
Workers on the opposite side of the river stop for the River of Flowers memorial event. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
Flowers float down the Avon River during the River of Flowers memorial event. In the background, residents and workers look on. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
A dragon boat is rowed along the river during the River of Flowers memorial event. In the background, workers look on. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
Flowers float down the Avon River during the River of Flowers memorial event. In the background, residents and workers look on. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
Flowers float down the Avon River during the River of Flowers memorial event. In the background, residents and workers look on. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
A photograph of earthquake repairs underway in the quad of Christ's College on Rolleston Avenue. A sign on the gate read, "Quake repairs, keep out". Tape reading, "Danger keep out" has been draped across both gates . In the background is a crane, several workers in high-visibility clothing, and building supplies.
A photograph of members of the Clandeboye Emergency Response Team and the Red Cross working on High Street near the intersection of Manchester Street. A digger is parked on the street in front of the workers. Behind the digger is a large pile of rubble from the ANZ Bank building.
A woman with a megaphone speaks to gathered residents at the River of Flowers memorial event. In the background, workers look on. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
Residents gathered for the River of Flowers memorial event watch a dragon boat being rowed along the river. In the background, workers look on. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
A woman with a megaphone speaks to gathered residents at the River of Flowers memorial event. In the background, workers look on. The photographer comments, "One year on, Riverside residents gather for a 2 minute silence and to cast flowers in the river. Riverside residents met at the Medway St bridge to commemorate the anniversary of the 22/2/11 quake".
A story submitted by Jo Nicholls-Parker and Petra Van Asten to the QuakeStories website.
Workers repairing the James Hight building at the University of Canterbury, seen from inside the library. The photographer comments, "Yet another change of workplace for our E-Learning group, as the University juggles people and buildings to carry out earthquake repairs. Our area looks over a central roof space that has seating areas. It may be a while before we're allowed out there though".
A photograph of road works on a residential street in Christchurch. Two workers in high-visibility vests can be seen, one setting up road cones. A digger is sitting on a pile of dug up gravel and earth. Cordon fences have been placed around the site. In the distance, a dump truck can be seen.
A story submitted by Mike Williams to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Sue Hamer to the QuakeStories website.
A photograph of women sewing felt badges outside the Christchurch City Library in Lyttelton. The felt hearts were a healing outlet during the Canterbury earthquakes. The goal was to create beauty in the midst of chaos, to keep people's hands busy and their minds off the terrifying reality of the earthquakes, as well as to give a gift of love to workers and businesses who helped improve life in Lyttelton.
A photograph of women sewing felt badges outside the Christchurch City Library in Lyttelton. The felt hearts were a healing outlet during the Canterbury earthquakes. The goal was to create beauty in the midst of chaos, to keep people's hands busy and their minds off the terrifying reality of the earthquakes, as well as to give a gift of love to workers and businesses who helped improve life in Lyttelton.
A car stuck in a large pothole on River Road. The wheels on the right hand side of the car have fallen into the hole, leaving the car grounded against the road surface. The photographer comments, "This car belonged to a postal delivery worker - the NZ Post bike rack is mounted on the towbar. The owner must have biked home. Later a tow truck arrived to extract the car from the hole that had opened under its front wheel".
This article is a critical commentary of how political documentary embodies the traits and functions of alternative journalism. I explore this notion through Obrero (‘worker’) my independent documentary project about the labour migration of Filipino workers to Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, after the earthquake in 2011. This article maps out the points at where the theories and practices of alternative media and documentary intersect. Analysing political documentary as a format of alternative journalism has links to the long tradition of film and video production as a tool for social critique. As a form of practice-based research, Obrero falls under the rubric of alternative journalism—able to represent the politically marginal sectors of the polity and report on issues underreported in the mainstream press. This article concludes that a distribution plan that is responsive to fragmenting audiences works best when alternative journalism no longer targets a niche but transborder audiences.
A photograph looking east down Gloucester Street from near the Manchester Street intersection. Members of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team and construction workers are walking down the street. To their right is the new Press House building with many broken windows. In the foreground, the Coachman building has sustained earthquake damage to the façade. Wire fences have been placed around the building as a cordon.