Beware the darkness, children, for there be monsters We love to characterise the dark as something to be feared, the territory of nightmares, of ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump. In our collective psyche it belongs to the … Continue reading →
Our city is a repository for the social and historical narrative of our past Each street, wall, facade, interior is an integral part of the people who walked passed them, shopped in them, worked in…
A PDF copy of pages 216-217 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Foamapalooza'. Photos: Peter Walker, Three Chairs Photography. With permission from Volunteer Army Foundation.
Up until February 22nd, 2011, the city of Christchurch was a unique, historic and cultural living and breathing entity. Inherited from a long list of valuable contributors dating back to its incept…
A report covering the ecological effects of the Christchurch Earthquake upon the city's rivers.
A report on the ecological effects of the Christchurch Earthquake upon the city's estuary.
A PDF copy of pages 208-209 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Street Football'. Photos: Eugenio Boidi
The temperatures are heating up, there’s Christmas decorations in shops around the city and we’re on the countdown to summer holidays. In our penultimate blog post for the year we’re going to look back on some of our best artefacts … Continue reading →
A PDF copy of pages 212-213 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project '500 Days: Churchill Park'. Photos: Peter Walker, Three Chairs Photography. With permission from Volunteer Army Foundation.
The end of year is upon us again, and Underground Overground Archaeology is closing the boxes on our finds for the year. The year we finished up our Christmas party with a scavenger hunt around the central city using cryptic … Continue reading →
A PDF copy of pages 214-215 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Christchurch: A Board Game'. Photo (top): Peter Walker, Three Chairs Photography. With permission from Volunteer Army Foundation. Photo (bottom): Irene Boles.
In response to the loss of our inner city of Christchurch, we were inspired to create this website, Lost Christchurch, as a freely accessible archive of photographs, social history and memories of …
A PDF copy of pages 206-207 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Fulton Hogan BMX Pump Track'. Page 206 photos: Irene Boles. Page 207 photos: Peter Walker, Three Chairs Photography. With permission from Student Volunteer Army Foundation.
A PDF copy of pages 210-211 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'St Luke's Labyrinth'. Page 210 photos: Irene Boles. Page 211 photos: Peter Walker, Three Chairs Photography. With permission from Student Volunteer Army Foundation.
For one of our city’s most famous early women settlers, poor health had marred not only her voyage to New Zealand but also her arrival to her new home at Riccarton. From the moment Jane Deans…
As life-changing experiences go, the earthquake on 22 February 2011 was fairly significant. On the one hand, our house was red-zoned (but still liveable), friends lost their lives and the city lost many of the old buildings that, for me, … Continue reading →
When you think about the Avon River running through Christchurch, you might imagine punting boats and kayaks in Hagley Park. Such attractions in our garden city are far from new and, recently, a few of us here at Underground Overground … Continue reading →
Recently, Peter Mitchell, one of our building archaeology specialists, recorded a 19th century residential dwelling just on the edge of Christchurch’s Central City. This dwelling was similar in form and function to others we have seen in Canterbury – it … Continue reading →
Late in 2014 we were contacted by contractors working on a rebuild project in Christchurch’s city centre. It was reported that a number of bottles had been uncovered during routine earthworks and the area cordoned off until our arrival. The bottles … Continue reading →