Royal Commission

The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.

Stella Cheersmith

The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry was an extensive investigation held after the earthquake on 22 February 2011. It was established “to report on the causes of building failure as a result of the earthquakes as well as the legal and best-practice requirements for buildings in New Zealand Central Business Districts”. The inquiry began in April 2011 and – after some delays – concluded in November 2012, with a report published in three parts over the final months of 2012. A large portion of the inquiry was focused on the CTV collapse and Part Three (specifically Volume 6) included the Royal Commission’s findings on the building’s failure.

The Inquiry saw many people called forward to give evidence, two of whom received significant scrutiny from the Royal Commission and the media. Alan Reay’s engineering company, Alan Reay Consultants Ltd, designed the CTV building in the 1980s, and Reay came under fire during the investigation for his dismissal of the council's building regulations and his neglect of employee David Harding. During the Royal Commission hearing, Reay apologised to the families of the CTV victims, saying “this building did not meet my standards.”

Gerald Shirtcliff was the construction manager for the CTV site and came under fire when a media investigation revealed his history of fraudulent activity in both New Zealand and Australia. Shirtcliff had obtained his Master’s degree in engineering by using the name and degree of a former colleague, William Fischer. Shirtcliff was living in Australia at the time of the earthquake, but gave evidence at the Royal Commission hearing via video link, claiming he spent very little time at the CTV site.

For more information and Reay and Shirtcliff, visit their respective pages in the right-hand column.

The logo for a feature about the Royal Commission into the Canterbury earthquakes.

Credit: The Press, Fairfax Media New Zealand. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/134822

Inquiry:

A newspaper infographic describing the possible collapse scenario for the CTV building. It includes three diagrams of the building and its inner walls, as well as a photo of the site after the building collapsed..

Credit: The Press, Fairfax Media New Zealand. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/17508

  • Christchurch Press 23 June 2012: Section A, Page 15 | "Witnesses to disaster first to take stand." - Provides an update on the Royal Commission of Inquiry, which will begin the hearing into the CTV collapse on June 25 and is set to last approximately eight weeks. This article also contains quotes from friends and family members of the CTV victims.
  • Key witness in CTV Building collapse refuses to give evidence | RNZ - This report from Radio New Zealand National gives an update on the Royal Commission of Inquiry, including the Construction Manager Gerald Shirtcliff’s reluctance to appear at the hearing, and the recent evidence given by witnesses of the building’s collapse. It contains audio clips from the hearing, such as Nilgun Kulpe’s account, and statements from Kendyll Mitchell.
  • The Star 27 June 2012 (Pages 1, 2 & 3) - This edition of The Star contains several articles reporting on the Royal Commission of Inquiry, all about witnesses and survivors of the CTV collapse:
    • “CTV collapse ‘like twin towers’.” - Witness Michael Williams describes the collapse of the CTV building, which he saw from his office window on Cashel Street.
    • “Building ‘was chasing me’.” - Canterbury Television receptionist Maryanne Jackson gives her account of the CTV collapse, which she survived by running out of the building from the reception area of the ground floor.
    • “Cracking, collapse.” - CTV Presentation Director Tom Hawker witnessed the building collapse from the road outside. He had bought lunch and was returning to work when the earthquake hit.
    • “Crawl to safety.” - Workman Leonard Fortune gives his account of the CTV collapse. He was weathercladding the western wall of the building when the earthquake struck, and narrowly avoided being hit by falling concrete.
  • Christchurch Press 28 June 2012: Section A, Page 3 - This page contains three detailed articles about the Royal Commission of Inquiry. They provide an overall summary of the recent evidence heard at the hearing, such as the possible causes of the collapse and subsequent fire, as well as evidence from the rubble that points to the building’s structural weaknesses.
    • “Cars may have caused CTV fire.” - Discusses details given to the Royal Commission of Inquiry by engineer Graham Frost, who analysed possible causes of the CTV collapse and fire.
    • “Concrete likened to stick of chalk.” - Australian engineer Rob Heywood gave evidence at the hearing, describing the concrete of the CTV building as weak and brittle.
    • “Engineers troubled by loss of evidence.” - Discusses Frost and Heywood’s experiences with the CTV site when they arrived days after the earthquake. Both were concerned to find the evidence had been disturbed, as much of the rubble was moved or taken away.
  • Christchurch Press 29 June 2012: Section A, Page 2 - This page contains three articles about the evidence heard at the Royal Commission of Inquiry:
    • “‘We’re a whole lot wiser now’.” - Details an inspection of the CTV building following the earthquake on 4 September 2010 – though an engineer was not present, the building was green-stickered.
    • "Ex-construction manager will face collapse inquiry - Contains information on Gerald Shirtcliff – Construction Manager for the CTV building – who has recently agreed to give evidence at the hearing.
    • "Manager assured staff about building’s safety.” - Reports on an email sent by a Canterbury Television manager to his staff members following the building’s assessment, mistaking the building inspectors for engineers.
  • Engineers followed protocol in CTV assessment, expert says | RNZ - This audio file from Radio New Zealand National reports on the recent evidence given to the Royal Commission of Inquiry by David Coatsworth, an engineer who inspected the CTV Building after the September 4 and Boxing Day earthquakes. Coatsworth concluded that the building had some superficial damage but was safe to occupy. This report includes audio clips from Coatsworth during the hearing, as well as a response from Murray Grant, whose wife died in the CTV building.
  • Christchurch Press 10 July 2012: Section A, Page 2 | "High rise's failure due to design, say experts." "Vibrations 'can be due to nerves'." - This page contains two articles: the first covers the evidence given to the Royal Commission of Inquiry by members of the Department of Building and Housing. Their recent report on the CTV collapse concluded that the building had suffered only minor damage in the earthquakes before February 22. The second article discusses fears voiced by the CTV occupants that the building was unstable and would ‘vibrate’ during aftershocks.
  • Christchurch Press 13 July 2012: Section A, Page 2 | "Firm liable for any design flaws." "High rise 'not designed to best practice'." - These two articles contain recent evidence heard at the Royal Commission of Inquiry from engineer Alan Reay and structural engineering professor Nigel Priestley. Both discuss the potential causes of the CTV collapse in relation to the building’s design and structural integrity.
  • Christchurch Press 31 July 2012: Section A, Page 5 | "CTV was first multi-storey task for structural engineer." "Alan Reay controlled all projects, inquiry told." - These two articles discuss the evidence given to the Royal Commission by engineers who worked at Alan Reay Consultants Ltd when the company was in the process of designing the CTV building. David Harding was the structural engineer who prepared the detailed design of the building, and told the inquiry it was his first time working on a multi-storey building.
  • Christchurch Press 9 August 2012: Section A, Page 2 (Christchurch Edition) | "My role was limited - Shirtcliff." "Witness at loss when asked about identity." - These two articles cover the evidence given to the Royal Commission by Gerald Shirtcliff, the Construction Manager for the CTV building. Shirtcliff gave evidence from Australia via video link; he claimed he spent very little time on the CTV site and was questioned in relation to the different name he used (William Fisher) in the past.
  • The Star 10 August 2012 (Pages 1 & 4) | "Lack of steel blamed for CTV collapse." - Provides a good overview of the Royal Commission of Inquiry so far, with a list of summarised key points and witnesses, as well as recent conclusions that the columns of the CTV building were insufficient due to lack of steel reinforcing.
A newspaper infographic describing the possible causes of the CTV building collapse. It includes a diagram of the building that highlights weak spot, and an analysis of the concrete columns which reportedly had "inadequate steel reinforcement".

Credit: The Press, Fairfax Media New Zealand. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/223497

Report:

The report was released in three parts and made up seven volumes. Part Three (volumes 5, 6 and 7) contains the investigation into the CTV collapse. The full report can be found here.

  • Christchurch Press 11 December 2012: Section A, Page 1 | "The Perfect Storm." - This page contains an overview of the Royal Commission report and its findings. It summarises some of the issues with the CTV building under different headings: ‘Design,’ ‘Consent,’ ‘Construction,’ ‘Retrofit,’ and ‘Inspection’.
  • Christchurch Press 11 December 2012: Section A, Page 4 | "Govt to look to courts in collapse." - This entire page covers the findings of the Royal Commission’s report into the CTV building. It includes an infographic on what triggered the collapse, as well as summaries of the key people who gave evidence. Continued on Page 5 are several other articles:
    • “Call for prosecutions over collapse.” - Discusses responses from family members of the CTV victims, and what they hope will happen next.
    • “Reay not given report copy in advance.” - Covers Alan Reay’s reception of the report, as well as some other notable people and organisations.
    • “Findings may lead to law, policy changes.” - Provides a summary of some of the recommendations from the report, which the Government will take into account.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

General Searches:

To find out more about the CTV building and the Royal Commission of Inquiry, search the CEISMIC collection or get started with one of the links below.

  • For a general search of the archive that includes the phrase "Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission," click here
  • To limit the search to audio files related to the Royal Commission of Inquiry, click here
  • For a more specific search on the Royal Commission Hearings, click here
  • To search CEISMIC for the Royal Commission's Report, click here
  • To find other relevant resources in the Document Library for the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission, click here
...