Still Standing

Demolition of street front buildings has revealed hidden treasures behind. I think this was an old brewery. The ground floor has yellow numbers painted on it. I wonder if it will remain standing or will it join the rest of the rubble?

Large

I had a long day in Christchurch today while my car was serviced. With time to spare I took a more extensive look around the city than I have done since the February earthquake. I can't look about when I am driving, and a sore foot usually limits my walking. Today my foot was not painful so I walked.

I went to look at the Basilica, the sight of which upset me soon after the earthquake. Now the great dome has gone, as well as the towers, and what's left is propped up with shipping containers cushioned with hay bales. Very little is recognisable. Like the cathedral in the Square, which was deconsecrated today, it is probably beyond repair and too expensive to rebuild.

Closer to the city many streets are blocked off, barring entry to the Red Zone, the most damaged part of the central area. Around the periphery some businesses are now operating, clamouring for attention among derelict premises and newly created parking lots.

Cashel Mall, once the social and shopping hub of the city, has been strangely sanitised. Most of the old establishments have been removed and replaced with a collection of upmarket stores in shipping containers. A lot of people, both locals and tourists wandered around looking dazed at the changes or the barely held back destruction. Windows in a tall wooden fence gave a view of the 26-storey Hotel Grand Chancellor and the massive crane that is being used to unpick it floor by floor.

At one place I wandered into the restricted area. The soldier manning the checkpoint let me walk to the first intersection. I felt that I was deep into the Red Zone. The devastation was appalling. A row of shops had the fronts ripped off, leaving stock and fittings exposed. Anonymous spaces marked where familiar businesses once stood. Several giant cranes were busy deconstructing high-rises. Huge machines were dragging down brick walls. It was all dust and mayhem.

I came away with the sad thought that the Christchurch we knew and loved, or just took for granted, has gone forever.