Gerald Shirtcliff

Construction Manager for the CTV Building.

Stella Cheersmith

Gerald Shirtcliff was the Construction Manager for Williams Construction, the company that built the CTV building between 1986 and 1987. Shirtcliff's credentials were questioned when a media investigation of his background revealed he had assumed the identity of an engineer called William Fisher to obtain his Master's degree in New South Wales. Shirtcliff was living in Australia at the time of the earthquake and gave evidence at the Royal Commission via video link, claiming he had very little to do with the construction of the CTV building.

History:

An infographic from The Press newspaper, depicting a photo of Gerald Shirtcliff with the headline "A life of lies."

Credit: The Press, Fairfax Media New Zealand. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/17985

Resources:

A side-by-side comparison of Gerald Shirtcliff's degree (left), which is a copy of William Fisher's (right). The two documents are identical, except the left looks more faded, and the name and date is harder to make out.

Credit: The Press, Fairfax Media New Zealand. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/222820

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

General Searches:

For further information on Gerald Shirtcliff and his connection to the CTV building, search the CEISMIC collection or get started with one of the links below.

  • For a general search of the collection that includes "CTV building" and keywords such as investigation, Shirtcliff, engineer, construction, Williams Construction, click here
  • To explore the Gerald Shirtcliff tag on CEISMIC, click here
...