A photograph of Graeme Kershaw, Technician at the University of Canterbury Department of Physics and Astronomy, sitting among the damaged parts of the Townsend Telescope. The telescope was damaged during the 22 February 2011 earthquake, when the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre collapsed. Kershaw has been given the task of restoring the telescope. In this photograph he is holding the telescope's clock drive.
A photograph of Graeme Kershaw, Technician at the University of Canterbury Department of Physics and Astronomy, sitting among the damaged parts of the Townsend Telescope. The telescope was damaged during the 22 February 2011 earthquake, when the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre collapsed. Kershaw has been given the task of restoring the telescope. In this photograph he is holding the telescope's clock drive.
A photograph of Graeme Kershaw, Technician at the University of Canterbury Department of Physics and Astronomy, sitting among the damaged parts of the Townsend Telescope. The telescope was damaged during the 22 February 2011 earthquake, when the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre collapsed. Kershaw has been given the task of restoring the telescope. In this photograph he is holding the telescope's clock drive.
It's been a long road to restore Christchurch's Isaac Theatre Royal, but tonight, it will finally open its doors again. The theatre sustained considerable damage in the earthquakes of 22nd February and 13th June 2011 and continuing shakes have made the restoration particularly difficult for architects. The project architect from Warren and Mahoney, is Vanessa Carswell.
Exactly 75 years ago today, Superman made his debut in "Action Comics" No. 1. Campaigners for the restoration of the Christchurch Cathedral are "thrilled" that rebuilding the earthquake-damaged church remains on the table. The Press reports Christchurch's hotel shortage is so critical that at times visitor centre staff have had to put tourists up in their own homes.
A video of a presentation by Grant Wilkinson, Senior Engineer for Ruamoko Solutions, at the 2016 Seismics in the City Conference. The presentation is titled, "Engineering Regeneration, Collaboration and Innovation ".The abstract for the presentation reads, "Applying some seismic lessons learnt to saving several heritage gems and collaborating on the Christchurch Art Gallery Base Isolation retrofit project."
A video about the earthquake damage to the Christchurch Town Hall. The video shows footage of a tour through the inside of the Town Hall, recorded on a GoPro camera. It also includes interviews with Councillor Glenn Livingstone and Councillor Tim Carter about their impressions of the damage and the work that will be needed to fix the building.
A video of a press conference about the ChristChurch Cathedral. The video includes statements by Jim Anderton and Stefano Pampanin, Associate Professor of Engineering at the University of Canterbury. Anderton and Pampanin discuss a report produced by the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT) which outlines how the cathedral could be safely restored. The Anglican Church has agreed to review the report.
The beloved Christchurch Arts Centre - built in the 1870s - has slowly been reopening after repairs and restoration. An open day last weekend saw the public getting their first look into the complex's school of art building since the earthquakes. One beneficiary has been singer-songwriter Bic Runga, who has kick-started the Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora's revived Creative Residencies programme. She tells Mark Amery she's been trying out all sorts of new things. Applications for Bic's song-writing workshop in Christchurch in early July close on Friday 31 May.
A video of an interview with John Turner, owner of Ambience Tiling, about the restoration of the tiles in New Regent Street. Turner talks about working with SCE Stone & Design, who sent the sample tiles to China where they were machine replicated. The tiles took six to eight weeks to arrive, with about 10,500 new tiles produced. The video also includes an interview with Iain Taylor, a tiler at Ambience Tiling, about the retiling process.
A photograph of Graeme Kershaw, Technician at the University of Canterbury Department of Physics and Astronomy, sitting among the damaged parts of the Townsend Telescope. The telescope was damaged during the 22 February 2011 earthquake, when the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre collapsed. Kershaw has been given the task of restoring the telescope. In this photograph he is holding the telescope's clock drive. In the foreground there is a plaque reading, "The equatorial telescope and accessories in this observatory were presented to Canterbury College by James Townsend Esq. 1891. A large contribution towards the erection of the tower was made by the Canterbury Astronomical Society".
A photograph of Graeme Kershaw, Technician at the University of Canterbury Department of Physics and Astronomy, sitting among the damaged parts of the Townsend Telescope. The telescope was damaged during the 22 February 2011 earthquake, when the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre collapsed. Kershaw has been given the task of restoring the telescope. In this photograph he is holding the telescope's clock drive. In the foreground there is a plaque reading, "The equatorial telescope and accessories in this observatory were presented to Canterbury College by James Townsend Esq. 1891. A large contribution towards the erection of the tower was made by the Canterbury Astronomical Society".
Global biodiversity is threatened by human actions, including in urban areas. Urbanisation has removed and fragmented indigenous habitats. As one of the 25 biodiversity ’hot spots’, New Zealand is facing the problems of habitat loss and indigenous species extinction. In New Zealand cities, as a result of the land clearance and imported urban planning precepts, many urban areas have little or no original native forest remaining. Urbanisation has also been associated with the introduction of multitudes of species from around the world. Two large earthquakes shook Christchurch in 2010 and 2011 and caused a lot of damage. Parts of the city suffered from soil liquefaction after the earthquakes. In the most damaged parts of Christchurch, particularly in the east, whole neighbourhoods were abandoned and later demolished except for larger trees. Christchurch offers an excellent opportunity to study the biodiversity responses to an urban area with less intensive management, and to learn more about the conditions in urban environments that are most conducive to indigenous plant biodiversity. This study focuses on natural woody plant regeneration of forested sites in Christchurch city, many of which were also surveyed prior to the earthquakes. By repeating the pre-earthquake surveys, I am able to describe the natural regeneration occurring in Christchurch forested areas. By combining this with the regeneration that has occurred in the Residential Red Zone, successional trajectories can be described under a range of management scenarios. Using a comprehensive tree map of the Residential Red Zone, I was also able to document minimum dispersal distances of a range of indigenous trees in Christchurch. This is important for planning reserve connectivity. Moreover, I expand and improve on a previous analysis of the habitat connectivity of Christchurch (made before the earthquakes) to incorporate the Residential Red Zone, to assess the importance for habitat connectivity of restoring the indigenous forest in this area. In combination, these data sets are used to provide patch scenarios and some management options for biodiversity restoration in the Ōtākaro-Avon Red Zone post-earthquake.
Prime Minister John Key drives a tractor to which is attached a crane and a huge demolition ball in the shape of MP Gerry Brownlee's head; the ball smashes against a historic building bringing stone pediments down. Context - Gerry Brownlee, who is Earthquake Recovery Minister, has caused a stir by suggesting that if he had his way some of Christchurch's older buildings would be "down tomorrow". He also said the price of saving some historic buildings badly damaged in the February 22 earthquake was too high. People had died in the quake because of attempts to save historic buildings badly damaged in the September 4 quake. Brownlee said he had no regrets despite the stir his comments caused - but he was annoyed by suggestions the Cathedral and Riccarton House were among buildings he thought should be bowled. He believed those buildings should be saved, and they would be. "I'm not a philistine; I was chairman of the trust that actually saved Riccarton House from the bulldozers in 1990. "I understand conservation architecture very well and I do have an appreciation of heritage buildings." Original cartoon held at A-474-048 Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The cartoon, which looks like a woodcut depicts a muscled workman wearing a black singlet; his arms are folded and the fingers of one hand are crossed. On his arms are tattoos of a helmet and pick, a '$' symbol, a petrol pump, and a high magnitude earthquake graph. Behind him are buildings, including the Christchurch Cathedral, damaged following the Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011. Below the cartoon are the words 'Apologies to Nigel Brown' - a black singlet is a recurring motif in the work of New Zealand artist Nigel Brown. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The cartoon shows a monstrous machine with an enormous crushing ball attached to a giant crane. It moves past a signpost that points towards Christchurch. A man watches and tells his friend 'Gerry Brownlee borrowed it from Auckland! Context - Brownlee has caused a stir by suggesting that if he had his way some of Christchurch's older buildings would be "down tomorrow". He also said the price of saving some historic buildings badly damaged in the February 22 earthquake was too high. People had died in the quake because of attempts to save historic buildings badly damaged in the September 4 quake. Brownlee said he had no regrets despite the stir his comments caused - but he was annoyed by suggestions the Cathedral and Riccarton House were among buildings he thought should be bowled. He believed those buildings should be saved, and they would be. "I'm not a philistine; I was chairman of the trust that actually saved Riccarton House from the bulldozers in 1990. "I understand conservation architecture very well and I do have an appreciation of heritage buildings." Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
Christchurch's historic Theatre Royal will reopen for business in November, with bookings about to open for the first show, the Royal New Zealand Ballet season of "A Christmas Carol" The 106-year old theatre has been closed for almost four years because of earthquake damage in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. The $40million rebuild and restoration project will be completed over the next five months and on 17 November 2014, the 'Grand Old Lady' of New Zealand theatre will reopen her doors for performances. With so few venues for performance left in the city, including the Town Hall out of commission indefinitely, the rebuild of the Theatre Royal is very good news for Christchurch audiences Chief executive Neil Cox explains the process of getting oldest Edwardian theatre in the country back in use and mounting the large scale theatrical productions it has been famous for.
In the foreground PM John Key drives a bulldozer over Christchurch; in the background two engineers read a newspaper report that says 'P.M. gives false demolition number, PM gives false World Cup hope' and one of them says 'Now I know why those things are called BULLdozers..' Context - Prime Minister John Key is sticking to a government estimate that 10,000 Christchurch homes will need to be razed despite criticism that he should wait for official figures; he also stated that 100,000 homes may need repairs, despite Civil Defence saying it has only checked 70,000 homes so far. John Key was also insisting that there was a chance of keeping World Cup rugby games in Christchurch but an official announcement on 16 March dashed those hopes. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Heritage buildings are an important element of our urban environments, representing the hope and aspirations of a generation gone, reminding us of our achievements and our identity. When heritage buildings suffer damage, or fall into disrepair they are either met by one of two extremes; a bulldozer or painstaking repair. If the decision to conserve defeats the bulldozer, current heritage practice favours restoration into a mausoleum-type monument to yesteryear. But what if, rather than becoming a museum, these heritage buildings could live on and become a palimpsest of history? What if the damage was embraced and embodied in the repair? The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street, Christchurch is the case study building for this thesis. Suffering damage in the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, the Cathedral sits in ruin waiting for decisions to be made around how it can be retained for future generations. This thesis will propose a reconstruction for the Cathedral through the analysis of precedent examples of reconstructing damaged heritage buildings and guided by a heritage framework proposed in this thesis. The employed process will be documented as an alternative method for reconstructing other damaged heritage buildings.
Disaster recovery involves the restoration, repair and rejuvenation of both hard and soft infrastructure. In this report we present observationsfrom seven case studies of collaborative planning from post-earthquake Canterbury, each of which was selected as a means of better understanding ‘soft infrastructure for hard times’. Though our investigation is located within a disaster recovery context, we argue that the lessons learned are widely applicable. Our seven case studies highlighted that the nature of the planning process or journey is as important as the planning objective or destination. A focus on the journey can promote positive outcomes in and of itself through building enduring relationships, fostering diverse leaders, developing new skills and capabilities, and supporting translation and navigation. Collaborative planning depends as much upon emotional intelligence as it does technical competence, and we argue that having a collaborative attitude is more important than following prescriptive collaborative planning formulae. Being present and allowing plenty of time are also key. Although deliberation is often seen as an improvement on technocratic and expertdominated decision-making models, we suggest that the focus in the academic literature on communicative rationality and discursive democracy has led us to overlook other more active forms of planning that occur in various sites and settings. Instead, we offer an expanded understanding of what planning is, where it happens and who is involved. We also suggest more attention be given to values, particularly in terms of their role as a compass for navigating the terrain of decision-making in the collaborative planning process. We conclude with a revised model of a (collaborative) decision-making cycle that we suggest may be more appropriate when (re)building better homes, towns and cities.
DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements in relation to Kim Dotcom and the inquiry into the actions of the Government Communications Security Bureau? METIRIA TUREI to the Minister for Social Development: Does she have confidence that the Ministry of Social Development can keep private information it holds confidential? KATRINA SHANKS to the Minister of Finance: What are the main features of the Government's plan to build a more competitive economy based on more savings, higher exports and less debt? JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: Has the Ministry of Social Development competently managed the private information in its charge? Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA to the Minister for Social Development: What children will the White Paper for Vulnerable Children be targeting? CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: What specific criteria were used to determine whether a school in Christchurch was identified for restoration, consolidation or rejuvenation? Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Minister responsible for the GCSB: What were the dates of the three cases that the Government Communications Security Bureau audit highlighted, because they could not assure him "that the legal position is totally clear", as referred to in his statement of 3 October 2012? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his answer to my Question for Written Answer 3326 (2012)? Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister of Civil Defence: Why did he reject the independent Civil Defence Emergency Management earthquake review's recommendation, which was made in response to the finding that duplication of control was "not only inefficient but put people and property at risk", and that "the same situation could arise in a number of different parts of New Zealand"? MIKE SABIN to the Minister of Veterans' Affairs: What is the Government doing to improve the support and recognition given to veterans? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in Hon John Banks; if so, why? NICKY WAGNER to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: What is the objective of the Government review of the EQC?
Disaster recovery involves the restoration, repair and rejuvenation of both hard and soft infrastructure. In this report we present observations from seven case studies of collaborative planning from post-earthquake Canterbury, each of which was selected as a means of better understanding ‘soft infrastructure for hard times’. Though our investigation is located within a disaster recovery context, we argue that the lessons learned are widely applicable. Our seven case studies highlighted that the nature of the planning process or journey is as important as the planning objective or destination. A focus on the journey can promote positive outcomes in and of itself through building enduring relationships, fostering diverse leaders, developing new skills and capabilities, and supporting translation and navigation. Collaborative planning depends as much upon emotional intelligence as it does technical competence, and we argue that having a collaborative attitude is more important than following prescriptive collaborative planning formulae. Being present and allowing plenty of time are also key. Although deliberation is often seen as an improvement on technocratic and expert dominated decision-making models, we suggest that the focus in the academic literature on communicative rationality and discursive democracy has led us to overlook other more active forms of planning that occur in various sites and settings. Instead, we offer an expanded understanding of what planning is, where it happens and who is involved. We also suggest more attention be given to values, particularly in terms of their role as a compass for navigating the terrain of decision-making in the collaborative planning process. We conclude with a revised model of a (collaborative) decision-making cycle that we suggest may be more appropriate when (re)building better homes, towns and cities.
We present preliminary observations on three waters impacts from the Mw7.8 14th November 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake on wider metropolitan Wellington, urban and rural Marlborough, and in Kaikōura township. Three waters systems in these areas experienced widespread and significant transient ground deformation in response to seismic shaking, with localised permanent ground deformation via liquefaction and lateral spreading. In Wellington, potable water quality was impacted temporarily by increased turbidity, and significant water losses occurred due to damaged pipes at the port. The Seaview and Porirua wastewater treatment plants sustained damage to clarifier tanks from water seiching, and increased water infiltration to the wastewater system occurred. Most failure modes in urban Marlborough were similar to the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence; however some rural water tanks experienced rotational and translational movements, highlighting importance of flexible pipe connections. In Kaikōura, damage to reservoirs and pipes led to loss of water supply and compromised firefighting capability. Wastewater damage led to environmental contamination, and necessitated restrictions on greywater entry into the system to minimise flows. Damage to these systems necessitated the importation of tankered and bottled water, boil water notices and chlorination of the system, and importation of portaloos and chemical toilets. Stormwater infrastructure such as road drainage channels was also damaged, which could compromise condition of underlying road materials. Good operational asset management practices (current and accurate information, renewals, appreciation of criticality, good system knowledge and practical contingency plans) helped improve system resilience, and having robust emergency management centres and accurate Geographic Information System data allowed effective response coordination. Minimal damage to the wider built environment facilitated system inspections. Note Future research will include detailed geospatial assessments of seismic demand on these systems and attendant modes of failure, levels of service restoration, and collaborative development of resilience measures.
TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on progress in building a faster-growing economy? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Ministers; if so, why? Dr PAUL HUTCHISON to the Minister of Health: What progress can he report on the numbers of patients receiving elective surgery? JACINDA ARDERN to the Minister for Social Development: Does she stand by her answer to oral questions on Tuesday that "There is in New Zealand no actual poverty line" and "I do not see the measurement as a priority"? Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he agree with the statement made by the Hon Bill English, in relation to the release of Natasha Fuller's private details by his Social Development Minister, that, "People who enter into public debate are welcome to do so … and should provide their full information to the public"? CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister of Broadcasting: What percentage of households in Hawkes Bay and on the West Coast of the South Island have gone digital ahead of the digital switchover in these regions on 30 September? CHARLES CHAUVEL to the Minister of Justice: What assistance will be available to families unable to afford the fee of over $900 she proposes to introduce in order to access the new Family Dispute Resolution Service? JOHN HAYES to the Minister for Courts: In light of the opening of the temporary courthouse in Masterton last week, what is the range of services that courts can now offer in Masterton? DENIS O'ROURKE to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Was restoration of the Christchurch Cathedral included in the Christchurch Central City Recovery Plan; if not, why not? SUE MORONEY to the Minister of Women's Affairs: Is she satisfied with the action this Government has taken to improve the lives of women in New Zealand? JAN LOGIE to the Minister for Social Development: Is she concerned that Wellington Rape Crisis is shutting its doors one day a week because of funding shortfalls? IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY to the Minister of Transport: Which commuter rail services, if any, do not receive funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency?
Lincoln University was commissioned by the Avon-Otakaro Network (AvON) to estimate the value of the benefits of a ‘recreation reserve’ or ‘river park’ in the Avon River Residential Red Zone (ARRRZ). This research has demonstrated significant public desire and support for the development of a recreation reserve in the Avon River Residential Red Zone. Support is strongest for a unique natural environment with native fauna and flora, healthy wetlands and rivers, and recreational opportunities that align with this vision, such as walking, cycling and water-based sporting and leisure activities. The research also showed support for a reserve that promotes and enables community interaction and wellbeing, and is evident in respondents’ desires for community gardens, regular festivals and markets, and the physical linking of the CBD with eastern suburbs through a green corridor. There is less support for children’s playgrounds, sports fields or open grassed areas, all of which could be considered as more typical of an urban park development. Benefits (willing to pay) to Christchurch residents (excluding tourists) of a recreation reserve could be as high as $35 million each year. Savings to public health costs could be as high as $50.3 million each year. The incorporation or restoration of various ecosystems services, including water quality improvements, flood mitigation and storm water management could yield a further $8.8 million ($19, 600) per hectare/year at 450 ha). Combined annual benefits of a recreational reserve in the ARRRZ are approximately $94.1 million per annum but this figure does not include potentially significant benefits from, for example, tourism, property equity gains in areas adjacent to the reserve, or the effects of economic rejuvenation in the East. Although we were not able to provide costing estimates for park attributes, this study does make available the value of benefits, which can be used as a guide to the scope of expenditure on development of each park attribute.
The whare whakairo or traditional Māori meeting house plays an important part in Māori society and identity. These whare tell the tale of their origin, and in so doing, the origins of their people. The analysis of the meeting house, the histories expressed in its decorative carvings and structural elements are inextricably linked with and dependent upon the structure of the world created by myth and the Māori worldview. However, due to the deleterious effects of colonisation, the art of wood carving and associated architectural practices - central to Māori identity, suffered decline in many parts of the country, leading to the decline of Māori culture and identity. Sir Apirana Ngata instigated the National Institute of Māori Arts and Crafts to resurrect the dying art of Māori carving and carved houses would be a catalyst for the restoration of Māori culture throughout the country. Ngata saw these whare whakairo as being the heart of Māori communities by establishing a renewed sense of belonging and identification with space for Māori, through the telling of tribal histories and emphasising key geographical features. New threats in the form of global hegemony and urbanisation have further impacted on Māori notions of identity, creating a generation of displaced urban Māori youth. This research proposes to establish an architectural response to capture displaced Māori youth through the resurrection of the Māori carving school and return to them the lost stories of their cultural history and identity. This program will be developed within the complex challenges that exist within post-earthquake Ōtautahi/Christchurch, where many have lost homes and livelihoods, especially Māori youth in the Eastern Suburbs. The building elements of the proposed Māori carving school give reference to the historio-cultural features of the original Ōtautahi/Christchurch landscape that are situated in tribal song and myth. It is envisioned that the development of a Māori carving school will help restore Māori identity and a renewed sense of belonging, and allow for the telling of this generations stories through traditional narratives.
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.