The Down Under Expedition # 6: Shake, Rattle, and On A Roll!

As some of you may guess, this title indicates my visits to the city centre of Christchurch, spread over two days.  I hasten to add that no disrespect whatsoever is intended.

In 2010 and 2011 the Christchurch area was struck by a series of major earthquakes, which collectively caused massive damage in the city, especially in the central area and the eastern suburbs.  The total death toll stands at 185 confirmed deaths, all suffered during an aftershock on Feb. 22, 2011, which brought down many buildings weakened by previous earthquakes, and wrecked the tall spire of the city's iconic Anglican cathedral.  

I remember reading comments at the time that the site of the city would likely be abandoned, and that new urban development would henceforth take place in other areas around the region which would possess greater stability in future earthquake events.

I felt as if I had suffered a bereavement.  The time I spent in Christchurch during my 1994 visit stood out among my happiest memories of that entire trip.  I couldn't bear the thought of the entire city simply turning into a ghost town, haunted by the victims of the tragedy.

Of course, it didn't turn out quite like that.

By October of 2011, eight months after the quake, a new shopping mall had been opened on a cleared site right by the Avon River.  It was called the Re:START Mall, with obvious intention.  It included many stores, cafes, restaurants, and the like -- all housed in colourful shipping containers -- and it's still a go-to destination and hangout for all kinds of people.  And that's where I started the first of two days exploring the city centre.

Right nearby stands the Bridge of Remembrance, a pedestrian bridge and memorial arch built after World War One and expanded after World War Two and other more recent conflicts.  It has been rebuilt and newly strengthened against future earthquakes, and is now open again.

Other nearby new buildings display a new, more colourful and even playful approach to urban architecture as compared to the more sober, businesslike look of the pre-quake city.

I was startled in walking through the ReSTART Mall at lunch time that nearly half the people around me were construction workers in their work clothes.  Whole blocks of Christchurch are being rebuilt with new and improved standards of building safety, and the entire construction industry is booming as a result.  The latest ideas in earthquake resistance are also being retrofitted into many existing buildings.

The antique tramcar is part of a dual-loop tram route through the city centre which was built from scratch in the late 1990s, many years after trams had been replaced by buses.  It uses authentic old tramcars from several cities, and is run as a tourist attraction with an all-day, hop-on-hop-off ticket.  It's a fascinating way to see the changes happening in central Christchurch.  You can't mistake it for a transit system by any means -- the trams move at a very leisurely pace, as is appropriate for such elderly citizens!  But in the future it may be integrated into Christchurch's public transport system.

The central hub of the tram operation is in what's left of Cathedral Square.  In some ways, this was the saddest loss from the earthquake, next to all the human lives.  Cathedral Square was a genuine "people place", complete with popular meetings and festivals, sidewalk games, a "speaker's corner," food trucks galore, something always happening.  Today, it looks rather sadder and emptier.

Cathedral Square was also the headquarters for the world-famous Wizard of Christchurch.  If you haven't heard of him, Google the name or look him up in Wikipedia -- you're in for a fascinating story.  The Wizard now hangs out in the New Regent Street pedestrian shopping street, and I got a photo of him and his apprentice/assistant Wizard when rolling slowly through the mall on the tram.

The Cathedral Square area, too, is rebuilding, but the truncated remnant of the old Cathedral stands as a perennial reminder of 2011.  Its future is still uncertain.  The Anglican Diocese has deconsecrated the ruined church, but has committed to keeping a cathedral in Cathedral Square.  Whether this will be a reconstruction of the existing building or a new structure is as yet unclear.

A distant view towards the Square from the northwest shows just how much land in downtown Christchurch remains to be refilled.  But the city's determination to rebuild is remarkable all the same --- and also clearly visible in the picture.

The tram system has an office and a drive-through "terminal" in the brand-new Cathedral Junction building -- a modern shopping mall with a hotel attached on one side and another hotel right above the shops on the other side.  As the tram driver said in his commentary, you can get a lovely deluxe hotel room with a tram rumbling through right under your bed every 15 minutes!

Many damaged buildings await reconstruction.  In the case of some of the beautiful heritage buildings, new construction behind a preserved facade is an option -- that's what's expected to happen with this carefully braced structure.

Other historic buildings came through with less lasting damage, and the old wooden church of St. Michael and All Angels is a good example.  Wooden buildings in general fared far better with the earthquakes than those built of brick or stone.  One curious detail was the frequency with which wooden buildings remained standing while their brick chimneys collapsed.

Or, on a more secular level, take the Pegasus Arms Pub, which has a good big patio and dished up an excellent lunch with local draft beer!

I want to conclude this post with the newest addition to the city, scheduled to be officially dedicated in one week from now.  But this also brings my post full circle.  This is the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial.  

When it's officially unveiled, the simple curving wall along the shore of the Avon River will carry the names of all 185 victims.  Across the river, a matching curving walkway and bench is being created to allow a space for reflection on the memorial wall and its meaning.  As the city is reborn, more colourful and in some ways more vibrant than ever before, it is right that the past should in this way be clearly and publicly remembered and commemorated.