Christchurch’s new $92m central city library opened today – replacing the former library which was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes. But as Logan Church discovers, with sewing suites, a TV wall and a music studio, this library is home to more than rows and rows of books.
The historic home of New Zealand's most popular beer has been secured with a forty-million dollar upgrade. The Prime Minister John Key yesterday officially opened the redeveloped Speight's Brewery in central Dunedin, which has taken over the Lion company's South Island production because of the Christchurch earthquakes.
Cats all over the world hunt wild animals and can contribute to the extinction of threatened species. In New Zealand, around half of all households have at least one cat. When cats live close to a natural area, such as a wetland, they may have impacts on native species. A previous study on the movements and hunting behaviour of domestic (house) cats around the Travis Wetland, Christchurch, New Zealand during 2000-2001 raised concerns about the effects of cats on the local skink population, as skinks were a frequent prey item. My study is a comparison to the prior study, to determine if impacts have changed alongside changes in human populations in the area post-earthquake. The domestic cat population in the area was estimated by a household survey in March-April 2018. For a 6 month period from March-September 2018, 26 households recorded prey brought home by their 41 cats. During April-July 2018, 14 cats wore Global Positioning System (GPS) devices for 7 days each to track their movements. Skink abundance was measured with pitfall trapping over 20 days in February 2018. There were more households in the area in 2018 than there were in 2000, but the numbers of cats had decreased. In the 196 ha study area around Travis Wetland, the domestic cat population was estimated at 429 cats, down from the previous 494. Most of the cats were free roaming, but the majority had been desexed and many were mostly seen at home. A total of 42 prey items were reported from 26 households and 41 cats over 6 months. Of these, 62% were rodents, 26% were exotic birds, and 12% were native birds. There were no native skinks, other mammals, or other vertebrates such as fish and amphibians (invertebrates were not included in this study). Eight male and six female cats were tracked by GPS. Home range sizes for the 100% minimum convex polygons (MCPs) ranged from 1.34 to 9.68 ha (mean 4.09 ha, median 3.54 ha). There were 9/14 (64%) cats that entered the edge of the wetland. Males had significantly larger home range areas at night and in general compared with females. However, age and distance of the cat’s household to the wetland did not have a significant effect on home range size and there was no significant correlation between home range size and prey retrieved. In 20 days of skink trapping, 11 Oligosoma polychroma were caught. The estimated catch rate was not significantly different from an earlier study on skink abundance in Travis Wetland. The apparently low abundance of skinks may have been the result of successful wetland restoration creating less suitable skink habitat, or of other predators other than cats. In the future, increased education should be provided to the public about ways to increase wildlife in their area. This includes creating lizard friendly habitat in their gardens and increasing management for cats. Generally, only a few cats bring home prey often, and these select cats should be identified in initial surveys and included in further studies. In New Zealand, until management programmes can target all predators in urban areas, domestic cats could stay out at night and inside during the day to help decrease the abundance of rodents at night and reduce the number of birds and lizards caught during the day.
A pdf copy of panel 9 of Guy Frederick's 'The Space Between Words' exhibition. The panel includes text from an interview with Maria Thackwell about her experiences of the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Above this is an image of Thackwell sitting in the entrance to the kitchen in her earthquake-damaged house.
A photograph of an Urban Search and Rescue team member removing a framed picture from the wall of a flat on Poplar Street during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes.
A photograph of a worker examining the contents of a flat on Poplar Street during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The wall has crumbled leaving the room exposed.
A photograph of a room inside a flat on Poplar Street taken during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The building's outer wall has crumbled leaving the room exposed.
A photograph of a room inside a flat on Poplar Street taken during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The building's outer wall has crumbled leaving the room exposed.
A photograph of a room inside a flat on Poplar Street taken during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The building's outer wall has crumbled leaving the room exposed.
A photograph of Danica Nel and other workers standing in line with their authorization forms for the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
Radio New Zealand has had to abandon the Christchurch building that was it's base and the home of Sound Archives - Nga Taonga Korero. Deborah Nation tells its earthquake story through audio - starting with the interview Brigette Mills was recording at 12:51pm on 22 February 2011.
Radio New Zealand has had to abandon the Christchurch building that was our base and the home of Sound Archives - Nga Taonga Korero. In this edition of The Vault; Deborah Nation draws on recordings made on the day an earthquake finally evicted her and the other people there.
The Earthquake Commission says it's likely homes in the Christchurch suburb of Bexley, which sank and cracked in Saturday's quake, will be rebuilt. People in the hardest hit areas of Canterbury have been learning more about their insurance entitlements, as the commission's assessors arrive in Kaiapoi and Bexley to begin evaluating the damage.
A video of interviews with orange-zoned residents in Kaiapoi about the possibility of their properties becoming red zoned. This was recorded after The Press published news that up to one-third of Kaiapoi homes may be red zoned and therefore not rebuilt.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Tracey Ormsby formerly of Blenheim has returned to her parents' home to take a break from the earthquakes in Christchurch. L-R (back) Dave and Janet Aberhart (Tracey's parents) (front) Mia (6), Tracey and Leo (4) Ormsby".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "A Cashmere man has taken it upon himself to secure his home chimney with planks and ties. Dave McKenzie and his family retreated to underneath a beam in their house thinking it was the safest place".
A photograph of a room inside a flat on Poplar Street taken during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The building's outer wall has crumbled leaving the room exposed.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "The Collins family who lived above and owned the Fishmongers which stood on the site at the rear on Victoria Street. They now have lost both their home and work. From left, Mandy, Richard and Bailey 7".
A photograph of workers from the Residential Access Project sitting outside the Alice in Videoland Building on the corner of Tuam and High Streets. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes.
A photograph of a study area in a flat on Poplar Street taken during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. Books and papers have been strewn across the ground.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "A big day of moving out of the caravan up the drive of their house to a rental home, for earthquake-stricken Kaiapoi mum and children. From left: Tyler Entwistle (13) Paige Entwistle (14) and Flynn Entwistle (10)".
Hundreds of Christchurch homeowners have discovered extensive damage to the on-sold properties they purchased after the 2010/2011 earthquakes. Licenced Building Practictioner Dan Paltridge talks to Logan Church about what people need to look out for, and what they need to do before buying a home in the city.
A photograph of a room inside a flat on Poplar Street taken during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The building's outer wall has crumbled leaving the room exposed.
The former Earthquake Commission minister, Gerry Brownlee, is defending EQC over claims its assessors in Christchurch were not properly qualified. A growing number of homeowners in the city are discovering EQC assessors have completely missed quake damage including broken foundations costing hundreds of thousands to repair. That's been disastrous for people who've bought homes with hidden damage who are sometimes finding private insurers unwilling to cover the cost of putting right mistakes made by EQC. The company hired by EQC to carry out repairs was Fletcher Construction. Its chief executive at the time, Mark Binns, told Checkpoint that EQC probably hired unqualified people to assess quake damaged homes. Gerry Brownlee refused to be drawn on the comments from Mr Binns. But when asked by RNZ Christchurch reporter, Conan Young, if it was acceptable to have retired policemen, school principals and vacuum cleaner salesmen carrying out assessments for EQC, he admitted finding enough people to do the job was a challenge.
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".
A photograph of an Urban Search and Rescue team member examining the contents of a flat on Poplar Street during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The buildings wall has crumbled leaving the room exposed.
A photograph of a desk and turn table taken during the Residential Access Project. The project gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes. The desk and turn table are covered in dust and rubble, and the outer wall is crumbled behind them.
A photograph of workers in fluorescent vests outside Alice in Videoland. The photograph was taken on 29 April 2011 during the Residential Access Project which gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve items from their homes after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
With many in Christchurch still living in earthquake damaged houses, the cold snap has prompted a call for temporary emergency shelters. Daphne Lewis-Mannix lives in a quake-damaged home in New Brighton. Her power was out last night, and she's been shivering overnight, already sick with a cold before the storm hit.
The latest news and updates on last night's earthquake; a former resident of a Christchurch complex, where a woman was found dead over the weekend, says altercations are common; NZ says law change on asylum seekers justified; doubts Kiwisaver tweaks would help first home buyers; and veterans want answers about exposure to radiation.