A damaged brick building has wooden bracing holding the walls together. The photographer comments, "This building came through the September Christchurch quake with a few band aid plasters, but the February quake means that she is now DNR (Do Not Resuscitate)".
A damaged brick building on Tuam Street. Bricks have fallen from the wall exposing the interior, where a wooden structure can be seen to have collapsed. The photographer comments, "This is the damage caused by the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. It closely resembles a face and the round blob in the square hole at the top of the nose is a pigeon".
A photoshopped image of the front of the cathedral with its broken tower. The upper part of the front wall has crumbled completely, exposing the inside space. Security fences have been placed around the building to restrict access.
The front side of the Cathedral with the rose window removed and bracing supporting the wall. The broken tower can be seen to the left and fencing placed around the outside of the building.
A fence along the side of the Avon River near the Retour Restaurant has broken and is leaning towards the river. The photographer comments, "After the Christchurch earthquakes the land moved towards the river Avon and in a lot of places buildings and walls sagged down in the direction of the waterway".
Detail of damage to the former Princess Cinema in New Brighton. Bricks have fallen from the wall, exposing the interior. The photographer comments, "This is the side view of the back of the old Princess Cinema in New Brighton after the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on 22 February. The bricks seem to be just about to fall, but stayed in place after several big aftershocks. This building has now been knocked down as it was so dangerous".
The front of Christ Church Cathedral showing its broken tower. Bracing has been placed on the front wall to limit further damage. Security fences have been placed around the cathedral to restrict access. The Wizard of Christchurch stands to the right.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the porch of Robin Duff's house at 386 Oxford Terrace. The top half of the far wall has broken loose and is hanging at an angle.
Damage to The Bone Dude's Bone Carving Studio and Cultured Gallery on Fitzgerald Avenue. The brick wall is cracked, and the guttering has fallen. The photographer comments, "This building was damaged in the September earthquake in Christchurch. It was the Bone dude's bone carving studio. The motto on the wall was 'Carve your own' and it looks like the earthquakes did just that".
The front of Christ Church Cathedral showing its broken tower. Bracing has been placed on the front wall to limit further damage. A walkway from Gloucester Street to the Square was opened up for a few days to allow the public a closer look.
The front side of the Cathedral the rose window removed and bracing supporting the wall. The broken tower can be seen to the left and fencing placed around the outside of the building. In the background, the Millennium Hotel can be seen.
Broken stained glass in a window of the ChristChurch Cathedral. The photographer comments, "I only managed to get one picture of the badly earthquake damaged Christchurch Cathedral and I did not want to get the buttresses holding it up like some Medieval siege engine, so I thought this one was perfect. Looking through the window notice that the adjacent wall has gone and the blue windows belong to an office block across the road".
A photograph of the earthquake damage to a section of Robin Duff's house at 386 Oxford Terrace. The chimney has fallen off the roof and is now resting in the patio. Behind the chimney, one of the walls has a noticeable lean and the glass of one of the French doors is broken. The photographer comments, "The glass was broken by looters who entered the house and took bits that interested them".
Large cracks run through the brick cladding of this house in Wainoni. The photographer comments, "During the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch the land which ran alongside the Avon river on Avonside Drive slumped towards the waterway. Houses which were wooden framed and had an external brick veneer started to sink into the liquefied soil. This caused the brick walls to crack, but the houses' occupants though shook up were saved by the wooden framework from the houses collapsing on them".
The front of Christ Church Cathedral showing its broken tower. Bracing has been placed on the front wall to limit further damage. Security fences have been placed around the cathedral to restrict access. The Wizard of Christchurch talks to members of the public. A walkway from Gloucester Street to the Square was opened up for a few days to allow the public a closer look.
The front of Christ Church Cathedral showing its broken tower. Bracing has been placed on the front wall to limit further damage. Security fences have been placed around the cathedral to restrict access. The Wizard of Christchurch talks to members of the public. A walkway from Gloucester Street to the Square was opened up for a few days to allow the public a closer look.
Detail of damage to the former Princess Cinema in New Brighton. Bricks have fallen from the wall, exposing the interior. The photographer comments, "This is the back of the old Princess Cinema in New Brighton after the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on 22 February. The bricks seem to be just on the edge of falling. This building has now been knocked down as it was so dangerous".
A badly damaged house in Burwood. Parts of the house have moved in different directions, leaving walls and doors misaligned. The photographer comments, "Although this looks like an extreme wide angle shot it is actually a house tilted in every direction at the same time. The earthquake caused the ground to vibrate and compress so much that the sandy soil liquefied and caused the ground to collapse under this modern home".
Damage to TJ's Kazbah in New Brighton. The east and north walls and part of the upper floor have collapsed, tipping rubble and the contents of the rooms out onto the street. The photographer comments, "The occupants of the business and rooms all managed to escape alive. A digger was used to make the building safe and then used to sift through the rubble for any surviving belongings. It was a very emotional time for the ex-occupants".
The Old Lyttelton Post Office, opened in 1874, showing damage after a series of earthquakes hit Christchurch and Lyttelton over the last 9 months. In the shadow of a broken house, Down a deserted street, Propt walls, cold hearths, and phantom stairs, And the silence of dead feet — Locked wildly in one another's arms I saw two lovers meet. ...
Graffiti on a wooden wall depicts a child pointing at a site across the street and reads "I remember when the Kazbah was over there." The photographer comments, "A local street artist has commemorated Christchurch's deadliest earthquake. The anniversary is tomorrow. Where the photograph was taken was the site of the Ozone Hotel, which has now gone as well. For some of us who live and work in the East of Christchurch the earthquake was not what happened in the City as we were almost unaware of it. We had no water, toilets and most of all no electricity for weeks. For myself petrol was low and with tales of all the petrol stations on our side of town being damaged we could not take the chance of venturing out on severely damaged roads to find no petrol and the possibility of not getting home. We walked around and saw the damage that was local to us. TJ's Kazbah was one that stood out. A building that had a beauty with its round tower standing proud and always looked well kept - it was now collapsed. Its tower, which was once pointing towards the sky was laying on its side. It had kept its shape, but had a lightning shaped crack through it. The one thing that kept us feeling almost normal through the coming weeks was The Press our daily paper still being delivered even though the Press building and staff had suffered so badly themselves.