We are up early today and head
straight into the city to have breakfast in the Re:START Mall before going on
the early morning bus tour into the Red Zone.
This tour takes you through the cordoned off area of the city which is
now a major demolition /construction site.
The tours are very popular with locals and tourists alike wanting to understand
the nature of the destruction which had occurred, but also and much more
positively to understand what the plans were for the rebuild of the city and
what construction works were already underway.
We had been very lucky to get on the tour as this was the only slot
available for 2 days.
We head off on the bus with a really
lovely and enthusiastic guide from the Christchurch Museum. We are told that the current red zone is now
much smaller than that in the immediate aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake,
due to the intensive building inspection and demolition works which have
already been undertaken. Before entering
the current red zone we drive through some of these areas and see a clock tower
where the clock is frozen at 12.50pm – the time the earthquake occurred.
We pass the site of the CTVbuilding where the greatest loss of life occurred and see a very moving and
respectful tribute to the people who died there. A series of white chairs had been placed in
an adjacent site. All the chairs were
completely different and individual to represent each individual person that
died in the building.
It is a very
moving tribute.
We enter the current red zone and
are immediately struck by the amount of work being undertaken all around us. Buildings are being demolished, construction
waste is being crushed, screened and stockpiled for reuse, and new foundations
were being constructed.
There is a total
hive of activity and it reminds me of the early days on the Olympic Park where
so many different workstreams were being undertaken at the one time in a
relatively small area. There is a really
positive feel to the work being undertaken to rebuild the city. We see further art installations, the site of
the new cardboard cathedral and areas where park land as re-opened following
the effects of liquefaction. Even nearly
2 years on the extend of the damage is still stark in some areas and we
understand that decisions are still to be made on some of the building in the
city centre as to whether they are required to be pulled down. One of these and very sadly is the Cathedral Building which was one of the building highlights in Christchurch before the
earthquakes, which had a beautiful stained glass rose window. We understand from the guide and also from
reading in the local papers that a decision has yet to be reached on the
cathedrals future although it is apparent that many locals want to see it
restored. Whether this is possible given
the scale of destruction to the building remains unclear.
As the tour concludes we both are
surprised how much more positive we both feel about the future of the city
compared to how we felt on our arrival yesterday. We are really pleased to have been able to go
on the tour and learn about the rebuild of the city.
Mrs M
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