Wairoa Street Another web site used this image (with a link to this Flickr page), so the view count sky rocketed. CERA (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority)/Tonkin & Taylor also used this image on page 13 of a Land Damage presentation on 23/06/11. This was also released as a PDF. A few months later a friend emailed me the report (for...
20140521_1080_1D3-24 It has started! Removal of the double-glazed windows is underway at my "red zone" house, now owned by the Government of New Zealand. Sold to CERA (the government agency) in October 2012 and has remained empty since, despite having little damage, apart from the tilt to the front from the land damage that occurred during the...
Another house has gone from Seabreeze Close, Pacific Park, Bexley, leaving just the concrete base, a few floor tiles and the smashed toilet (throne). Houses are being demolished (85%) or deconstructed/shifted (15%) as a result of land damage in the major earthquakes of 4th September 2010, 22nd February 2011, 13th June 2011 and 23rd December 2...
A sign on a fence in Bexley reads "17 19 21. We are all home, smiling, staying positive, looking forward, A.J. included." The photographer comments, "These three neighbour families in the Bexley Christchurch red zone are all great friends. They are so fond of each other that they want to buy a big parcel of land and then build three homes next to each other".
A digitally manipulated image of the sun shining through a stand of pine trees in New Brighton. Some of the trees are on a lean. The photographer comments, "Due to the Christchurch earthquakes and the land subsiding in this area the trees in this area will nearly all be cut down. So these may be the last tall trees to bathe in the sunshine for decades to come".
Furniture spray-painted with drawings and words by members of the public as part of the Words of Hope project. Messages can be seen, such as, "Hope", "Something for everyone", "Equality street", "Food garden", "Opportunity from disaster", "We can do this Chch", "Chch = home", "Love", "Share the land", "Always time for change", "Life is beautiful", and "Sorry folks, this one is too much high rise!".
A two-storey house in Avonside Drive with a warped upper balcony. The photographer comments, "This house is on Avonside Drive opposite the Avon River. The land in this area spread laterally and had bad liquefaction of the soil. This caused some houses to sink into the ground, but as the balcony supports did not sink as much the balcony came to rest at a crazy angle".
A wooden house in Wainoni has visibly bowed inwards towards its centre. The photographer comments, "During the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch the land which ran alongside the Avon river on Avonside Drive slumped towards the waterway. In a line parallel to the road the road, but around 20m away a ground movement occurred which caused some houses to rise up or sink down".
Shows two frames. First frame shows man with moustache. The second frame shows an unshaven bald man with a black eye and bandaged head wearing a daffodil. Text reads 'The changing face of Christchurch', 'Then' and 'Now'. Context: Sport Canterbury called for Hagley Park land to be used for an aquatic facility or indoor stadium (Stuff 9 May 2012) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The EQC (Earthquake Commission) has developed new standards and designs to help rebuild Christchurch after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The Department of Building and Housing have produced some generic building foundation and floor designs that can be used for residential homes being built or repaired on liquefied, tilting, unsettled and/or damaged land. (RebuildChristchurch.co.nz) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
20131228_6787_1D3-82 Twelve Days of Christmas (part 2) The NG building on Madras Street was given the go ahead to repair earthquake damage, which the owners did at some expense, Now, the government want this land to build a central city stadium, so there is a protest on the windows set to the Christmas song the Twelve Days of Christmas. 12 mi...
20131228_6786_1D3-97 Twelve Days of Christmas (part 1) The NG building on Madras Street was given the go ahead to repair earthquake damage, which the owners did at some expense, Now, the government want this land to build a central city stadium, so there is a protest on the windows set to the Christmas song the Twelve Days of Christmas. 12 mi...
With the land dropping about 1metre to 1.4metres after the earthquakes, a few roads besides the Avon and Heathcote Rivers are flooded with very high tides. Extra stop banks (on right) erected after the quakes have helped, but the road is now well below high water level. New Brighton Road, just short of New Brighton. The Pages Road bridge may b...
8 Velsheda Street, Bexley, Christchurch, across the road from my house was demolished a week or so ago, just one of many demolitions of Red Zone properties at the moment. This house was about ten years old and suffered land damage during the 4th September 2010 and 22nd February 2011 earthquakes. The same fate awaits my house later in the year o...
Someone in a car full of passengers who represent '10,000 residents' says 'For Pete's sake... Are they ever going to change?' Spider webs have been spun between the car and the road as the car waits at a traffic light that represents the 'land report' and is stuck on orange. Context - Context - On Thursday 23 June Prime Minister John Key, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and representatives from engineering consultants Tonkin & Taylor announced the first part of the Government's long-awaited land report that revealed the fate of up to 5000 quake-damaged homes. These homes were in the 'red zone'. But 10,500 owners in the orange zone were left in limbo, with their properties requiring further assessment. The areas included Kaiapoi, Pines Beach, Brooklands, Spencerville, Parklands and Queenspark (www.rebuildchristchurch.co.nz 6 July 2011)) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A box containing drilling cores from soil sampling. The photographer comments, "These are the samples from drilling near my home. As you can see they are not so much samples as sand piles. The drill in a nearby street went down 20m and it was sand all the way. This is the box of samples from the ground level to 4.6m deep".
Damage to River Road in Richmond. The road surface is badly cracked and slumped, and liquefaction silt covers part of the road. Two people in gumboots walk towards a barrier erected across the road using road cones and warning tape, and in the background the badly twisted Medway Street bridge can be seen. The photographer comments, "Longitudinal cracks indicate lateral movement as the land sagged towards the river. Near 373 River Rd, looking south-east towards Medway St. The Medway St bridge is visible in the background".
Balloons and a sign advertising a garage sale hang from a fence. The photographer comments, "Today, 23/7/2011 the Bexley community in Christchurch got together and held a Bexley wide garage sale. You could pick up a map of the garage sales in Arncliffe St, which meant that people could find all the garage sales even if they were on the back sections. People got together with close neighbours to hold joint Garage Sales. In the area where the garage sales were held all the homes have been 'written off' by the government, as the land on which they sit is too damaged by the Christchurch earthquakes to repair. In places it looked more like a ships graveyard with the hulls of the houses sinking lopsidedly into the sand. Unfortunately for nearly everyone in the red zone they cannot rebuild a new home as sections to build on start now around $2,000 and the government is not paying them enough to buy a plot of land and build a new home. The choices for Bexley residents in most cases is to rent, buy a house at least a few years old or move to Australia to start again. I was told that up to 80% could be off to Oz".
A photograph looking north down Gayhurst Road, taken from the side of the bridge over the Avon River. Residential properties used to line the left-hand side of the road, and St Paul's church once stood on the corner. This was before the land was red-zoned as a result of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Separated cycle ways have recently been installed on both sides of the road. The photograph was modelled off an image taken by Mark Lincoln in September 2010.
A photograph looking north down Gayhurst Road, taken from the side of the bridge over the Avon River. Residential properties used to line the left-hand side of the road, and St Paul's church once stood on the corner. This was before the land was red-zoned as a result of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Separated cycle ways have recently been installed on both sides of the road. The photograph was modelled off an image taken by Mark Lincoln in September 2010.
A photograph looking north down Gayhurst Road, taken from the side of the bridge over the Avon River. Residential properties used to line the left-hand side of the road, and St Paul's church once stood on the corner. This was before the land was red-zoned as a result of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Separated cycle ways have recently been installed on both sides of the road. The photograph was modelled off an image taken by Mark Lincoln in September 2010.
The cartoon shows Christchurch obscured by ash. Text reads 'Christchurch recovery package' and below are the words 'Cash cloud'. Context - Beginning on the 6th of June the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano has been erupting for more than a week. Drifting ash clouds have been interupting flights. On Thursday 23 June Prime Minister John Key, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and representatives from engineering consultants Tonkin & Taylor announced the first part of the Government's long-awaited land report that revealed the fate of up to 5000 quake-damaged homes. These homes were in the 'red zone'. But 10,500 owners in the orange zone were left in limbo, with their properties requiring further assessment. One of the options presented to residents in the red zone, ideal for people with replacement policies, was the government bought your land, and you dealt directly with your insurers about your house. However they got a shock when insurers told them they won't replace their homes, they'll only repair them, even though they're earmarked for certain demolition. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Large cracks run through the brick cladding of this house in Wainoni. The photographer comments, "During the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch the land which ran alongside the Avon river on Avonside Drive slumped towards the waterway. Houses which were wooden framed and had an external brick veneer started to sink into the liquefied soil. This caused the brick walls to crack, but the houses' occupants though shook up were saved by the wooden framework from the houses collapsing on them".
Shows a helicopter spray painting Christchurch with the Canterbury colours of black and red. Someone in the helicopter yells that 'it's gotta be better than tint of TC3'. Context: Probably refers to the apology by Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee for offending Christchurch's TC3 residents after saying he was 'sick and tired' of their moaning. TC3 means 'technical category 3'. Land classified TC3 is the mostly badly quake-damaged considered economically repairable. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A digitally manipulated image of liquefaction around a house in Avondale. The photographer comments, "The bottom of the gates were swallowed up by liquefaction, but the house still looked in good condition, which was confirmed by builders just going in to work on the property. It is in the Christchurch red zone, which after testing has been deemed unsuitable for houses to be built on. All the land will be bought by the Government and they would also buy any properties that could be repaired. The remaining insured property owners will get a payment from the insurance company. All the buildings are condemned to be knocked down".
A residential street in New Brighton. Liquefaction still lines the street, and lampposts are leaning in different directions. The photographer comments, "This is the New Brighton red zone, which is parallel to the Avon River. The area suffered serious liquefaction during the numerous earthquakes/aftershocks and the land is being bought by the government. Although the houses do not look too bad in the background they have suffered badly. On the day I took this picture the council had just hours before cut the grass, which made the area look less abandoned".
The New Zealand public contemplate a dead drought stricken landscape. As well as lack of water, there is a lack of moderate pay scales for CEOs, satisfaction with EQC, quality TV, generous insurance companies, brilliant Solid Energy management, the integrity of John Banks (and by implication that of other MPs), quality education ministers, worthwhile overseas trips by the Prime Minister, 'clever' NZ First MPs and a boost for the West Coast among others. Considered from a Canterbury perspective, the drought of early 2013 becomes a symbol for many of the recent political and social ailments afflicting the land. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A digitally manipulated image of the Gap Filler Monopoly board square on Manchester Street. The photographer comments, "On the site of a demolished earthquake damaged building in Christchurch, New Zealand is a Monopoly game square for giants. The Gap Filler Project makes the bare land where once a building once stood into something both interesting and unique and this time they created a massive Monopoly board square. In the game of Monopoly you move your player with a dog, shoe or maybe the hat, but as the most common thing in the City are diggers they have the placed one on the square. There are also two houses on Manchester Street, which is priced at $240".
An aerial photograph of the Christchurch central city. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "This photograph shows nearly all of the CBD. The two streets which are prominent in this photograph are Manchester Street on the left and Colombo Street on the right of the photograph. This photograph is from the north, looking towards the southern part of the city. Cathedral Square is about half way up, towards the right. It shows the extent of demolition that has happened already close to the river and near the Manchester/Gloucester Street intersection where there is a lot of bare land surrounding Radio Network House".
The cartoon shows the Minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, who wears a jacket with 'CERA' printed on it, reading from the 'Doomsday Book'. He reads 'The following suburbs and my hopes of a reputation as an effective minister, are now officially listed as munted...' Context - On 23rd June Prime Minister, John Key, officially announced which streets and suburbs in earthquake-ravaged Christchurch would be abandoned. For many residents, there has been too much delay and too little information regarding progress towards resolving questions about which land can or cannot be used for rebuilding for Gerry Brownlee's reputation to remain unsullied. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
