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Published: December 21st 2013
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Tuesday 17th December, 2013. Lyttelton & Christchurch - Two Devastated Places
We said our goodbyes to Sharon and Dick and started the rest of the tourist drive on the Banks Peninsula. We headed to the next bay on the north coast which was a place called Little Akaloa. The weather was rubbish, rainy and cloudy. We agreed that this would have been a stunning drive with beautiful views if the weather had been better. We returned to the Summit Road and continued on to Pigeon Bay as per the itinerary. We stopped at Governors Bay on the way to the last stop on the route which was Lyttelton.
Lyttelton is the historic port of Christchurch, even though it is a separate town. The two are connected by Lyttelton Road Tunnel. The port is a popular cruise ship destination and is the South Island's principal goods transport terminal, handling 34% of exports and 61% of imports by value. Lyttelton is located on the rim of an extinct volcano and was the epicentre of the 2011 earthquake. It is 10 km (6 miles) south-east of the centre of Christchurch.
The earthquake caused extensive damage to residential and commercial property, leading
to the demolition of a number of high profile heritage buildings such as the Harbour Light Theatre and the Empire Hotel. Many other un-reinforced masonry buildings were severely damaged. Much of Lyttelton's architectural heritage was lost as a result of the earthquakes, as damage was deemed too extensive for reconstruction. By June 2011, six buildings in London Street in Lyttelton had been demolished, along with another four on Norwich Quay. The town's oldest churches have collapsed, including Canterbury's oldest stone church, the Holy Trinity. However, one of Lyttelton's heritage buildings, the Grubb house on London Street, was not as badly damaged and has been repaired. John Grubb was one of the earliest residents of Lyttelton. He was from a shipwright from Scotland. we went to the house but it is only open on Saturday's. We took a photo and then had a look at some of the businesses in London Street who had started trading from shipping containers and special units which had been constructed after the earthquake. We passed a garden which had been laid on the site of a demolished building - D commented that it looked like an attempt to imitate Salvador Dali. Then we grabbed some
fish and a spring roll for lunch.
We continued through the road tunnel and into Christchurch city. Having worked out that they had changed their road numbers we found the hostel, Foley Towers, fairly easily. It was a very pleasant place with a courtyard garden We had an en-suite room off the garden. After unloading the car we took a walk into Christchurch City Centre which is only about 10 minutes away. Nothing had prepared either of us for the scale of the devastation still apparent from the 2011 earthquake. It is like a scene in Berlin after the blitz. D had picked up a guidebook called the "Central City Heritage Guide". We planned to follow as much of this route as possible, although not necessarily in the order that was
recommended. The guide explained that a large number of heritage buildings had been demolished following the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 but that a lot were being repaired or had temporary protection measures in place while their future is determined - we weren't prepared for how many of these buildings there are (most of important buildings in the city are not accessible or gone!).
Our first stop
was the Edmonds Band Rotunda, Clock Tower and Telephone Cabinet. We couldn't go in any of them. All 3 were covered in scaffolding with high wire fences around them. These structures were gifted to the city by Thomas Edmonds founder of Edmonds baking powder factory. All that remains of the Rotunda is the domed roof - the rest of the building has been deconstructed and stored while a decision is made on its future. The clock tower sustained cracking at 2 levels and after its removal the top section has been reinstated on its repaired base. Then we saw the 'famous' Poplar Trees along the River Avon. We joked that maybe these had been added to the itinerary because everything else had gone! We could be doing the council down here, as they were planted in 1925, so they are kind of historic.
We walked down New Regent's Street which has been dubbed as "the most beautiful street in Christchurch". More than half of these buildings were back in operation but there were several still undergoing repairs. We continued to the tram terminus. There are only 2 historic trams running now - the rest have still to be repaired
or replaced. We then made our way to Cathedral Square.
The Gothic Revival Anglican Cathedral was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Construction began in the 1860's but it was not completed until 1904 (although the nave was consecrated in 1881). The
building was De-consecrated to allow its partial deconstruction and making safe of the building while the long term options are considered. It is all fenced off and we couldn't get anywhere near it. The Citizens War Memorial (commemorating those lost in WW1) is the same site and is also not accessible. We took some photos through the wire fencing.
The former chief post office was next. This was designed by William Clayton and reflects the prevailing Gothic style of early Christchurch public architecture. An Italianate influence is also evident. The lovely clock tower houses an English replica of Big Ben. This building is also (surprises of surprises) fenced off. It has also lost or partially lost its clock faces.
Following the itinerary our next stop was the 'Chalice', an artwork created by Neil Dawson to celebrate the millennium and the 150th anniversary of the founding of Christchurch and Canterbury.
We then went back into
Cathedral Square where the pedestal for the statue of Robert Godley is still in situ. The statue itself fell off in the earthquake in 2011 and is now in the Quake City exhibition. Robert was an Irish guy who founded the Canterbury Association in London in 1848, and named its proposed principle settlement Christchurch, after his old college at Oxford University.
We had noticed that many of the fences and barriers around the city had been decorated with tiles that fitted exactly into the diagonal wire mesh. Also more permanent fences had been decorated with patterns and vibrant colours. In Cathedral Square there was a sign explaining that "in the city's altered centre, art, storytelling and the realm of imagination claim a vital role". Two artists had unleashed colour, pattern and energy on the fencing around the cathedral to communicate an active sense of possibility. The idea is to see the city as a vast, changing canvas.
We then decided that we had had enough for the day and started back to the hostel. On the way we passed a building whose frontage is being entirely supported by shipping containers. Turns out this is the Isaac Theatre Royal
(although you couldn't tell). This is one of the buildings earmarked for saving. We have found a picture of what it used to look like to include with this blog.
We then came across a giant sofa, two armchairs and a coffee table in bright green. We took some pictures and D sat on the sofa in order to give an impression of its size. Not sure what they are or why they are there but they were quite unusual. We continued past some more damaged buildings and back through New Regents Street. At the time of its construction the concept of an entire street made up of speciality shops was a new one for NZ. The 40 shops were designed in the Spanish Mission Revival style by H Francis Willis in 1930. Built between 1930 and 1932 it was one of the few large-scale building projects undertaken on the South Island during the Depression. The shops suffered moderate damage in the earthquakes. They are currently being strengthened and repaired
and the damaged tiled shop fronts reinstated.
Now nearing the hostel we stopped at the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. This is only 2 minutes walk from where we
are staying. There is nothing left of the magnificent church that stood there. However, on the site there is a photograph of how it used to be and how it looked immediately after the 2011 earthquake. A bit too close for comfort - but at least our hostel remained standing during both the earthquakes. There are a few cracks in the dining room though.
Today had started off badly due to the weather and the destruction in Christchurch is much worse than either of us had imagined. We will finish the trail tomorrow. D cooked dinner and we retired thinking of how frightening it must have been for the people caught up in the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.
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