Photograph of Gap Filler project 5 (35)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from CPIT writing on notebooks at the Words of Hope project.

Paul and Sam Corliss's Street Art Photograph (2011:07:23 04:17:43)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a painted building located on the corner of Barbadoes and Kilmore Street. The side of the building has significant damage. The paint displays an address for Piko in red and white. There is also street art depicting a bandaid, with a speech bubble pointing to it that says "You poor thing".

Paul and Sam Corliss's Street Art Photograph (2011:07:23 04:18:07)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of street art at the corner of Barbadoes and Kilmore streets. The artwork depicts a bandaid covering a crack in the building and the words "You poor thing" in a speech bubble. The letters are green with a black outline.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (112)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the partially-demolished Cranmer Centre. Some of the wooden beams have writing on them.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (113)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the partially-demolished Cranmer Centre. Some of the wooden beams have writing on them.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (110)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the partially-demolished Cranmer Centre. One of the wooden beams has writing on it.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (111)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the partially-demolished Cranmer Centre. One of the wooden beams has writing on it.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (119)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the partially-demolished Cranmer Centre. One of the wooden beams has writing on it.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (118)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the partially-demolished Cranmer Centre. One of the wooden beams has writing on it.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (114)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the partially-demolished Cranmer Centre. One of the wooden beams has writing on it.

Photograph of the Cranmer Centre, 40 Armagh Street (193)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of masonry from the Cranmer Centre. Writing on one of the bricks reads, "L.Busch. 1960-'64".

Prime Minister says Labour writing cheques it can't afford

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Prime Minister says the Labour Party is threatening to write cheques the country can't afford with its Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Package.

(Re-)Writing the End: Apocalyptic Narratives in the Postmodern Novel

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

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.

New Zealand Defence Force photograph 810

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A member of Singapore's Air Force writing a message in a memorial book in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. The book was placed there for those who wanted to pay tribute to the people who lost their lives in the Christchurch Earthquake.

Paul and Sam Corliss's Street Art Photograph (2011:10:15 01:32:37)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of some simple street art on a concrete wall. The artwork depicts a masked boy with red hair, nestled between the colourful letters of tag writing. An excavator from Mount Grey Downs Limited and some stacked concrete slabs are in the foreground.

Quake Makes World Headlines

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A stack of wooden frames with the words "Quake makes world headlines" written on the uppermost frame. The photographer comments, "This is a sculpture at the CPIT facility in Christchurch. It is a series of squares placed over a column with writing on the squares. It is an excellent movable sculpture that conveys the Christchurch earthquake very well. The squares are placed so that they can slide over each other and even fall inside the other on one side. It is a pity that only two sides of the squares are written on".