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Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digitally manipulated image of demolition machinery, with the Hotel So in the background. The photographer comments, "Strange things happen when you use technicolor film".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Spray-painted writing on the side of a car parking building reads "0 cars". The photographer comments, "Strangely and appropriately this graffiti was on a car park. In fact the graffiti was 100% correct as the car park is in the Christchurch earthquake red zone and there should be zero cars now inside it. It may have been put on by an anti car protester or just an indication that the car park is empty. One of the suggestions for the City plan for the rebuilt Christchurch was for a pedestrian and cycle only area, which also fits in with 0 CARS".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A woman takes a photograph over the top of the cordon fence at the east end of Re:Start mall. The photographer comments, "The new temporary city mall has been open in Christchurch now for a week. Buildings damaged in the earthquake have been demolished and replaced with cargo containers to create a new, temporary, Cashel Mall. I visited the mall yesterday and was quite impressed with what they have done. The cargo containers have been nicely converted, brightly painted and smartly branded to create some good looking stores ... You'd think it would be strange to stand where my old office used to be and view these cargo-container-stores, but the reality was that it was so far removed from what used to be there that it was actually quite difficult to make the connection. It was only when straying to the attractive wooden boundary fences and peering over that you're suddenly taken back to the time running right up to, and shortly after, the earthquake".

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Picture this, you are relaxing at home enjoying the afternoon sun. It is another beautiful Christchurch day in late 2017. There is a knock at the door, you’ve been expecting it. It is a member of the Christchurch Health and Development Study, here to conduct your prearranged interview. The interview request did not come as a surprise of course, you have been participating in these interviews yourself sporadically throughout your adult life, and prior to that you attended many alongside your parents. In fact, you have been answering the studies interview your whole life. Transcripts of these interviews sit in the studies database alongside copies of school reports, health records and a wealth of other information. It has been this way since birth, since your mother was approached back in 1977, not long after you had arrived in this world, and asked if she would consent to participating in the study. She, along with many other Cantabrian new mothers from that year, agreed and the Christchurch Health and Development Study was born. Since then, these interviews have become a matter of routine for you. As life went on many things changed, but one thing that was constant was the sporadic visit from an interviewer of the study. The current interview is a little different from most of the others, however. Last time an interviewer visited in 2012, you were asked if you would like to conduct an earthquake-specific interview, you agreed. This time, the same question was asked. Why? Well because you were there that day of course. The day of the 22nd February 2011 when a major earthquake struck Canterbury. You were there in the centre of the city as buildings came crashing down and people ran for safety. You were there for the chaos. Your knee dully aches, it never did quite heal properly and strangely seems to flare up whenever you think back to that day. A lasting reminder. It is a difficult subject, but you agree to the second earthquake-specific interview. You understand the purpose of the study, and the value of the data collected. You take a sip of the cup of tea politely made upon the interviewer’s arrival, lean back into the comfort of your couch and cast your mind back to that fateful day. So, what does this study mean? Why still participate, all these years later? Over time it has become more apparent as to how valuable this information could be, considering all the experiences through the life course, and to think of the experiences that others in the cohort have had too. How differently have events affected people from all walks of life, who just so happened to be born within the same few months. We can use the data from this study to better understand situations when using life course characteristics which can hopefully influence decision making and population health within New Zealand.