Durham St Nth: The 2 storey apartment ghost had collapsed onto the open garage floor beneath, crushing a car, the upper 2 storeys tilted, walls cracked, resting on the pancaked garage floor. Windows broken. Garden wall, concrete brick rubble on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned. Tilted power pole. It wasn't the first modern bldg, with empty space on the bottom floor, I'd seen trashed by the Feb 22 Killer Quake. The bldg would soon be demolished. 2019, the demo site would still be vacant.
25.03.11. Steel fence cordon. Feb 22 quake collapsed bldg, Durham St Nth, national state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished. Sept 2019, the demo site would still be vacant
Salisbury St: Recently, I'd seen another apartment block tilted over quakemired, open garages. As for the Hotel Grand Chancellor ghost in the cordoned CBD, same thing: A road passed under one end of Hotel Grand Chancellor leaving a weak space, cantilevered, multi-storey hotel above. When the Feb 22 Killer Quake struck, hotel columns opp the road space cracked, tilting Hotel Grand Chancellor. What were modern designers, architects, engineers, builders taught? Hotel Grand Chancellor would soon be demolished.
25.03.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged bldg, Springfield Rd / Durham St Nth, national state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished
Circuit-trekked from Springfield Rd along Derby St, Papanui Rd, Bealey Ave, back to my car, snapping quake damages N of the CBD cordon, some of which I'd already seen.
Springfield Rd / Durham St Nth: Quake damaged, old, 2 storey, brick ghost, bus route passing by. Fallen parapet & 2nd storey, brick wall, exposed roof space, rooms, blue tarped. Bottom shop window broken. Tilted, cracked, brick wall, steel mesh fence cordoned. Many old, brick, corner bldgs were damaged by Christchurch quakes: all that pre-quake weakening by rumbling vehicle & bus traffic.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake, Springfield Rd view down Derby St, national state of emergency
Derby St: Roadside brick rubble heaps. Heritage brick, garden wall collapsed on the pavement. Sign on a tree: DO NOT REMOVE BRICKS. Quake damaged houses, old, modern, rubble in gardens, steel mesh fence cordoned, or plastic tape cordoned: One quake trashed, red stickered, yellow, wooden house had boarded windows. A pink, spray-painted threat on a boarded window: STAY OUT! Despite media narrative about citizens' "resilience" & "heroic" emergency services, Christchurch became unfriendly, fearful since the quakes. Thousands fled their quake trashed homes, some leaving Christchurch for good.
Sarah Miles's book The Christchurch Fiasco (p 202) would state: "Preliminary observations of the impact of the February 22 earthquake showed that an estimated 65 000 people, or approximately 17 percent of Christchurch's population, left the city following the February earthquake." We didn't leave, as immigrants we had no nearby family nor anywhere else to go. Besides, we had no money to move. Leah was working 2 jobs to make ends meet. She would do so for 2 decades due to my profound deafness stopping me working.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake collapsed brick, garden wall, Derby St, national state of emergency
Derby St / Papanui Rd: One News still camped in porta-cabins opp Carlton Hotel ghost.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake, One News porta-cabin camp, Derby St / Papanui Rd, quake trashed, Carlton Hotel backdrop. Carlton Hotel would be demolished.
25.03.11. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed Carlton Hotel (to be demolished) Papanui Rd / Bealey Ave, national state of emergency
Papanui Rd / Bealey Ave: 2 storey Carlton Hotel ghost, scaffolded Bealey Ave side. Fallen brick parapet, fallen top storey, brick wall, exposing passage & rooms, ceiling fallen in one room. Brick rubble on Papanui Rd pavement, yellow USAR / TF graffiti spray-painted on a board atop the rubble, steel mesh fence cordoned. Opp cnr, Carlton Courts, next to One News camp: SORRY WE'RE CLOSED, Sophies Cafe, 2 rows of pics on window, smiling Sophie, smiling news readers. Neighbouring cafes: some open, some closed.
Carlton Courts, incl Sophies Cafe, would be closed in 2012, steel mesh fence cordoned, obstructing traffic for months. In 2013 the fence cordon would be removed, Carlton Courts staying closed for repairs. Sophies Cafe was originally green stickered, yet the bldg was later abandoned. Another case of confusing stickering by Council inspectors. Never mind woeful EQC inspectors.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake, celeb pics in Sophies Cafe window, opp quake trashed Carlton Hotel, Papanui Rd, national state of emergency
Bealey Ave / Victoria St: Bare demolition site where old, brick Saggio di vino ghost & other quake damaged, old, brick ghosts had been demolished, steel mesh fence cordoned.
25.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Saggio di vino demolition site, Bealey Ave / Victoria St, national state of emergency
25.03.11. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed Knox Presbyterian Church & steel fence cordon, blue tarp, checkpoint hut, Bealey Ave / Victoria St, national state of emergency. Knox Church would be restored with copper clad walls in 2014
25.03.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel fence, steel mesh fence cordon & blue tarp, checkpoint hut. Yellow, Hi-Vis vested cop on a bicycle, cordon checkpoint by quake trashed Knox Presbyterian Church, Bealey Ave / Victoria St, national state of emergency
Bealey Ave: A yellow, Hi-Vis vested cop on a bike checked NZDF soldiers at Victoria St cordon, by Sept 4, Feb 22 quaked trashed Knox Church. On other cordon treks, I'd seen NZDF soldiers cycling CBD cordons too. Better than endangering lives & bldgs with cop cars & heavy military vehicles. Military checkpoint huts were still makeshift, metal constructions, blue tarped roofs.
A USAR / TF team had yellow spray-painted NO GO on Knox Church's quake gapped, brick walls. Cordon fence banner, cross superimposed on a heart:
BROKEN BUT STILL
BEATING
the heart of Christchurch
is People like Us!
2014. Knox Church would be restored, copper clad walls.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake, red ribboned, memorial, olive tree, Bealey Ave, national state of emergency
Bealey Ave: Two upright, potted memorial trees, goodwill messages on red ribbons & cards tied to trees. Days before when I'd passed, the nor'wester downed those trees on the pavement.
Bealey Ave / Stoneyhurst St: Fallen brick, garden wall, rubble heap on pavement.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake collapsed brick wall, Stoneyhurst St / Bealey Ave, national state of emergency
Bealey Ave / Montreal St crossing, Temporary Bus Exchange: Five buses parked on Bealey Ave, awaited few passengers for free rides. Few people used buses at the best of times. Pre-quakes, heavy buses obstructed traffic & damaged Christchurch narrow roads. Their rumbling would've caused pre-quake damage to old, brick & stone bldgs.
Bealey Ave, white bus sign: EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE REQUIRES USE OF THIS TEMPORARY BUS. COMING SOON 32 BRAND NEW BIO FUEL BUSES.
25.03.11. Post Feb 22 quake, Temp Bus Exchange, Bealey Ave, national state of emergency
Mixed feelings about Christchurch buses: Luke was bussing by Hagley Park when the Feb 22 Killer Quake struck. He watched chaos from his bus seat along Moorhouse Ave. The bus driver ordered all passengers off, near what was later known as the CBD, red zone cordon. How many dumped bus passengers wandered deadly CBD during Feb 22 Killer Quake aftershocks?
A miracle, Luke was picked up on Moorhouse Ave during heavy aftershocks, stayed with his girlfriend's family in quaked South New Brighton for 3 days. Otherwise Luke would've trekked home to Burnside through the quake shattered CBD. I dreaded thinking of the consequences.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake, grey & blue portaloos by temp bus exchange, Bealey Ave, national state of emergency
But buses did great post quake service transporting school students to & from NO GO schools during the National State of Emergency, doing double-shift with safer schools, like Avonside Girls High students bussing to Burnside HS & Shirley Boys High students bussing to Papanui HS. Students were disrupted by the Feb 22 Killer Quake, students & teachers from NO GO schools unable to retrieve books & personal possessions.
Cops would have to foot-patrol near shared schools at change over times, stopping fighting students, or student groups intimidating public at Northlands Mall. (The Press).
25.03.11. White, plastic tape, steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed, brick house, Bealey Ave, national state of emergency. The house would be demolished
Bealey Ave: Several old, brick ghosts, quake damaged or demolished, like the Deanery & Springfield Rd cnr Marae. One old brick house: Fallen brick walls, rooms exposed, rubble on pavement, steel mesh fence cordoned. The Deanery, demolished, brick rubble in garden, blue portaloo on pavement. Fallen brick, garden wall, pink USAR / TF graffito, NO X GO, white, plastic tape cordoned.
25.03.11. Pink NO X GO. White, plastic tape cordon. Feb 22 quake, blue portaloo, Deanery demolition site, Bealey Ave, national state of emergency.
Bealey Ave / Springfield Rd: Two posties untied their bikes from a van. They cycled away, delivering mail.
Two Maori women sat on their first floor balcony, smoking. They stared at the demolished Marae opp their flat: Brick & roof rubble lay in the garden. USAR / TF had orange spray-painted NO GO on the Marae brick, gate post, steel mesh fence cordoned. "You've a good view of the mess," I called. They smiled.
25.03.11. Feb 22 quake, Marae sign, Springfield Rd / Bealey Ave, national state of emergency
25.03.11. NO GO. White, plastic tape, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake trashed, demolished Marae, Bealey Ave / Springfield Rd, national state of emergency
Bealey Ave / Park Tce: En route home, I passed NZDF checkpoint soldiers' makeshift, blue tarp hut & their concrete block cordon across Park Tce. NZDF soldiers continued strangling CBD businesses & homes.
National State of Emergency: Cantabrian civil liberties curtailed by a military occupation: cordons, cops, NZDF soldiers. Homes, businesses strangled in the cordoned CBD. The military cordon around Christchurch CBD would continue till July 2013, a 28 month military occupation. In 2011, too shocked, there was hardly a whimper from citizens. Christchurch public protests would evolve in 2012. SILENCE from the rest of NZ.
25.03.11. Makeshift, blue tarp, checkpoint hut. Orange, plastic, road cones, concrete block cordon. Feb 22 quake, national state of emergency, cordon checkpoint, Bealey Ave / Park Tce
*Trekked Durham St Nth, Springfield Rd, Derby St, Papanui Rd, Bealey Ave. 63 snaps.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
No comments:
Post a Comment