An entry from Roz Johnson's blog for 27 June 2011 entitled, "Light at the End of the Tunnel".
Shift to quake recovery operation devastating for survivor;Brother of missing woman speaks out;Police say end of rescue effort sad day for all concerned;Other families trying to come to grips with rescue's end;Hundreds struggle on with life inside Christchurch cordon;Christ's College spared from large scale damage;Gang patches can return - Hells Angels lawyer;Botany to elect new MP tomorrow;Earthquake Minister on shift to recovery operation.
A photograph of the ends of two beams from the house at 116 Centaurus Road.
Earthquake damage to the former Christchurch Girls' High building. Bricks have fallen from the gable ends of the building.
Earthquake damage to the former Christchurch Girls' High building. Bricks have fallen from the gable ends of the building, exposing the rooms within.
Red Bus buses parked in the depot next to the damaged Scotts Motors workshop, the brick gable ends of which have collapsed.
Red Bus buses parked in the depot next to the damaged Scotts Motors workshop, the brick gable ends of which have collapsed.
A view down Victoria Street, with the Christchurch Casino on the left and the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the end.
This thesis investigates the relationship between the apocalyptic narrative and the postmodern novel. It explores and builds on Patricia Waugh‟s hypothesis in Practising Postmodernism: Reading Modernism (1992) which suggests that that the postmodern is characterised by an apocalyptic sense of crisis, and argues that there is in fact a strong relationship between the apocalyptic and the postmodern. It does so through an exploration of apocalyptic narratives and themes in five postmodern novels. It also draws on additional supporting material which includes literary and cultural theory and criticism, as well as historical theory. In using the novel as a medium through which to explore apocalyptic narratives, this thesis both assumes and affirms the novel‟s importance as a cultural artefact which reflects the concerns of the age in which it is written. I suggest that each of the novels discussed in this thesis demonstrates the close relationship between the apocalyptic and the postmodern through society‟s concern over the direction of history, the validity of meta-narratives, and other cultural phenomenon, such as war, the development of nuclear weaponry, and terrorism. Although the scope of this thesis is largely confined to the historical-cultural epoch known as postmodernity, it also draws on literature and cultural criticism from earlier periods so as to provide a more comprehensive framework for investigating apocalyptic ideas and their importance inside the postmodern novel. A number of modernist writers are therefore referred to or quoted throughout this thesis, as are other important thinkers from preceding periods whose ideas are especially pertinent. The present thesis was researched and written between March 2010 and August 2011 and is dedicated to all of those people who lost their lives in the apocalyptic events of the February 22nd Christchurch earthquake.
Built 1858-1865. This is just one end of what was once a very large building. Most of the rest has fallen.
Photo taken Jan 2011 as the church is demolished. The next day the stain glass window at the far end was removed and saved.
Among those businesses most affected by the end of the welfare scheme are cafes, restaurants and bars. 100 such businesses have closed in the central city alone because of the earthquake.
The end gable of the Library Chambers has crumbled, and the area has been cordoned off with fencing and cones. In the background is the new Christchurch City Council's Civic Offices.
A view down Worcester Boulevard. Steel bracing against Our City O-Tautahi can be seen. The Cathedral can be seen at the end of the street and the Clarendon Tower on the right.
Workers at the Sockburn meat works in Christchurch say the announcement that the plant will close at the end of the season is a double blow after a year of coping with the aftermath of earthquakes.
A view of the intersection of Hereford Street and Cambridge Terrace. The end gable of the Library Chambers has crumbled, and the area has been cordoned off with fencing and cones. In the background is the Christchurch City Council's Civic Offices.
The CBD is slowly being opened up and this is the post - earthquake result of Cashel Mall. A vibrant, fresh look with high end shopping in colourful container shops. A really good step forward for the city.
The CBD is slowly being opened up and this is the post - earthquake result of Cashel Mall. A vibrant, fresh look with high end shopping in colourful container shops. A really good step forward for the city.
The CBD is slowly being opened up and this is the post - earthquake result of Cashel Mall. A vibrant, fresh look with high end shopping in colourful container shops. A really good step forward for the city.
The CBD is slowly being opened up and this is the post - earthquake result of Cashel Mall. A vibrant, fresh look with high end shopping in colourful container shops. A really good step forward for the city.
The CBD is slowly being opened up and this is the post - earthquake result of Cashel Mall. A vibrant, fresh look with high end shopping in colourful container shops. A really good step forward for the city.
The CBD is slowly being opened up and this is the post - earthquake result of Cashel Mall. A vibrant, fresh look with high end shopping in colourful container shops. A really good step forward for the city.
A video showing members of the SPCA standing for two minutes in silence a week after the 22 February 2011 earthquake, in memory of those who lost their lives. A pigeon, found in the ChristChurch Cathedral after the quakes, is released at the end of the two-minutes' silence.
The damaged Snell Place footbridge. A crack is visible at the apex of the span. The photographer comments, "Before the Christchurch earthquakes this bridge used to be just just 9 feet at high tide above the River Avon. Now with the ends pushed together it has probably moved up another 9 feet".
British researchers have found smokers are twice as likely to succeed in quitting if they receive supportive text messages, the head of the Christchurch Earthquake Rebuilding Agency (CERA) Roger Sutton says there will be no quick end in sight for the ongoing insurance problems in Canterbury and the government's hoping a new deal with Bollywood film-makers could bring millions of dollars into New Zealand.
Gary Luff's home was destroyed in February earthquake in Christchurch and he faced scenes of devastation in his work with the fire service. He and his partner struggled to find somewhere to stay in the aftermath and ended up living on a borrowed boat. They've enjoyed the surprise lifestyle change so much they're thinking of making it permanent - but it hasn't all been plain sailing.
Text top left reads 'A tale of two quakes' In the first frame a man runs from 'radiation leaks' yelling 'The end of the world!' and in the second frame a man runs from the notion 'No World Cup?' yelling 'The end of the world!' Context - the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan 11 March 2011 that have led to the overheating of several nuclear power plants that are leaking radiation and threaten a nuclear catastrophe and the Christchurch earthquakes of 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 that have led to the decision that because of the amount of damage to the venue plus infrastructures and accommodation for visitors the Rugby World Cup will not be played in Christchurch. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
In quake-ravaged Christchurch businesses are tentatively restarting, and infrastructure is being restored, but there's ongoing uncertainty about job losses and how people will survive financially. Within six days of the February earthquake; the Government had introduced a subsidy scheme for businesses and their employees, as well as people who'd found themselves out of a job. Now there's growing disquiet about what will happen to thousands of Cantabrians when that support scheme finishes at the end of May.
A digger demolishing the Ozone Dressing Sheds building. The photographer comments, "This is the end of the Ozone Dressing Sheds built in 1914. The two storey Ozone Cafe, which was a hotel, will be given it's coup de grace on Friday. They were gutted in a spectacular fire in 1922, but were unable to be saved after the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011".
Text across the top reads 'Wearing burqas and veils could limit job prospects...' The cartoon shows a crowd of people hidden under a huge burqa-like cloth. A man peers from both ends of the crowd and one of them says 'Well, we work behind a veil and STILL have jobs... And so do all our mates!' The man at the other end gives a cheerful thumbs up. There is a great deal of whispering about 'jobs for the...' and 'split contracts'. Above is a notice that reads 'Council job contract meeting'. Context - Complaints have been laid with the Auditor-General's Office about the Christchurch City Council's handling of consultants' contracts (to do with the rebuilding of the city after the earthquakes). City councillors have been questioning the council's awarding of more than $2.8 million of contracts to consultants. The burqa has been in the news lately with bus-drivers refusing to accept women in burqas on their buses. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).