
Monday 10 December 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-12-10- IMG_1112 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Monday 10 December 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-12-10-IMG_1113 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
The earthquake recovery minister, Gerry Brownlee, has called The Press newspaper the enemy of Christchurch's recovery.
A super council, along the lines of Auckland city could be on the cards in Canterbury, but not until the earthquake recovery is well underway.
A photograph captioned, "After the September earthquake, it was more a simple case of something gets broken and it gets repaired. Then came February, and June as well, and suddenly it's just not so straightforward anymore".
Demolition along Kilmore Street. A digger can be seen as well as a construction worker with a high hat and high-visibility vest. The rubble has been separated into different piles.
Broken windows on a building in Welles Street. The photographer comments, "Keep out of sight. The wind will cover our breathing. Is there anything to eat in here?".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The Craig's Investment Partners House looking very dirty after forteen months without the glass being cleaned as well as demolitions happening around it".
A digger being used to clear the rubble from the Convention Centre on Peterborough Street. In the background, the Town Hall can be seen, as well as the Forsyth Barr building.
A model of the ChristChurch Transitional Cathedral made predominantly out of laser cut and engraved coloured acrylic as well as timber dowels to represent the cardboard tubes.
Piles of rubble along Kilmore Street. A digger can be seen in the background as well as a construction worker in a hard hat and high-visibility vest. The rubble has been separated into different piles.
The completed memorial blanket. This blanket was created by members of the Lyttelton community, with the iconic felt hearts that were created after the earthquake as well as depictions of some of the buildings lost during the earthquake in Lytteton.
The completed memorial blanket. This blanket was created by members of the Lyttelton community, with the iconic felt hearts that were created after the earthquake as well as depictions of some of the buildings lost during the earthquake in Lytteton.
A photograph of members of the public walking along Gloucester Street near the Colombo Street intersection. In the background, the site of the demolished Farmers Building can be seen as well as the car park to the left.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The organ in St Bartholomew's Anglican Church in Kaiapoi, the oldest surviving church in Canterbury. The organ has survived the earthquakes well".
A photograph looking east down Armagh Street from the Provincial Chambers Buildings. In the distance, the Victoria Apartments, Forsyth Barr, and PricewaterhouseCoopers buildings can be seen, as well as two cordon fences and a crane.
A photograph of a damaged colourful brick wall at New Brighton mall. There are bricks in front of it spread in a pattern, as well as a coiled up power cable.
Gap Filler and Poetica's "Instant Poetry" wall on Colombo Street. One of Shakespeare's sonnets has been painted on the mural as well as a blackboard. Members of the public are encouraged to add their poems to the blackboard.
Chief executive of the Christchurch City Council, Tony Marryatt, has announced he has turned down a controversial $68,000 pay rise. The pay rise is particularly controversial in the face of widespread hardship in Christchurch because of the earthquakes that began in September 2010 and continue still. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A photograph of members of the public walking along the edge of the cordon on the intersection of Colombo and Gloucester Streets. In the background, the Forsyth Barr Building can be seen as well as the partially-demolished PricewaterhouseCoopers Building.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The future of Calendar Girls is uncertain, because although it survived the earthquakes well, it is now within the zone called 'The Frame' and may not be deemed to be a suitable use for that zone".
The PricewaterhouseCoopers building photographed from Cambridge Terrace, across the Avon River. A skip can be seen on the road as well as wire fencing and a road cone. Some of the windows above are broken and have been boarded up with wood.
Colombo Street looking south from Kilmore Street. Wire and concrete fencing has been used as a cordon. In the distance a drill and a crane can be seen, as well as the damaged tower of the Cathedral, the Forsyth Building and the BNZ Building.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers building photographed from Cambridge Terrace, across the Avon River. A skip can be seen on the road as well as wire fencing and a road cone. Some of the windows above are broken and have been boarded up with wood.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The side door of the cathedral on the south face is as elegant as ever, even if the setting is not as well-kept as we are accustomed to seeing it".
A video of Gerry Brownlee, the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, speaking about the Draft Recovery Strategy at a CERA conference. Brownlee talks about the progress that has already been made in the rebuild, as well as the goals of the Draft Recovery Strategy.
Photograph captioned, "Dallington used to be the most popular suburb in New Zealand to live in. And that makes sense, because it's halfway between the beach and the city. It's close enough to town but far enough away, as well. There were good schools in the area. The mall was close. It's got the river and the tree lined sections, everything. It was special all right".
For many years the Heathcote-Avon estuary was the dumping ground for Christchurch's sewage. Then, in 2010, the wastewater was diverted well out to sea, via a long pipe. David Schiel from the University of Canterbury and John Zeldis from NIWA were investigating the effects of this diversion on the health of estuary when the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes happened, re-engineering both the estuary and their experiments.
A photograph taken from the top of the BNZ building. The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "There are workers suspended from a cage about a third of the way up the Pacific Tower as well as a couple of workers on the top penthouse floor. It's hard to see where they are suspended from".
For the people of Christchurch and its wider environs of Canterbury in New Zealand, the 4th of September 2010 earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks were daunting. To then experience a more deadly earthquake five months later on the 22nd of February 2011 was, for the majority, overwhelming. A total of 185 people were killed and the earthquake and continuing aftershocks caused widespread damage to properties, especially in the central city and eastern suburbs. A growing body of literature consistently documents the negative impact of experiencing natural disasters on existing psychological disorders. As well, several studies have identified positive coping strategies which can be used in response to adversities, including reliance on spiritual and cultural beliefs as well as developing resilience and social support. The lifetime prevalence of severe mental health disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurring as a result of experiencing natural disasters in the general population is low. However, members of refugee communities who were among those affected by these earthquakes, as well as having a past history of experiencing traumatic events, were likely to have an increased vulnerability. The current study was undertaken to investigate the relevance to Canterbury refugee communities of the recent Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) draft recovery strategy for Christchurch post-earthquakes. This was accomplished by interviewing key informants who worked closely with refugee communities. These participants were drawn from different agencies in Christchurch including Refugee Resettlement Services, the Canterbury Refugee Council, CERA, and health promotion and primary healthcare organisations, in order to obtain the views of people who have comprehensive knowledge of refugee communities as well as expertise in local mainstream services. The findings from the semi-structured interviews were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis to identify common themes raised by the participants. The key informants described CERA’s draft recovery strategy as a significant document which highlighted the key aspects of recovery post disaster. Many key informants identified concerns regarding the practicality of the draft recovery strategy. For the refugee communities, some of those concerns included the short consultation period for the implementation phase of the draft recovery strategy, and issues surrounding communication and collaboration between refugee agencies involved in the recovery. This study draws attention to the importance of communication and collaboration during recovery, especially in the social reconstruction phase following a disaster, for all citizens but most especially for refugee communities.