Christ Church Cathedral, Christchurch, with spire being rebuilt after the 1901 earthquake. Photographer unidentified.
The nave, tower and spire of Christchurch Cathedral was completed in 1881. Work on completeing the rest of the building began in 1900. In 1902 the transcepts were finished and work started on the chancel and apse. An earthquake in 1901 cracked the upper part of the spire in two places. In this photograph which dates from late 1902/1903 (see scaffolding beyond the transcept indicating work on chancel) the upper part of the spire has been removed by Messrs Graham and Greig in preparation for replacing this section with a copper covered wooden structure. The Cathedral was completed in 1904.
(Information from "Vision and Reality; Christchurch Cathedral in the Square," Colin Brown, Christchurch, 2000 and "A Dream of Spires," Ian Lochhead, Canterbury University Press, 1999, page 153.)
Preparation for erecting the scaffolding was reported in the Christchurch Star 15 January 1902. The cross was replaced on the top of the new copper covered wooden section of the spire on 29 June 1903.
Source of descriptive information - Notes on file print.
Source of title - Title supplied by Library
Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s).
Physical Description: Glass negative
A woman in a burqa walks out of the 'Church of the Multi-denominations'. The church has a steeple and an onion dome. Context: The cartoonist says that the cartoon was drawn for a satirical piece about the rebuilding of Christchurch. Because of the number of churches damaged, including the Anglican cathedral, The cartoon suggests that there should just build one massive church on the AMI stadium site that all religions can use on their particular day....spires would be raised and lowered etc.
Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The cartoon depicts a rose window set in a stone wall. The glass circles each contain a dollar sign.
Refers to the future of the Christchurch Cathedral after the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The Anglican Church seemed to only consider the money in arguing that it would be too expensive to be repaired or rebuilt.
Title from file name
Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Refers to the controversy over the decision to demolish the Christchurch Cathedral which was severely damaged in the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The Anglican Bishop of Christchurch Victoria Mathews says the decision to demolish the cathedral was reached through prayer, great deliberation and with the utmost concern for safety. The Bishop says a number of options were considered before deciding to bring the walls down but the turning point was 23 December 2011, when a series of strong quakes rocked the city. At that stage the Canterbury Earthquake Authority approached the church. "CERA told us that our plans for making safe and retrieving, and then stepping back and making further decisions were no longer adequate." Christchurch City council announced their support on Twitter this afternoon (17 May 2012) - tweeting an endorsement to an immediate pause on demolition of the Cathedral to enable deeper and more open consideration of options.
Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
