Christchurch Cathedral
Audio, Radio New Zealand
Dean of Christchurch Cathedral Peter Beck talks about what the people of Christchurch are going through in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Dean of Christchurch Cathedral Peter Beck talks about what the people of Christchurch are going through in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Christchurch's Cardboard Cathedral was designed as a temporary structure to fill the void left by the damage caused to Christ Church Cathedral in the 2011 earthquake.
It was so nearly lost. As the Christ Church Anglican Cathedral is being rebuilt, historian Edmund Bohan is releasing a history of the distinctive Gothic building. It shows it was controversial even before work started on designing it, let alone building in. From the laying of the foundations to the official opening, it took 40 years, after squabbles over pretty much every aspect of its construction - not to mention the huge problems raising the money to build it in the City Centre. In Heart of the City: The Story of Christchurch's Controversial Cathedral, Edmund is critical of the former Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews' determination to demolish the badly-damaged cathedral after the Canterbury earthquakes, to replace it with a modern church. And he tells Lynn Freeman he's very much looking forward to seeing the Cathedral restored to its former glory after a lengthy and pricey rebuild. But first he sets the scene. Back in the 1860s, there was controversy over where the cathedral should go, its design, whether it should be in stone or timber - even if there should be a cathedral built at all! Heart of the City: The Story of Christchurch's Controversial Cathedral, by Edmund Bohan is published by Quentin Wilson Publishing.
The Cathedral has been in a state of limbo since the Christchurch earthquakes. Now roosting pigeons are adding to the damage.
A remote-operated digger has started work on Christchurch Cathedral removing rubble from the historic building. It's a job project managers are describing as a world first - and a significant breakthrough in the clean up of Christchurch's earthquake damaged Cathedral. Adam Burns reports.
The Anglican church yesterday announced members of Canterbury's synod will now decide the earthquake damaged cathedral's future at its meeting in September.
A huge milestone in the rebuild of the Christchurch Cathedral. Twelves years since the Canterbury earthquakes caused extensive damage to the building, community leaders and project managers have gathered inside the cathedral this morning for the first time since the quakes. It also marks the completion of stablisation phase of the project. Our reporter Adam Burns went along.
Both of Christchurch's big cathedrals were destroyed in the earthquakes. Their fates have been very different, and only one will rise again.
The Dean of the Christchurch Cathedral says he's stepping down so he can better serve the city during the earthquake recovery.
The Christchurch Cathedral has suffered massive damage, with its spire reduced to rubble and the roof caved in. There were visitors inside the building when the earthquake hit, and it is still unclear whether anyone was trapped beneath the rubble.
The new Cabinet is reportedly considering a rebuild plan for the Christchurch Cathedral, damaged in the 2011 earthquake. Supporters of restoring the cathedral say the signs are promising.
The spire of Christ Church Cathedral once stood 20 storeys high but was reduced to less than half that by last year's earthquake. Its temporary replacement's construction began yesterday with the first sod turned.
More than four years after the February 2011 earthquake devastated Christchurch's city centre, the rebuild in and around the iconic Cathedral Square has stalled.
The head of the Christchurch cathedral thinks people visiting the church may have been killed there when the quake hit this afternoon. The Dean of Christchurch, Peter Beck, says they rushed to get as many people out of the Cathedral as they could.
Moves towards returning the famed rose window to Christ Church Cathedral begin today. An eighteen-tonne steel frame is being installed onto the cathedral's west facade as part of restoration work. It will eventually housing the rose window. The cathedral was critically damaged in the Christchurch earthquake of 2011. Project director Keith Paterson is in Cathedral Square. He speaks to Susie Ferguson.
A new exhibition showcases relics found underneath Christchurch's Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, which was badly damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes.
Earlier this morning Christchurch's Cathedral Square saw its first dawn service since the earthquake in 2011. The city's Mayor Phil Mauger was there.
An architect and art historian is setting up an action group to oppose the demolition of one of the most well-known churches in Christchurch, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The church, registered as a Category 1 building with Heritage New Zealand, was damaged in the 2011 earthquakes and has sat in a state of disrepair ever since. Dr Anna Crighton is from Historic Places Aotearoa. She talks to Susie Ferguson.
The company running the restoration of Christchurch's Anglican Cathedral is confident it will be able to raise the extra $51 million still needed to finish the job, and says potential large donors are already being approached here and overseas. The building has sat derelict since the 2011 earthquake and now the cost to fix it has soared from an original estimate of $104 million to $154 million. Some Cantabrians are finding the price hard to justify. The director of the restoration project Keith Paterson speaks to Corin Dann.
The annual arrival of the godwits in Christchurch has been marked, despite the city's cathedral being out of action following February's earthquake.
One of the most potent symbols of the earthquake has been the massive amount of destruction caused to Christchurch's Anglican Cathedral, including the toppling of its spire.
An international expert in earthquake recovery who's touring New Zealand says it's inconceivable to think that a building as magnificent as Christchurch Cathedral won't be rebuilt.
Christchurch's Blessed Sacrament Cathedral was set to be repaired following the Canterbury earthquakes, but the new Bishop Paul Martin has decided it's too expensive and has decided to rebuild closer to the city centre.
Cathederal Square has remained largely untouched by developers since the 2011 earthquake. That is about to change, with work beginning on a series of hotels.
In 1987, Jack Perkins recorded an award-winning documentary capturing the life, the sounds and the personalities of Cathedral Square in Christchurch. Thirty years on, Deborah Nation parallels that experience with the sounds of September 2011 as engineer Gabrielle Parker escorts her Shrough the earthquake Red Zone into the square as it is today.
Thirty-four years ago, Spectrum producer Jack Perkins recorded his award-winning documentary capturing the life, the sounds and the personalities of Cathedral square in Christchurch. In this edition of The Vault, Deborah Nation parallels that experience with the sounds of 2011 as she is escorted through the earthquake Red Zone into the square as it is today.
Victoria Square, the slightly less famous cousin of nearby Cathedral Square was re-opened today following $7.5 million worth of earthquake repairs.
The Anzac Day Dawn service returns to Christchurch's Cathedral Square tomorrow, the first time since the 2011 earthquake. The service will take place near the newly-restored Citizens' War Memorial at 5.30am, where traditional veterans will parade up Worcestor Boulevard towards the Square. Christchurch Memorial RSA president, Dennis Mardle, spoke to Corin Dann.
The Catholic basilica in Christchurch was further damaged in Monday's earthquake making its demolition all but inevitable.
A momentous day in Christchurch as a huge steel frame was installed as part of the stabilisation work for Christ Church Cathedral. Karyn speaks with project director Keith Paterson about the plans to return the famed rose window extensively damage in the 2011 earthquake.