A message in a bottle, hidden under the floor of a Christchurch home for over fifty years, has been discovered during earthquake repairs and its writer's been tracked down.
Blog of Sandy Lees, a genealogist, taphophiliac, and ephemera collector. Reflects her interest in Canterbury history. Includes a section on the insurance woes the blogger had after the Christchurch earthquakes.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has backed off on his threats to the Christchurch City Council and one of the New Zealand Greenpeace activists is freed from a Russian detention centre.
A photograph of temporary artwork in front of the badly-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral. The artworks were created by Chris Heaphy and Sarah Hughes as part of the Transitional Cathedral Square works.
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A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School plays on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake.
Painted lines and planters on Colombo Street, seen through the cordon fence. The decorations were part of a Christchurch City Council Transitional City project, in preparation for Colombo Street's re-opening.
A photograph of temporary artwork in front of the badly-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral. The artworks were created by Chris Heaphy and Sarah Hughes as part of the Transitional Cathedral Square works.
A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School play on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake.
Painted lines and planters on Colombo Street, seen through the cordon fence. The decorations were part of a Christchurch City Council Transitional City project, in preparation for Colombo Street's re-opening.
An aerial photograph looking south over the Christchurch CBD centred on Colombo Street. The Town Hall and beginnings of Gap Filler's Pallet Pavilion can be seen to the bottom left.
Lyttelton Port near Christchurch is now almost three and a half hectares larger than it was before the earthquakes - as earthquake rubble is dumped in the harbour to reclaim land.
Both sides are expected to sum up their cases today in the legal battle between Tower Insurance and a Christchurch couple, over the amount owed on an earthquake damaged home.
The newly elected Christchurch City Council had its first meeting with the Earthquake Recovery Minister last night, and councillors say it was the beginning of a much better working relationship.
On the third anniversary of the first major earthquake to hit Christchurch thousands of people with the most badly damaged homes are still wrangling with their insurance companies over rebuilds.
A magazine article which outlines the observations of engineers working on SCIRT retaining wall and ground improvement projects.
The Cathedral
As far as suburbs with bad reputations go, Aranui in Christchurch often seems to dominate local public perceptions. High crime, high unemployment, low incomes, run-down state houses and uncared-for neighbourhoods have been the key words and phrases used over many decades. This reputation achieved national standing over the same period and in 2001 Aranui gained the dubious distinction of becoming the pilot project for the Labour Government’s state housing Community Renewal Programme initiated in 2001. It is common to read “Don’t buy or rent here” comments on websites and blogs advising prospective immigrants on where to live. One of the dispiriting moments in Aranui’s history came in September 2009 with the discovery of two bodies under the floorboards of a Hampshire Street property and the subsequent charge of double-homicide and conviction of local resident Jason Somerville for the murder of his wife Rebecca Chamberlain and neighbour Tisha Lowry.
A photograph of a model city at the Rebuild Central office on Lichfield Street. The model was created by members of the public as part of the Christchurch City Council's Transitional City consultation project.
A photograph of a crowd gathered in the Re:START mall car park on Cashel Street for a performance during FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a crowd gathered in the Re:START mall car park on Cashel Street for a performance during FESTA 2013.
A photograph of a model city at the Rebuild Central office on Lichfield Street. The model was created by members of the public as part of the Christchurch City Council's Transitional City consultation project.
A photograph of people gathered on Cashel Street for the Canterbury Tales procession, which was the main event of FESTA 2013.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The City Council building looked rather spectacular on this late autumn day".
A manual which informs SCIRT AutoCAD users of all tools, utilities, keyboard shortcuts, and tips available within the SCIRT CAD System.
A design guideline which provides guidance to designers on how to carry out a whole of life evaluation of rebuild options.
A manual which provides SCIRT AutoCAD users with general guidance about how to use AutoCAD.
A designer's guideline which explains the role of Technical Leads at SCIRT.
A document which details the structure, roles and terms of reference for the Client Governance Group (CGG).
A plan which details how in 2013 SCIRT planned to engage its workforce in training.