh ideas and plans. Infrastructure and
government buildings, including convention centres, sports facilities,
libraries, justice and emergency services, parks, arts precincts, stadiums,
cricket ovals and everything else
involving public funds and scheduled for construction over an extended period
stretching through to 2019 are in various stages of planning. Christchurch will
probably not be the most perfect city until ten years have passed since the
first of the two major earthquakes, but it really will be an awesome place. I
was so glad I spent time here because I came away excited for Christchurch
rather than depressed as I had been earlier in the day.
We made our way back to the motorhome parked
in Hagley Park via the Botanic Gardens, and were delighted to see so many
people, particularly young, enjoying this glorious park, despite the fact the
sun had not emerged from behind the clouds all day and the temperature not
lifted above 20 degrees. I was glad to have my sweatshirt on.
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