OPINION: British archaeologist, heritage adviser and writer RICHARD TERRY visited Christchurch recently and says Christ Church Cathedral has an irreplaceable authority and total demolition would be a great loss for the city. Why squander public money on heritage conservation when there are so many …
“OPINION: On Friday, a Court of Appeal decision cleared the way for the Church Property Trust (CPT) to continue demolishing the earthquake-damaged Christ Church Cathedral. Psychiatrist Alma Rae says that the urge to take it down seems to be based on fear. Last year The Press ran a poll seeki …
Two years after an earthquake devastated the city which shares its name, ChristChurch Cathedral still languishes behind security fencing. Amanda Cropp investigates the rancorous politics behind the wire. The once- soaring bell tower is little more than a stump following demolition last year. …
While I was in the midst of preparing the manuscript for my new book Imperial Gothic a few years ago, a series of devastating earthquakes struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch. These quakes, of which there were two major ones between September 2010 and February 2011, caused widespread dam …
For a brief 10 minutes or so Justin Leadbetter managed to do what advocacy, placards and endless public meetings have failed to do in Christchurch. He stood – sat, actually – between the claws of a large orange excavator and the magnificent 136-year-old Cranmer Courts building, and stopped the …
OPINION: Christchurch feels like a city under attack. So much of its central business district has been demolished that its streets are unrecognisable, even to those of us who have spent most of our lives here. The inner-city area within the Four Avenues is described by locals increasingly in term …
Those calling for the deconstruction of the Christchurch Cathedral can no longer claim the building cannot be saved, heritage campaigner Jim Anderton says. A new report says the historic building can be saved with techniques similar to those used in underground mining. The independent report, which …
Sam Mahon looks back on the moments of his life when he felt connected to Christ Church Cathedral. We were pausing for coffee recently in a rural cafe when a woman blew in through the door as if she had been expelled from a vacuum cleaner. She headed for a nearby table and threw herself …
The eyes of the engineering world are on Christchurch as lessons from the dramatic earthquakes are learned and used in the creation of new, more resilient and safer buildings. PHILIP MATTHEWS reports. Bad news refuses to stand still and in the past 15 months, Christchurch’s earthquakes have b …