
The Education Ministry has apologised after a critical report from the Chief Ombudsman said the ministry failed to fully inform Christchurch schools before revealing plans in 2012 to close and merge 38 of them following the Christchurch earthquake.
At the turn of the 20th century, Christchurch’s rubbish disposal underwent a fiery transformation. After 50 years of settlement, Christchurch was facing a rubbish crisis that was starting to get people worried. The council’s weekly kerbside rubbish collection service, which … Continue reading →
Documents obtained by Radio New Zealand show WorkSafe New Zealand was still grappling to get on top of asbestos dangers in the Christchurch rebuild nearly two years after the February 2011 earthquake.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Murray Rowlands and Carly Sluys from Federated Farmers look at damaged grain silos west of Burnham after Saturday's earthquake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Murray Rowlands and Carly Sluys from Federated Farmers look at the fault line west of Burnham after Saturday's earthquake".
Shortly after 4 o’clock this morning the whole of the South and a portion of the North Island was shaken by a violent shock of earthquake, the most severe experienced for more than 20 years……
This 2 storey building has been condemned after its roof collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
This 2 storey building has been condemned after its roof collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
This 2 storey building has been condemned after its roof collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
This 2 storey building has been condemned after its roof collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
The front and side walls of this Christchurch building had completely collapsed after being struck by the the magnitude 7,1 earthquake on 4 September 2010.
The Canterbury region of New Zealand experienced four earthquakes greater than MW 6.0 between September 2010 and December 2011. This study employs system dynamics as well as hazard, recovery and organisational literature and brings together data collected via surveys, case studies and interviews with organisations affected by the earthquakes. This is to show how systemic interactions and interdependencies within and between industry and geographic sectors affect their recovery post-disaster. The industry sectors in the study are: construction for its role in the rebuild, information and communication technology which is a regional high-growth industry, trucking for logistics, critical infrastructure, fast moving consumer goods (e.g. supermarkets) and hospitality to track recovery through non-discretionary and discretionary spend respectively. Also in the study are three urban centres including the region’s largest Central Business District, which has been inaccessible since the earthquake of 22 February 2011 to the time of writing in February 2013. This work also highlights how earthquake effects propagated between sectors and how sectors collaborated to mitigate difficulties such as product demand instability. Other interacting factors are identified that influence the recovery trajectories of the different industry sectors. These are resource availability, insurance payments, aid from central government, and timely and quality recovery information. This work demonstrates that in recovering from disaster it is crucial for organisations to identify what interacting factors could affect their operations. Also of importance are efforts to reduce the organisation’s vulnerability and increase their resilience to future crises and in day-to-day operations. Lastly, the multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the recovery and resilience of organisations and industry sectors after disaster, leads to a better understanding of effects as well as more effective recovery policy.
The cartoon shows a monstrous machine with an enormous crushing ball attached to a giant crane. It moves past a signpost that points towards Christchurch. A man watches and tells his friend 'Gerry Brownlee borrowed it from Auckland! Context - Brownlee has caused a stir by suggesting that if he had his way some of Christchurch's older buildings would be "down tomorrow". He also said the price of saving some historic buildings badly damaged in the February 22 earthquake was too high. People had died in the quake because of attempts to save historic buildings badly damaged in the September 4 quake. Brownlee said he had no regrets despite the stir his comments caused - but he was annoyed by suggestions the Cathedral and Riccarton House were among buildings he thought should be bowled. He believed those buildings should be saved, and they would be. "I'm not a philistine; I was chairman of the trust that actually saved Riccarton House from the bulldozers in 1990. "I understand conservation architecture very well and I do have an appreciation of heritage buildings." Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
Full of weeds after nearly two years of neglect. First time I have been in Victoria Square in over two years.
A view after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch. Community of the Sacred Name, cnr St Asaph and Barbadoes Streets
In 1978 world-class motorcycle designer John Britten bought a derelict stable block in Christchurch and painstakingly converted it into a home where he raised his family and built his revolutionary V1000 motorbike. The family continued to live there after his death in 1995, but were forced to abandon it when it sustained serious damage during the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. After sitting broken and empty for six years, Isabelle Weston, John's eldest daughter, and her husband Tim undertook to restore and revamp the house with a view to running it as a B&B. The story of their epic project features in the first episode of Grand Designs New Zealand series four, which premieres on TV3, on October 3..
A digitally manipulated image of printer's type, spelling out "Safe Dust". The photographer comments, "After the September 2010 Christchurch earthquake liquefaction poured out of the ground mostly in the East of Christchurch. This silt, which was a form of sand was declared safe and would not harm gardens if it was spread around in moderation. After the February 2011 quake as a result of even more liquefaction and the sewers being ruptured, the liquefaction was declared as toxic. People clearing it up should wear a mask, boots and gloves especially when it had dried up and become dusty. This just so happens to be the words found on an old printing press".
A photograph of the former sites of several houses on Bangor Street. The houses were demolished after the land was zoned Red.
Cartoon shows a stone foundation that commemorates 'community spirit' after the Christchurch earthquake of February 22 2011. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Taken 11 days after the 6.3 magnitude quake hit Christchurch 22 February 2011As the clean up continues. Processed in HDR.
It was so nearly lost. As the Christ Church Anglican Cathedral is being rebuilt, historian Edmund Bohan is releasing a history of the distinctive Gothic building. It shows it was controversial even before work started on designing it, let alone building in. From the laying of the foundations to the official opening, it took 40 years, after squabbles over pretty much every aspect of its construction - not to mention the huge problems raising the money to build it in the City Centre. In Heart of the City: The Story of Christchurch's Controversial Cathedral, Edmund is critical of the former Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews' determination to demolish the badly-damaged cathedral after the Canterbury earthquakes, to replace it with a modern church. And he tells Lynn Freeman he's very much looking forward to seeing the Cathedral restored to its former glory after a lengthy and pricey rebuild. But first he sets the scene. Back in the 1860s, there was controversy over where the cathedral should go, its design, whether it should be in stone or timber - even if there should be a cathedral built at all! Heart of the City: The Story of Christchurch's Controversial Cathedral, by Edmund Bohan is published by Quentin Wilson Publishing.
Christchurch and its surrounding towns are slowly starting to be rebuilt after the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Our political editor Brent Edwards has been in Christchurch to find out whether the rebuild debate will dominate the election campaign in the city.
After a couple of weeks off from the blog, we thought it’d be a good idea to give you a run-down of what we learnt at French Farm. These are preliminary observations only, and could well change as we do … Continue reading →
Years after the earthquakes, Christchurch is still desperately short of theatre space. But now the city council's investment of 30-million dollars to help the Court Theatre replace its very successful temporary home in Addington, is being widely applauded.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. People searching for missing family and friends report to the Papanui Police to file reports. Omar Elhadad after reporting people missing in the CTV building".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Kaiapoi Aquatic Centre reopened today after sustaining damage in the September earthquake. From left: Zeke Degouw (7), Caroline Henry (7), Teagan Maxted (10) and Tyler Maxted (8)".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch begins the slow recovery process after last weeks devastating 7.1 earthquake. The historic MLC Building on Manchester Street is due for demolition. Manchester Courts".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "The Jacobsen Tile building (formerly Maddison's Pub) on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Montreal Street has its cornice work demolished after it become unsafe during Wednesday's earthquake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "The Jacobsen Tile building (formerly Maddison's Pub) on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Montreal Street has its cornice work demolished after it become unsafe during Wednesday's earthquake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "The Jacobsen Tile building (formerly Maddison's Pub) on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Montreal Street has its cornice work demolished after it become unsafe during Wednesday's earthquake".