Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Killer Quake. Danger Falling Rocks & Bricks, Redcliffs, Sumner, Linwood

Eastern suburbs focus. Wed 23.03.11. A month post 22.02.11, M6.3 Killer Quake, fifth week into the National State of Emergency. I wanted to see how Sumner & neighbouring sea cliff suburbs had fared in the quake. After dropping Luke off at Sullivan Ave tech I trekked along Ferry Rd & Main Rd, past Redcliffs & Clifton to Sumner. Besides quake damage to bldgs & roads, the most obvious damage was rockfalls, 1 000s of tonnes of rocks fallen from sea cliffs after quake shaking at Redcliffs, Clifton & Sumner.

Danger falling rocks: Shaking & quake fallen rocks crushed bldgs, damaged properties above & below cliffs, leaving rock fans at cliff bases. As so much rock had fallen in the Feb 22 Killer Quake, sea cliffs were clean with "new" rock faces seen for the first time in millions of years, like new bands of red tuff at Redcliffs above Redcliffs School, where ancient volcanic larva had baked sand brick red. There were many house, room, car size rocks below cliffs, some rocks had bounced beyond cliff faces. Aftershocks added to hazards for residents in cliff side & cliff top suburbs.

Stops I made to & from Sumner:

Richardson Tce by Heathcote River: Cracked, slumped road by Opawa Rd junction. Opawa Rd Bridge was cracked at road joins by abutments. Most Christchurch road bridges had survived the quakes, but there were many cracks, slumps where roads joined the bridges at abutments. Portaloos stood on Richardson Tce & Clarendon Tce both sides of Heathcote River.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake cracked Richardson Tce near Opawa Rd, national state of emergency. Cracking was due to lateral spreading towards Heathcote River


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake cracks, at road / abutment join, Opawa Rd Bridge over Heathcote River, national state of emergency

Clarendon Tce by Heathcote River: Quakemire not completely cleared, mud heaps still lying around.

Ferry Rd, Woolston: Sept 4 Darfield Quake trashing: Backing Heathcote River, 2 quake trashed, brick ghosts still teetered: Collapsed roofs, fallen brick parapets, rubble heaps on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned. Why did authorities tolerate ghosts so long? They would be demolished soon post Feb 22 Killer Quake.


23.03.11. Steel fence & steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed old, brick bldg, Ferry Rd, Woolston, national state of emergency. Bldg would be demolished




Ferry Rd: Mobil garage fence cordoned. 2 Woolston old, brick bldgs, damaged in the Sept 4 Darfield Quake, trashed in the Feb 22 Killer Quake. 1. Scaffolded, 2 storey, brick bldg, steel mesh fence cordoned. 2. Burger shop, fallen brick gable & parapet, roof space exposed, steel mesh fence cordoned. Digital road sign:

FERRYMEAD
BRIDGE
CLOSED

TO VEHICLES
OVER
2.5 TONNES

PLEASE
FOLLOW
DETOUR


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, digital road sign warning, Ferrymead Bridge damage, Ferry Rd, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged shop, Ferry Rd, national state of emergency

Ferry Rd, before & after Heathcote Valley / Lyttelton traffic circle, was quake damaged alongside Heathcote River: lumps, bumps, holes, but repairs were being done. Road contractors all over Christchurch did shingle, tarseal, patch repairs.

Main Rd: Trekked over Heathcote River Estuary at Ferrymead Bridge, parked at Mt Pleasant Yacht Club carpark, by Avon / Heathcote Estuary, where temporary shingle piles & tarseal rubble piles stood, dumped by trucks. I walked back to Ferrymead Bridge to see quake damage.


23.03.11. Temp dump for road shingle & tarseal scrapings, Avon / Heathcote Estuary carpark, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake cracked wall, Ferrymead carpark, Mt Pleasant Yacht Club, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake tilted garage & cracked pavement, Main Rd, Ferrymead, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 liquefactioned carpark, Mt Pleasant Yacht Club, Main Rd, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Feb 22 quake snapped, concrete curb, Main Rd, Ferrymead, national state of emergency

Petanque Club: Grounds quakemired, flooded after rains.


23.03.11. Feb 22 liquefactioned Petanque Club, Main Rd, national state of emergency

Mt Pleasant Yacht Club: Grounds liquefactioned, muddy after rains.


23.03.11. Feb 22 liquefactioned Mt Pleasant Yacht Club, Main Rd, national state of emergency


Cobb Cottage ghost: Collapsed end wall, grey tarped. Fallen gable, exposed roof space. Steel mesh fence cordoned. A Heritage bldg, Cobb Cottage would stay cordon closed for years, awaiting repairs. (2019. I would give permission for my quake damaged, Cob Cottage pic to be published in a Lyttelton harbour jetties book, incl Henderson family info). 2023. Cobb Cottage had been strengthened, repaired.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Cob Cottage, Main Rd, national state of emergency


Ferrymead Bridge: Near 3 cranes, workmen in orange, Hi-Vis vests scurried around, directing congested traffic over the bridge, orange, plastic, road cones everywhere. Steel & wood pre quake bridge extensions, with quake tilted steel columns in Heathcote Estuary water. Driveways, road & pavements, cracked, broken, both sides of Ferrymead Bridge. Concrete curbs were pulled from pavements. Road island bricks scattered.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Main Rd, Ferrymead Bridge, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged road island, Main Rd by Ferrymead Bridge, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged pavement, Ferrymead Bridge, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Yellow crane extending Ferrymead Bridge, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, national state of emergency

Workmen's spray-painted messages on pavements:

T/COM
8 DUCTS
FIBRE



             PLEASE
        STAY IN THE
MIDDLE & CROSS
AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
 
 
23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, steel mesh fence cordoned, Mobil garage. Modern flats survived quakes, Ferry Rd / Tidal View, national state of emergency. After later quake damages the flats would be demolished


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Ferrymead Bridge view of bridge extension & Ferrymead Tce, Heathcote Estuary, Ferry Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Ferrymead Bridge view, portaloo truck going to Redcliffs & Sumner, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Ferrymead Bridge extensions, Heathcote Estuary, national state of emergency





Main Rd: USAR/ TF had pink spray-painted on a garden wall: CLEAR NO GO. CLEAR or C meant no bodies. That CLEAR NO GO ambiguity was how we lived in Christchurch post Feb 22 Killer Quake. For example: Hamilton, CD boss, during the National State of Emergency, retired military helicopter pilot, gave CBD business owners a hard time: causing them to protest, pleading entry to the NO GO, CBD red zone, to gather business records, chattels. Power-mongering by Hamilton was for citizens' safety: garrotte cordoning of Christchurch CBD, intimidating NZDF soldiers & cops & demolishing bldgs, during the National State of Emergency. Post Hamilton, power-mongering would worsen, when CERA, the new National govt dept occupied Christchurch CBD & meddled in Council affairs.

Oct 2012, long after Hamilton had left, 20 months post Feb 22 Killer Quake, public would still be forbidden access to Christchurch NO GO, CBD red zone. During CERA's regime, unelected, National party, yes-men, like CERA boss Sutton & sockpuppet, CCDU boss Isaacs occupied Christchurch CBD, their fiefdom. During CERA's regime, mayor Parker & councillors would be puppets on sinecures.


23.03.01. Blue portaloos, Ferrymead Tce / Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake cracked curb & pavement, St Andrews Hill turnoff, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Three cranes, Ferrymead Bridge, Ferrymead Tce / Main Rd crossing, national state of emergency


23.03.10. CLEAR NO GO wall sign, Ferrymead, Main Rd, national state of emergency. CLEAR meant no bodies


23.03.11. Liquefactioned driveway, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged pavement, Main Rd, national state of emergency


Pity citizens' safety wasn't covered pre Feb 22 Killer Quake, with all those unsafe ghosts waiting to topple after Council's green, yellow, red inspection stickers post Sept 4 Darfield Quake. How many green & yellow stickered, brick & stone bldgs had collapsed in the Feb 22 Killer Quake & were quickly demolished during the National State of Emergency?  Nice to have one's inspection mistakes sealed behind a National State of Emergency cordon, protected by NZDF soldiers & cops, then a CERA cordon, protected by NZDF soldiers & cops for 28 months, public banned access to the NO GO, CBD red zone, on pain of arrest. Those mistakes would be buried, forgotten in Burwood demolition rubble dump.


23.03.11. Blue truck, temp dumping Feb 22 quake damaged asphalt in carpark, Avon Heathcote estuary, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake cracks, gulls, pied oystercatchers, Mt Pleasant Yacht Club carpark, Main Rd, national state of emergency. The cracks were caused by lateral spreading. The apartment block would be demolished

Main Rd: Lateral spreading had caused slumping cracking of Mt Pleasant Yacht Club carpark at the estuary edge. Gulls & pied oystercatchers didn't mind.


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Feb 22 quake cracked McCormacks Bay causeway, one-way due to road repairs, Main Rd, national state of emergency

Main Rd, McCormacks Bay Causeway: One way traffic to Redcliffs over the causeway. Town traffic was detoured along bumpy McCormacks Bay Rd. Uneven surface on the causeway was due to quake damage & lateral spreading, repairs needed. Parallel cracks on the road shoulder all along the causeway were due to lateral spreading. Causeway end: Road island bricks were scattered. Blue portaloo on pavement by 2 storey flats, orange, plastic, fence cordoned.

Fifteen months post Feb 22 Killer Quake, the causeway would still be one of the worst roads in Christchurch, lumpy, bumpy, patched. 30 months post Feb 22 Killer Quake, the causeway would still be closed, undergoing repairs, traffic detoured along bumpy McCormacks Bay Rd.


23.03.11. Blue portaloo, Main Rd / McCormacks Bay Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock fall, Main Rd / McCormacks Bay Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged road island, end of McCormacks Bay causeway, Main Rd, national state of emergency

Main Rd / Beachville Rd by Avon / Heathcote estuary: Broken garden wall. Rockfall on pavement, fallen rocks from a cliff top house between Main Rd & Beachville Rd, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned.


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Feb 22 quake rock fall, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency


Redcliffs cliff top housing: Damaged, Feb 22 Killer Quake. Would be more damaged, June 13 Quake.


23.03.11. Redcliffs Park view, Feb 22 quake, Redcliff rock falls, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency. Years later, after a new school was built, Redcliffs School would relocate to the park site


23.03.11. Shags, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, Beachville Rd carpark, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Gulls & pied oystercatchers, Feb 22 quake cracked Beachville Rd carpark, national state of emergency. Quake cracks were caused by lateral spreading


23.03.11. Jetty shags, Beachville Rd boat ramp, national state of emergency

Beachville Rd carpark: Cracks caused by lateral spreading. Gulls & pied oystercatchers roosted by estuary rocks & quake cracks. Grand views of "new" Redcliffs from Redcliffs Park. A row of shags perched on the wooden jetty by a boat ramp. High tide views across Avon / Heathcote Estuary belied quake destruction, needing repairs.

See below: Post quakes, Redcliffs Park would become the site for relocated, rebuilt Redcliffs School.


23.03.11. Green portaloo, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Yellow, plastic, tape cordon. Feb 22 quake trashed garage, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Grey / green portaloos opp linesman fixing power, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency

Beachville Rd: Portaloos on pavement. Road lumpy, bumpy, potholed. Fallen garage wall, yellow, plastic, tape cordoned. Wearing Hi-Vis vests, Drain Rat workmen sucked sewage into a tanker in the middle of the road. Road cnr cracked, lumpy by concrete sea wall. Cnr house, tilted towards estuary water. Grass verges & footpath, cracked near the sea wall, due to lateral spreading. Old, white Mercedes, front wheel trapped in a carpark, road crack. Quake cracks continued parallel to the 500m long sea wall, tilted its entire length toward Avon / Heathcote Estuary. Feb 22 Killer Quake took a few seconds to seawards-shift the entire, half km long concrete wall, about half metre wide, 4m high.


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Post Feb 22 quake, Hi-Vis vested workmen fixing Beachville Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Orange portaloo & Feb 22 quake cracked garden wall, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake shifted, tilted, concrete, sea wall & slumped, cracked Avon / Heathcote Estuary shore, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency. Slumping & cracks, due to lateral spreading



23.03.11. Feb 22 quake Warning Contaminated Water sign & Mercedes trapped in carpark, quake crack, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Feb 22 quake tilted, concrete, sea wall, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency. Tilting & cracks, due to lateral spreading




23.03.11. Feb 22 quake broken, concrete sea wall, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, later sandbagged, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Blue & orange portaloos & liquefaction silt, Beachville Rd, national state of emergency

20.12.12 Twenty one months later, I would return to Beachville Rd's concrete sea wall. No repairs had been done, quake cracks still in the sea wall & a quake gap still there. Lateral spreading, deep cracks by the road side still there. Meanwhile, the N end of the 500m long sea wall had sunk deeper into estuary mud, so a shingle stopbank would be built as flood protection.


20.12.12. Quake tilted, concrete, sea wall, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, 22 months post 22.02.11 quake, Beachville Rd. Lateral spread, quake cracks had been partly infilled


20.12.12. Quake cracked, concrete, sea wall, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, Beachville Rd




20.02.12. Quake tilting & slumping of concrete, sea wall, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, Beachville Rd. Slumping was due to lateral spreading







20.12.12. Stopbank by quake sunken, concrete, sea wall, to stop flooding, Avon / Heathcote Estuary, Beachville Rd




Only in Aug 2015 would SCIRT begin replacing Beachville Rd sea wall with a rock revetment. Replacing the sea wall work would continue till Dec 2016.

23.03.11. 30 km/h speed limit sign. Feb 22 quake, Redcliffs Info caravan, Beachville Rd / Main Rd, national state of emergency

Main Rd: Parked my car opp quakemired New World supermarket ghost. Looked at the community INFO caravan & all the community ads helping Redcliffs locals. Post 2011 quakes, Redcliffs New World would be demolished, rebuilt.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, Cronos water tank by BP garage, Main Rd, Redcliffs, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock falls by Redcliffs School, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock falls by Redcliffs housing, Main Rd, national state of emergency

23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock falls, Redcliffs housing, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. DANGER KEEP OUT. White, plastic, tape cordoned driveway. Feb 22 quake, rock fall damaged house, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged, yellow, adobe house & cliff top house near Moa Bone Point Cave, Main Rd, national state of emergency. Both houses would be demolished


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, rock fall damaged, yellow, adobe house, Main Rd, national state of emergency. The adobe house would be demolished


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged house, Main Rd, Redcliffs, national state of emergency

Main Rd: Trekked to Moa Bone Point Cave, past open BP garage, a Cronos water tank alongside, past Redcliffs School, open for the first time since the Feb 22 Killer Quake. (Redcliffs School would later be closed, sharing premises with Van Asch Deaf Education Centre, Sumner. After years of local protests with MOE about rock fall dangers on school grounds, Redcliffs School would be rebuilt on nearby Redcliffs Park. Redcliffs Park flooded in heavy rains, close to Avon Heathcote Estuary)! Trekked past quake trashed housing: loosened roof tiles, cracked walls, collapsed walls, tilted walls, fallen cliff rocks in gardens, rock crushed walls.

I saw Redcliffs rockfalls & quake damaged, Moa Bone Point Cave, rock roof fallen, rocks on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned. A 3 storey, yellow, adobe, ghost house below a cliff was trashed, 3rd floor side wall crushed by fallen rocks, room exposed. The yellow, adobe ghost & a cliff top ghost above it would be demolished. Who built & bought houses on cliff tops & at the bottom of cliffs?

Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, concrete road barriers would stop cliff rocks rolling onto Main Rd. Post June 13 Quake, a 2 storey row of shipping containers in front of Moa Bone Point Cave would protect traffic from rockfall & house fall for years.


23.03.11. Concrete road barriers. Feb 22 quake rock fall near Moa Bone Point Cave, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged, cliff top house, above Moa Bone Point Cave, Main Rd, national state of emergency. The house would be demolished in 2013




23.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake rock fall, Moa Bone Point Cave, Main Rd, national state of emergency. Post 13.06.11 quake, the cave would be cordoned by shipping containers


Main Rd: 2 storey, ghost house, fallen brick walls, fallen stone, retaining wall, red, plastic taped, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned. Damaged old, brick, bus stop, ghost bldg, walls cracked, walls tilted, garage door tilted, slumped, tarseal carpark, snapped wooden, power pole lying on carpark. USAR / TF spray-painted graffiti on broken walls: DANGER KEEP OUT. Along that stretch of Main Rd I saw many rockfalls behind houses below cliffs, many rock sizes with rock fans below Redcliffs. Would Redcliffs house prices continue to be upmarket after all that rockfall?


23.03.11. Red, plastic tape & orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged house near Moa Bone Point Cave, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake snapped power pole, Main Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. DANGER KEEP OUT. Feb 22 quake damaged, bus stop bldg, near Moa Bone Point Cave, Main Rd, national state of emergency





23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock fall, Main Rd / Beachville Rd, national state of emergency

Main Rd: Broken at Cave Tce near quake damaged Moncks Cave. Demolition rubble, dumped at Moncks Cave mouth near a cave rockfall. Portaloo on Cave Tce pavement. Fifteen months later, Moncks Cave would still be a rubble dump.


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon & orange, plastic, road barrier detour, Feb 22 quake damaged Main Rd by liquefactioned New World, Redcliffs, national state of emergency. New World  would be demolished & rebuilt


23.03.11 Blue portaloo, Main Rd / Moncks Spur Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake demolition rubble, Moncks Cave, Main Rd, national state of emergency

Avon / Heathcote Estuary mouth: Shag Rock shattered by the Feb 22 Killer Quake, about half its pre quake size. Shag Rock would collapse more during the June 13 Quake, leaving a stump, fallen rocks.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake shattered Shag Rock, Marriner St, national state of emergency


Main Rd / Marriner St: Clifton sea cliff opp Shag Rock & Avon / Heathcote Estuary mouth: 2 layers of 22 shipping containers lined the cliff base, protecting traffic from aftershock rock falls. Later the stacked shipping containers would be extended along Peacocks Gallop, Marriner St, below Clifton, all the way to Gollans Point, Sumner. The protective cordon of shipping containers would stand below Clifton for years. Post quakes, cliff top, ghost houses would be demolished, the cliff above the road cnr opp Shag Rock would be reduced in volume by drilling & blasting to prevent future rockfalls endangering traffic by Avon / Heathcote Estuary mouth. 


23.03.11. Stacked shipping containers, orange, plastic, road cones cordoning Feb 22 quake rock falls, Main Rd / Marriner St, national state of emergency


Clifton sea cliff: Several rockfalls below the cliff, forming rock fans, which had crushed vegetation: broken shrubs, flattened by rockfalls at the cliff base. I watched a workman on the cliff top water-blast garden rubbish, which tumbled down the 60m cliff. Three cops & a Fulton Hogan sign truck kept a wary eye on the water-blaster.

Marriner St, Peacocks Gallop: Scary due to rockfall danger. Locals had to drive past daily.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock fall, Clifton sea cliff, Peacocks Gallop, Marriner St, national state of emergency. New rock fan & abandoned cliff top housing 


23.03.13. Feb 22 quake, rock fall crushed vegetation, Peacocks Gallop, Marriner St, national state of emergency

23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock fall, Clifton sea cliff, Marriner St, national state of emergency


Marriner St, Gollans Point: Another rockfall from Clifton sea cliff, fallen rocks by a small cave. Roadside shrubs cleared by workmen.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rockfalls, Gollans Point, Marriner St, national state of emergency. Later the road would be protected by a double layered, shipping container cordon


Esplanade: Sumner traffic detoured by Cave Rock. Old, 2 storey, brick, ghost house, fallen side walls, damaged roof slates, brick rubble on carpark, white, plastic, tape cordoned. The house would be demolished.


23.03.11. White, plastic, tape cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged house, Esplanade, national state of emergency. The house would be demolished



Wakefield Ave: Demolished Ruptured Duck restaurant, damaged by Sept 4 Darfied Quake, trashed by Feb 22 Killer Quake. A rubble heap, steel mesh fence cordoned. Cordon fence sign:

DE-STRESS
WITH FREE
OUTDOOR WORKOUTS
FITNESS...


23.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolished Ruptured Duck restaurant, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency

Wakefield Ave / Nayland St: Sumner Community Centre ghost (old brick bldg, 1907, Sumner Borough Council). Cracked front facade, brick wall, cracked brick gable, cracked brick parapet, broken windows above a door, cordoned by shipping containers, steel mesh fence cordoned, orange, plastic, road coned. Sumner Community Centre would be demolished post June 13 Quake & replaced by a small park & skateboard ramp.

Cosi Van Tutte shop: Red stickered, glass door. Boarded door. Broken window glass on pavement. Fish 'n Chips shop: A grizzled man read a newspaper at an outside table by a fallen brick wall. Across Wakefield Ave, Sumner cliff loomed: collapsible.


23.03.11. Man reading at cafe table by Feb 22 quake fallen brick wall, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency

Fish 'n Chips shop window, hand-written notice:

            HOT SHOWERS
                      AT
SUMNER COMMUNITY POOL
       CHANGING ROOMS
                9 am - 7 pm 
      2 MINS MAX PLEASE

NOTE: POOL CLOSED FOR
            SWIMMING


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake notice, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency

Also on the Fish 'n Chip shop window, a CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE, blue / white printed notice listed COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS:

CHRISTCHURCH [Council]
EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS [Shortened, times & streets not included].
You are invited to attend one of the following community earthquake information briefings:

Monday 21 March        Bromley Park, Linwood
                                     Woolston Park

Tuesday 22 March       Richmond Park
                                     St Albans Park

Wednesday 23 March  South Hagley Park, Cricket Ground
                                     Somerfield Park
                                     Oaklands School, Halswell
 
Thursday 24 March     Waltham Park
                                     Lyttelton, grassy area above Main School

Friday 25 March          Redcliffs, Barnett Park
                                     Sumner School grounds

Saturday 26 March      Brooklands Domain
                                     Parklands Reserve
                                     Rawhiti Domain, next to cricket oval
                                     South Brighton Park, aka Jellico Park

*Hear the latest news followed by the chance to ask questions one-on-one.
*The briefing closest to you will be the most useful for you, however there will be relevant        information at all of the briefings.
*These are open-air briefings so dress for the weather and bring a seat.
*There may not be toilet facilities at the briefings.
Visit www...




23.03.11. CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE notice, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency

The Feb 22 Killer Quake had trashed Sumner's water supply, so washing, cleaning was difficult. Unpolluted drinking water had to be collected from roadside, Cronos water tanks. Sewage pipes were also trashed, making toileting difficult, hence many portaloos on Sumner roadsides. Soon all Council Earthquake Responses would be interfered with by CERA.

23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, shipping containers, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake trashed Sumner Borough Council 1907, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency. Sumner Borough Council bldg would be demolished post June 13 quake, replaced by a small park with skateboard ramp.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, boarded, red stickered, Cosi Fan Tutte shop, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Feb 22 quake rock fall, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency

Wakefield Ave / Nayland St: By Sumner cliff rockfall, Marine Service Station, hand-written sign:

WE ARE OPEN AND
OPERATING FROM TEMP
PREMISES. PLEASE PH...

After 2010-2011 quake damages, many business owners had to relocate, continue business, or go bust. When we'd lived at Sumner in 1995, our car was serviced at Marine Service Station.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock fall, RSA bldgs, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency

Wakefield Ave: RSA ghost broken by a house size rock, fallen from Sumner cliff. Crumpled, corrugated iron roof, fallen brick wall, exposing roof space & rooms. House size rock, brick & stone rubble between RSA bldgs & on pavement. Ghost carpark stone wall crunched by fallen rocks. Rock-crushed, brick wall sign:

 SUMNER REDCLIFFS
RETURNED SERVICES
       ASSOCIATION

Alongside RSA, a new flats development, wooden wall supports crushed by rockfall, planks, rocks scattered on bldg site, steel mesh fence cordoned. (Silver Star Developments Ltd). Post Sept 4 Darfield Quake, why had Council consented that development below Sumner cliff?


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock fall damage, RSA bldgs, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency


Across the Rd, pavement, pub chalk-board sign:

   RE-OPEN
THURSDAY
      5 PM
HAPPY HOUR
  ALL NIGHT

Indeed!

23.03.11. Pub open for business sign, opp Feb 22 quake, rock fall damaged RSA bldgs, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency. Cliff fall rock left on pavement as a reminder to BE CAREFUL


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake rock fall, RSA bldgs, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency


 23.04.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sumner cliff, quake rock fall trashing of post Sept 4 quake, Silver Star Developments Ltd flats, next to rock fall trashed RSA, Wakefield Ave
 




RSA memorial gatepost plaque:

        WE
   HONOUR
       OUR 
   FALLEN
COMRADES

Fallen comrades would be spinning in their graves at greedy Council consenters, greedy developers cashing in.
 
 


Wakefield Ave, Croquet Club ghost: Rockfall lay below Sumner cliff on the croquet lawn. When I returned about an hour later, digger tracks had gouged the lawn. Rocks gone.


I trekked around Sumner, detouring orange, plastic, road cones. Most roads I drove had portaloos roadside, but most houses looked OK. Our old Denman St, 2 storey rental was undamaged, liquefaction dust still on the road. A neighbour's brick gate post fallen. Cliff rockfall at the end of Denman St by Wakefield Ave, rockfall fan below the cliff & on the pavement.


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, Wakefield Ave rock fall, end of Denman St, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Orange portaloo, Denman St, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake trashed, brick gatepost, Denman St, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Denman St house, undamaged by Feb 22 quake, national state of emergency

Colenso St, Sumner School: A Cronos water tank roadside. Jake had attended the school, during our early Christchurch days, 1995.


Wakefield Ave / Duncan St: Boarded cottages by abandoned, boarded Capt Thomas Courts. Residents had been relocated. A large rock lay on the grass verge by a cottage, another bigger rock in a flowerbed by a front door. The rocks were numbered with lurid, yellow spray-paint. I snapped number 18 near a cottage. Roof tiles were damaged. "Danger from falling rocks" was written on red stickered cottage doors.

Eight shipping containers lined Wakefield Ave below Richmond Hill cliffs, protecting cottages from aftershock rockfalls. Wakefield Ave, Capt Thomas Track, Council sign:

TRACK CLOSED
DUE TO
ROCKFALL HAZARD

June 13 Quake: There would be more Sumner rockfalls below Richmond Hill. Wakefield Ave would be cordoned with a double layer of shipping containers, bordering ghost houses & All Saints Anglican Church ghost below Sumner cliff. CERA would red zone those cliff bottom houses & the church for demolitions.  

Heberden Ave: Rockfalls & shipping container cordons below Scarborough Bluffs. I would return for snapping another day.



23.03.11. Red stickered, boarded, abandoned Capt Thomas Courts, Wakefield Ave, national state of emergency. Numbered rock, fallen from Richmond Hill

Campbell St: Fallen brick gate post on the pavement near a blue portaloo.


23.03.11. Rubbish bins, blue & grey portaloos & Feb 22 quake fallen, brick, gate post, Campbell St, national state of emergency


Wakefield Ave: Fallen concrete brick, garden wall, bricks on pavement.

Van Asch St: At Van Asch Deaf Education Centre gate, a new, brick gate post, undamaged by the quake. Lime green portaloo at the gate.


23.03.11. Lime green portaloo, Van Asch Deaf Education Centre gate, Van Asch St, national state of emergency

Nayland St: Broken, stone walls, stones on pavement. Old, quake damaged houses: 1. Cliff top, 2 storey house, outer walls OK, but fallen ceiling seen through unbroken glass doors. Glass windows unbroken. Fallen cliff rocks caused fallen stone, garden wall, stones on pavement. Broken stone gate post, stones in open garage. 2. Garage, fallen corrugated iron. Fallen stone, garden wall, stones on pavement, white, plastic taped, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned. 3. Fallen brick & concrete brick, garage wall & fallen stone, garden wall, bricks & stones on pavement, white, plastic, tape cordoned.

Nayland St / Main Rd crossing: Broken road.


23.03.11. Red, plastic tape, orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Fish 'n Chips shop view, Sumner cliff rock fall, Wakefield Ave / Nayland St, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Feb 22 quake trashed stone wall, Nayland St, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, Sumner cliff rock fall, Nayland St, national state of emergency. Abandoned cliff top housing


23.03.11. Fallen stone, garden wall. Feb 22 quake damaged house, Nayland St, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Blue portaloo, Feb 22 quake, new Sumner cliff face, due to rock fall, Nayland St / The Zig Zag, national state of emergency


23.03.11. White, plastic, tape cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged brick wall, Nayland St, national state of emergency

Clifton Bay: 4 greystone, garden walls had collapsed by 4 wooden, 2 storey houses, fallen greystones on pavement. There were telescopes in 2 top storey windows for Pacific shipping & Sumner beach bikini views across the road.

Oct 2012. More than a year later, the greystone walls would still be unrepaired, awaiting insurance payouts.


23.03.11. Feb 22 trashed, greystone, garden walls, Clifton Bay, Sumner, national state of emergency










Returned to Burnside along McCormacks Bay Rd, one-way detour: quake broken, lumpy, bumpy. Drove past the liquefactioned rugby field, grass verges & McCormacks Bay Reserve, where a quakemired creek entered McCormacks Bay. Small rock falls roadside, some road repairs done.

Linwood Ave / Aldwins Rd, en route home : Feb 22 Killer Quake destroyed, 2 storey, brick walled, ghost shops: Fallen brick parapets. Collapsed cnr shop, Herbal Heaven, a brick wall leaning over Aldwins Rd, lower storey crushed by weight of the tilted, upper storey, steel mesh fence cordoned. Next door shops: Sunlake Dairy, Brewing Distilling, Left Hand Path Tattoos, Canterbury Cutz verandah, crumpled, part collapsed. At shops' end, Cartridge World, fallen brick side wall, exposed upper passage & inner wooden wall, brick rubble in carpark, steel mesh fence cordoned.

The shops would soon be demolished. (Burger King rebuild). I'd driven Luke to Sullivan Ave tech past those shops during pre quakes 2010. Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, some days, I would drive the long way round from Burnside to Sullivan Ave tech, along the freeway & Brougham St.


23.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake trashed shops, soon demolished (Burger King rebuild) Aldwins Rd / Linwood Ave, national state of emergency










Linwood Ave / Cashel St: Shell garage, steel mesh fence cordoned, closed post Feb 22 Killer Quake, quakemire stuffed into sinkholes on the concrete apron.


23.03.11. Feb 22 liquefactioned, closed, Shell garage, Linwood Ave, national state of emergency

Linwood Ave / Worcester St: Old, brick, trashed, ghost shops, corrugated iron roof intact, but fallen brick parapet, fallen brick wall exposed roof space & inner, wooden wall, brick rubble on pavement, verandah roof part collapsed onto pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned. After rains, ghost bldgs had a mouldy, woody smell. Shop door, hand-written sign:

ALL OUT & OK
CLOSED TO
RELOCATE



23.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake trashed, old, brick bldg, Linwood Ave / Worcester St, national state of emergency. 2019: The bldg survived the quakes, but stayed boarded for years.


Linwood Ave / Gloucester St: St George's & Iona Presbyterian demolition site. Another old church bit the dust. Like so many old, brick & stone bldgs, quake trashed churches had poor quake strengthening.


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Demolished St George's & Iona Presbyterian Church, Linwood Ave / Gloucester St, national state of emergency

Linwood Ave / Avonside Dr / Woodham Rd crossing, by an Avon River bend: ROAD CLOSED. Burst water pipes in the Sept 4 Darfield Quake had left the crossing badly damaged. Post Feb 22 Killer Quake the crossing was worse: Road cracks, liquefaction muddied road. Snapped, concrete curb. Brick garden wall collapsed onto cracked pavement. 3 tankers sucked muck from road holes. A yellow digger added to the mess. Orange, plastic, road coned. Steel mesh fence cordoned. 5 Hi-Vis vested workmen watched 1 workman in a liquefaction hole. Shirking workmen again, most standing around, like other workmen around town, wary of me snapping, yelling snarky remarks. Given their productivity, Christchurch recovery would take many years. The crossing would finally be fixed by Oct 2012. Only after CERA eventuated would productivity speed up, after Irish & Philippino workmen arrived.

Council signs: Red, black, white, WARNING WATER CONTAMINATED threat sign hung on a riverbank tree. Blue, black, white sign forbade non residents along Avonside Dr, cordoned by orange, plastic road cones. Soon we'd endure a plethora of CERA printed signs.


23.03.11. Hi-Vis vested, road workmen repairing Avonside Dr / Woodham Rd / Linwood Ave crossing, trashed in Sept 4 & Feb 22 quakes, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordons. Blue, non residents forbidden sign, Sept 4 & Feb 22 quake trashed Avonside Dr / Woodham Rd crossing, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Post Feb 22 quake tanker sucking muck from Avonside Dr / Linwood Ave crossing, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake snapped, concrete curb, Avonside Dr / Woodham Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Warning Water Contaminated sign, Avon River, Avonside Dr / Woodham Rd, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed garden walls & curb, Avonside Dr / Woodham Rd, national state of emergency



23.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Feb 22 quake, road pipe repairs & muck sucking, Linwood Ave / Avonside Dr, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Hi-Vis vested, road workmen productivity, 5 shirking, 1 working, Avonside Dr / Linwood Ave

Stanmore Rd / Worcester St: Feb 22 Killer Quake trashed, 1-2 storey, brick, ghost shops, steel mesh fence cordoned, Stanmore Rd. Cnr shop, fallen parapet, fallen verandah awning, exposed roof space. Brick rubble on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned.

Worcester St: Red stickered, $4 shop ghost, 2 storey, trashed. Brick gable, side brick walls fallen onto neighbouring 1 storey shops, Wicks Fish & Lakes Chemist. Roof space exposed. Red / yellow tarp hanging loose on front facade. Windows broken. Clothes on shop hanger trolley exposed on pavement. Verandah roof collapsed by fallen bricks. Brick rubble on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned. TF1 CLEAR 26/2 yellow, spay-painted on a glass door.

Lakes Chemist ghost: Roof collapsed from bricks fallen from next door 2 storey, $4 shop. Roof space exposed. TF1 CLEAR 26/2 yellow, spray-painted on a grey board covering the facade. Bricks on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned.

Wicks Fish ghost: Roof collapsed into shop by bricks fallen from next door 2 storey, $4 shop. 2 people killed in the Feb 22 quake. Broken display window. Brick rubble on pavement. Flower bouquets drying on the steel mesh fence cordon.

Hibbards Butchery ghost: Brick gable gone. Brick rubble on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned.

Talon Arms: Wooden bldg. GUNS GONE grey, spray-painted on board covering shop front. CLEAR 06/03/11 TF1 yellow, spray-painted on board. Brick rubble on pavement. Wooden Talon Arms would be the only shop in the vicinity to survive the quakes. All neighbouring brick shops would be demolished. DANGER falling bricks: Too late!

 23.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed old, brick bldgs (to be demolished) Stanmore Rd / Worcester St, national state of emergency


23.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed old, brick bldgs (to be demolished) Worcester St, national state of emergency. Two people were killed at Wicks Fish left


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake, flowers on steel mesh fence cordon honouring 2 quake dead, Wicks Fish, Worcester St, national state of emergency. Brick wall of $2 shop next door collapsed into Wicks Fish


23.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged, Talon Arms, Worcester St, was not demolished, national state of emergency. USAR / TF graffiti CLEAR meant no bodies

London St: Quakemire volcano on the pavement outside Leah's classroom was gone, dug away by prisoners. Prisoners dug mud away from the nearby Village Green too. Leah thanked them.

Thurs 24.03.11. One News TV featured engineers & a breathless reporter clambering the Port Hills above Avoca Valley, rolling quake unstable rocks downhill, blowing up rocks too big to roll. Reason: danger to people & bldgs in orchard strewn Avoca Valley.

*Trekked Richardson Tce, Ferry Rd, Main Rd, Beachville Rd, Marriner St, Esplanade, Wakefield Ave, Nayland St, Clifton Bay, Linwood Ave, Avonside Dr, Stanmore Rd, Worcester St, London St. 271 snaps.

Coda:

In future, rockfalls would be a contentious, residential zoning issue between Council, CERA, home owners: Council red stickered perfectly good Port Hills housing, CERA red zoned Port Hills housing, residents objected to CERA's slow zoning & how / why their homes were red zoned. There would be issues of rolling rocks, bouncing rocks, rockfalls, slips, foreign university computer modelling, berms, catcher fences, compacted rock structures, trees to protect housing from rockfalls.

Sun 14.02.16. Valentines Day Quake, M5.7. Rockfalls at Godley Head, Sumner's Richmond Hill, Peacocks Gallop.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

See Redcliffs School Closure Decision (The Press / Stuff Co).


1 comment:

  1. Gave permission for an author to publish my Cob Cottage pic in a Lyttelton Harbour jetties book, incl Henderson family info.

    ReplyDelete