During two States of Emergencies post Sept 4, M7.1 Darfield Quake & Feb 22, M6.3 Killer Quake, Christchurch CBD was steel mesh fence cordoned, check-pointed at various crossings by cops & NZDF soldiers. Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, the NZDF cordon would strangle the red zone CBD for 28 months.
Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, parts of the NZDF cordon within the CBD 4 Avenues were designated red zone. Thereafter over several weeks the red zone cordon shrunk around the CBD after bldg inspections & quake demolitions. Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, I'd trekked around liquefactioned CBD red zone & since had trekked bits of CBD red zone perimeter as it shrunk closer to Avon River.
Couple of days before the June 13 Quake, I'd trekked opened red zone close to Christchurch Town Hall ghost & Convention Centre ghost. Again, I wanted to see what had happened there & beyond.
CERA made the Landcheck website which divided Christchurch land into red zone, orange zone, white zone, green zone, according to land condition post quakes. But none of the CBD red zone cordoned roads, were designated red zone on the Landcheck website. Thus CERA had apartheid separated the CBD red zone & residential red zones in the suburbs.
The new red zone designation enabled NZ National govt to buy red zone, residential land from 5 100 home owners whose homes were designated red zone by NZ National govt. i.e. The land was so quake damaged, according to NZ National govt, houses needed to be demolished & displaced home owners had to find new land & homes. Quakes, then displacement by NZ National govt red zoning.
Residential red zoning would be contentious, as some red zoned housing was hardly damaged & home owners were pressured to sell to NZ National govt by threats of cutting off services, like water & sewage reticulation, electricity supply, landline phones, rubbish removal.
NZ National govt's residential "taking" (official term) would enable NZ National govt to increase Crown assets at citizens' expense. NZ National govt was already selling Crown assets owned by taxpayers, like utility shares. And would use taxpayers' money to buy NZ National govt designated, red zone land, owned by Christchurch taxpayers.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, slumped & cracked Avon River bank, Carlton Mill Rd
Green zone property owners could do quake repairs. Red zone property owners had to negotiate with NZ National govt & / or insurers for compensation. Orange & white zone property owners' lands were in limbo. NZ National govt still needed to decide whether their land was worth rebuilding on or not: like Port Hills suburbs, or Christchurch CBD. NZ National govt thus used quakes to revalue all Christchurch land & used NZ taxpayers' money to take alleged quake trashed land owned by Christchurch taxpayers.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake danger, quake cracked flats, Avon River bank, Carlton Mill Rd
Checking Landcheck streets in the CBD former red zone, I only found orange, white, green zone designations, with CERA excuses that further assessments & mapping were needed. But cordoned CBD was designated red zone in the first place, citizens banned entry on pain of cop or NZDF soldier arrest, except for CERA's favoured few. Yet Council would write a draft rebuild plan for CBD land not properly checked like residential suburbs. Thus Council wanted a CBD rebuild on quake crapped land. CERA's busy work for Council, CERA usurping Council functions & personnel. CERA's meddling in Council affairs would carry on for 5 years.
05.07.11. DANGER KEEP OUT. White, plastic, tape cordon. Post June 13 quake danger, quake damaged house, Avon River bank, Carlton Mill Rd
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, abandoned, quake damaged housing & scaffolded flats, Avon River bank, Carlton Mill Rd
Inside the CBD red zone cordon there was much quake shaking, jolting, grey quakemire from the Avon River & underground streams, causing damage to Christchurch CBD. Red zone CBD would be a vast demolition zone during CERA's 5 year regime.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, DANGER KEEP OUT, white, plastic, tape cordon, quake trashed house, Avon River bank, Carlton Mill Rd. The house would be demolished
Carlton Mill Rd: Parked by Avon River, beyond the cordoned CBD. I often drove that way, past blocks of ghost flats & ghost houses. Due to lateral spreading, Avon River bank was cracked, slumped towards sewage polluted, river waters. Flats, smaller bldgs were cracked, slumped too. One multi-storey, block of flats was wrapped in scaffolding & white plastic.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Avon River bank slumped near quake damaged housing, Carlton Mill Rd. Slumping, due to lateral spreading
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, scaffolded, white, plastic wrapped, quake damaged flats, Avon River bank, Carlton Mill Rd
Bealey Ave: Snapped demolition rubble being excavated from old Carlton Hotel site, demolished weeks before. Ruined doorways had stood testament to Carlton Hotel & Burger King before their demolition.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Carlton Bridge, Carlton Mill Rd / Harper Ave / Park Tce
Bealey Ave / Park Tce: Pavement sign:
PUNTING
ON THE
AVON
ANTIGUA
BOATSHED
CAFE &
BOAT HIRE
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Avon River Punting sign, Bealey Ave / Park Tce. During the Feb 22 quake, National State of Emergency the crossing was a cop / NZDF soldier checkpoint into Christchurch CBD, forbidden red zone. A LAV was regularly parked nearby
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordoned, yellow digger. Post June 13 Quake, final demolition of Carlton Hotel site, Bealey Ave / Papanui Rd. Carlton Hotel was damaged by the Sept 4 quake, scaffolded & steel braced for months, then trashed by the Feb 22 quake
Bealey Ave: By Saggio di vino demolition site, stood a steel skeleton of a new post quake, tilt slab bldg. Few new bldgs were going up post quake, yet. Opp was Knox Presbyterian Church ghost, gaping nave holes, beneath wooden arches, battered by quakes. Knox Church would stand empty, abandoned for 2 years before copper clad, wall restoration in 2014.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, Knox Presbyterian Church, Bealey Ave / Victoria St. Knox Church was badly damaged by the Sept 4 quake, board repaired, then trashed by the Feb 22 quake. Cordoned Saggio di vino demolition site in foreground. Knox Church would stand derelict till Oct 2013, when its restoration began
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, steel mesh fence cordon signs, Bealey Ave / Victoria St
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, concrete tilt slab, construction site on Sept 4 quake demolition site, Victoria St, near Bealey Ave
05.07.11. Post June 13 Quake, shipping containers guarding Fidelity Life ghost, soon demolished, Victoria St, near Bealey Ave
Victoria St: Livelier than my trek weeks before. Traffic on the road, some businesses closed, some open, awaiting customers. USAR / TF graffiti still polluted closed business facades & pavements. Differing dates on different USAR / TF teams' graffiti showed teams checking the work of other teams. C or CLEAR meant no bodies.
Example:
NZTF1
1/3
NZTF2
5.3
Shipping containers guarded quake damaged, Fidelity Life ghost, demolished the next week. Spags open, awaiting pizza customers. Gordon Smith & Sons Fruiterers open, advertising Fresh Fish & Bananas $1.49kg.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, closed business with USAR / TF graffiti, Victoria St, between Bealey Ave & Salisbury St crossings. Clear meant no bodies
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, open shop, Victoria St
Victoria st / Montreal St: Across Montreal St, The Cook Shop customers were seated at a pavement table, viewing quake demolition sites.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake damaged, steel mesh fence cordoned bldg, Victoria St / Salisbury St. The bldg would be demolished
Victoria St / Salisbury St: Trekked past Strategy demolition site. Opp 4 storey ghost, still steel mesh fence cordoned, windows shattered. Multi-storey would be demolished.
Victoria St / Salisbury St / Montreal St crossing: Jubilee Clock Tower stood firmm, battered, steel finial skewed, in front of battered Victoria Mansions. Demolition sites behind. Jubilee Clock Tower would be repaired. Victoria Mansions would survive the quakes, but would be abandoned for years. 2022. Still abandoned.
05.07.11. DANGER CONSTRUCTION SITE. Orange, plastic, fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, Strategy bldg, Feb 22 quake demolition site, Victoria St / Salisbury St. Feb 22 quake damaged, Jubilee Clock Tower & abandoned Victoria Mansions beyond
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake damaged, Jubilee Clock Tower & Victoria Mansions, Victoria St / Salisbury St / Montreal St
Victoria St / Salisbury St / Montreal St crossing: Post Sept 4 Darfield Quake & Feb 22 Killer Quake demolition site, where an antique business once stood, had purple flowers growing in a bed before a "Rebuild Brick by Brick" sign. During the Feb 22 Killer Quake, National State of Emergency, the crossing was riddled with NZDF soldiers & cops, checkpointing National State of Emergency demolitions behind steel mesh fence cordons & shipping containers.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Sept 4 quake demolition site with flowers & sign, Victoria St / Salisbury St
Victoria St / Peterborough St crossing: Trekked past NZ Early Childhood Education demolition site. Christchurch Casino opp was open, awaiting customers. Sewage sucker truck sucked muck from Peterborough St by the Casino. The Est@blishment ghost on the opp cnr, steel mesh fence cordoned, awaited demolition.
05.07.11. Victoria St / Peterborough St view, post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake damaged Christchurch Casino & cordoned Crowne Plaza Hotel & Copthorne Hotel beyond. Both hotels would be demolished
05.07.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake damaged, WE ARE OPEN, Christchurch Casino, Victoria St / Peterborough St
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged, The Est@blishment, awaiting demolition, Victoria St / Peterborough St
Beyond Christchurch Casino: opp shops & restaurants closed; Riverlands House ghost, steel mesh fence cordoned, boarded; Copthorne Hotel ghost, steel mesh fence cordoned, boarded, clear plastic shimmied where window panes once were. Crowne Plaza Hotel ghost, Kilmore St, steel mesh fence cordoned, boarded, a chunk of masonry recently fallen from a first floor. Riverlands House, Copthorne Hotel, Crowne Plaza Hotel would all be demolished. Riverland House would be rebuilt.
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged, steel mesh fence cordoned Riverlands House, Victoria St / Kilmore St. Riverlands House would be demolished
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged Copthorne Hotel, awaiting demolition, Victoria St / Kilmore St
05.07.11. NO ENTRY. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged bldgs: Crowne Plaza Hotel left, Copthorne Hotel middle, Riverlands House right, Victoria St / Kilmore St. All 3 bldgs would be demolished
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged, steel mesh fence cordoned, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Victoria St / Kilmore St. Crowne Plaza Hotel would be demolished
Kilmore St: Restaurants & businesses closed. Christchurch Convention Centre ghost: broken glass by doors, some boarded. Convention Centre would be demolished. Town Hall ghost, awaited repairs, closed, blue portaloo & shipping container obscured front doors. No workmen in sight. Red zone, steel mesh fence cordon still curved across Kilmore St / Colombo St crossing.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake damaged business, Kilmore St / Durham St Nth. The bldg would be demolished
05.07.11. White, plastic, tape cordon. Post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake damaged bldg, Kilmore St. The bldg would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordoned, Feb 22 quake, sinkhole below Christchurch Convention Centre airbridge, Kilmore St. The Convention Centre & airbridge would be demolished. Abandoned Town Hall right, would be repaired
05.07.11. White, plastic, tape cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged Christchurch Convention Centre, Kilmore St. The Convention Centre would be demolished
05.07.11. Blue shipping container & portaloo by Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged / closed Town Hall, Kilmore St
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, steel mesh fence cordon across Colombo St / Kilmore St crossing. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished
Southwards down steel mesh fence cordoned Colombo St, beyond Avon River, I snapped red zone, high-rise ghosts before Christ Church Cathedral ghost.
Northwards outside the steel mesh fence cordon, opp Town Hall ghost, a Feb 22 Killer Quake demolition site, where bricks had fallen from 5 ghost shops. A grey liquefaction volcano lay in demolition sand. The 5 Colombo St shops would be demolished, incl Dusty Old Things Antiques, Whisky Galore.
Eastwards, Kilmore St side, behind cordon fence, part demolished brick bldg. It would be completely demolished. Many bldgs were part demolished, then stood around for months, awaiting complete demolition.
Example: Christ Church Cathedral ghost was damaged in the Sept 4 Darfield Quake. The tower collapsed in the Feb 22 Killer Quake. The tower was part demolished, then completely demolished. A steel "battering ram" was erected to support the W wall. The June 13 Quake caused the 'battering ram" to batter the W wall & rose window to bits. Thereafter Heritage hailers would wail about saving Christ Church Cathedral. Court cases would stop Anglicans demolishing Christ Church Cathedral, which stood fence cordoned, abandoned to the elements for years.
Only in 2018, after National govt succumbed, when Labour MP, Dr Megan Woods briefly took over responsibility for Christchurch rebuild, would there be glimmerings of Christ Church Cathedral restoration. It would take years.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake demolition sites seen from Kilmore St / Colombo St
05.07.11. June 13 quake, liquefaction volcano on Feb 22 quake demolition site, Kilmore St / Colombo St. The trashed bldg would be demolished
05.07.11. Sludgy liquefaction volcano through new asphalt, by Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged shop, Colombo St, near Town Hall. The bldg would be demolished
05.07.11. Colombo St view, Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake trashed bldg, between Kilmore St & Peterborough St. The bldg would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake trashed shop, Colombo St. The shop would be demolished
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged shops, Colombo St. The shops would be demolished
05.07.11. Thai Smile, Colombo St, would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake survivor bldg, Colombo St
05.07.11. Closed, red stickered bldg & quake junk, Colombo St / Peterborough St. The bldg would be demolished
Peterborough St, eastwards: Still deserted after my last trek, same old liquefactioned, battered, fence cordoned, red zone bldgs. One ghost house site, more demolished. Mechanic's ghost business next door, newly demolished.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, part demolished Feb 22 quake damaged housing, Peterborough St. The bldgs would be completely demolished
05.07.11.Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake trashed house, Peterborough St. The house would be demolished
05.07.11. Skip & steel mesh fence cordon. Quake trashed house, Peterborough St, demolished post June 13 quake
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Peterborough St. CBD steel mesh fence cordon fence left
Manchester St: Serial quake broken St Lukes Anglican Church ghost: June 13 Quake, a wall fell from the broken church by St Lukes Close. Several other church walls collapsed too. The church roof was tagged in a high line with red plastic ties, for kauri beam, roof removal by crane. Workmen in orange, Hi-Vis vests demolished St Lukes. Only the white-painted, wooden bell tower would survive the quakes.
05.07.11. White, plastic, tape cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake liquefactioned St Lukes Close, Manchester St
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4, Feb 22, June 13 quake trashed St Lukes Anglican Church, Manchester St / Kilmore St. St Lukes would be demolished after the kauri beamed roof was removed by crane
Manchester St businesses were crumbled, more liquefactioned. Cnr Kilmore St: road sinkhole by Chubb ghost, a black sewage pipe on the road. Chubb would be demolished.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, asphalt buckled carpark, Kilmore St / Manchester St. The bldg would be demolished
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged bldgs, both sides of unseen Sept 4 quake trashed Repertory Theatre, Kilmore St. Repertory Theatre & all bldgs in the pic would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, liquefactioned Chubb bldg, Manchester St / Kilmore St. Chubb would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, liquefaction sinkhole by Chubb bldg, Manchester St / Kilmore St
05.07.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake, liquefactioned Cancer Society bldg, Manchester St
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake trashed bldgs, Manchester St. Unseen PGC bldg demolition site behind. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished
Manchester St / Cambridge Tce: nearby PGC demolition site, where 18 people died in the Feb 22 Killer Quake, still double, steel mesh fence cordoned. Workmen in orange, Hi-Vis vests snooped. Condolence messages on the fence cordon.
05.07.11. EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT. Post June 13 quake, CBD steel mesh fence cordon, Manchester St / Cambridge Tce. Quake closed businesses beyond. All bldgs in the pic, incl PWC high rise & Retour Restaurant, would be demolished. Only the copper dome of Retour Restaurant would survive the quakes, plastic wrapped on site for years. 2020-21: The Rotunda would be rebuilt, new columns, old copper dome restored. PWC demo site would enable the new RC Cathedral precinct
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Feb 22 quake, double, steel mesh fence cordon by PGC demolition site, Manchester St / Cambridge Tce. 18 people died when the PGC bldg collapsed, Feb 22 quake. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished. 2016. My son would do pre-demolition, salvage work in the front bldg
Cordon fence poster:
A CITY BROKEN
- BUT IT WILL MEND
A CITY FALLEN
- BUT IT WILL RISE AGAIN
PEOPLE SCREAMING,
WEEPING, IN DESPAIR
- BUT THEY WILL
SMILE AGAIN
FOR FROM ALL THIS
DEVASTATION, DESTRUCTION
AND DESPAIR
THERE WILL COME
A STRONG CITY
A SAFE CITY
A BEAUTIFUL CITY
A GARDEN CITY
MY CITY / OUR CITY
CHRISTCHURCH
Over the next few weeks I would see those words on several CBD cordon fences.
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake, liquefactioned Canterbury Manufacturers Association bldg, Manchester St / Cambridge Tce. The bldg would be demolished & replaced by a small park.
Cambridge Tce: Soggy road to myself, I trekked eastwards, below poplars, by Avon River to Madras St. All Cambridge Tce bldgs were closed, incl Canterbury Manufacturers Association ghost on the cnr. CMA would be demolished, a small park developed on site.
Beyond Avon River, amongst Oxford Tce, high-rise ghosts, by ACC ghost a board sign: DUST MASK + HELMET!! ACC would be demolished. By Dec 2015, Margaret Mahy Family Playground would be built on site.
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged ACC bldg, Oxford Tce, seen from Cambridge Tce. ACC would be demolished. Margaret Mahy Family Playground would be built on site
Ashley Campbell proposed an Avon River Park on red zoned riverlands. She'd opened a Facebook page with the Avon River Park idea. I gave permission to use some of my blog pics of Avon River wetlands. Facebook discussion, mostly positive, about the proposed Avon River Park.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Cambridge Tce view, Avon River poplars by CBD steel mesh fence cordon, Oxford Tce. Feb 22 quake trashed Hotel Grand Chancellor beyond, would be demolished
The Press 02.07.11 reported on Avon River Park: "Gerry Brownlee told The Press that the land would be remediated eventually and engineered for residential sections once again..." Land-grab by NZ National govt's residential red zoning, stomping on citizens land rights & speculation by NZ National govt using taxpayers' money. Red zoning insulted home owners forced from red zoned land. NZ National govt speculated on red zone land, bought cheaply from displaced people. (2007 Rates Value compensation, never mind tight-fisted insurers). Current land remediation was soil bashing & underground dams, after Christchurch had sunk into swampland. Never mind foundation base isolation & other foundation techniques, like thicker concrete slabs, which could only be tested in future quakes.
Facebook, my Avon River Park comment: "Sad about home owners losing their land. If NZ govt wants to get its red zone, compensation money back it could plant native trees, selling them as carbon credits in their own carbon credit scheme." (2022. New Brighton Rd: Citizen Working Bees would plant 1000s of native trees on residential red zone land near Avon River).
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, NZDF cordon checkpoint, Madras St / Oxford Tce crossing. The Poplars beyond would be demolished
Beyond Avon River, Madras St / Oxford Tce crossing checkpoint was the same as before, cop & NZDF soldiers checking vehicles accessing the red zone, via the steel mesh fence cordon. Oxford Tce Baptist Church would be demolished, a pile of concrete, backed by Chester St, ghost housing. Oxford Tce Baptist Church would be rebuilt 2017. Post rebuild, I would frequent Pillars Cafe, Madras St / Oxford Tce, salvaged Ionic columns fronting the new church.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, Oxford Tce Baptist Church demolition site. Chester St quake damaged bldg beyond would be demolished. The church would be rebuilt 2017
Trekked Cambridge Tce beside Avon River to Barbadoes St, then visited side streets off red zone, demolition zone Madras St to Latimer Sq, not all streets, as the winter afternoon shortened.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, sewage polluted Avon River, The Bricks, Cambridge Tce right, Oxford Tce left
Kilmore St: Fire Service ghost still had a plastic tunnel house outside cordoning the street, parked fire engines awaiting action. Kilmore St / Barbadoes St: Relocated business signs on demolition sites, example:
Jane Carter
Naturopath
Herbal
dispensing
Re-location to:
7 Milton Street
Barrington
Ph...
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RAPID RESPONSE SHELTER
FEATURES
Dimensions. External: 10 sq m
Internal: 2,150 (D) x 3,950 (W) x 2,050 - 2,350 (H)
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Under floor polystyrene
Roofing. Long run zincalume
Cladding. 10mm H3 plywood
Electrical, 1 x light, 1 x double power point
No permit required
Price $9,995, incl GST
Please enquire within
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, checkpoint hut specifications, CBD cordon, seen at Madras St cordon
The wooden huts were found at open & closed checkpoints all around the CBD steel mesh fence cordon. Waste of taxpayers' money, considering a good second hand car could be bought for half that price. National State of Emergency, Civil Defence "looting" taxpayers' purses. Given that each puny checkpoint hut cost $10 000, it was risible that EQC was reinsured for only $100 000 for each undercap house claim.
In a leaky carpark, a bloke by his bike stared at the sunken Canterbury Trade Union Centre ghost inside the steel mesh fence cordon. Next door, a smaller ghost, brick wall peeled off. Bldgs would be demolished for Margaret Mahy Family Playground carpark.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, sunken Canterbury Trade Union Centre, Madras St / Armagh St. The bldgs would be demolished for Margaret Mahy Family Playground carpark
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, leaky, liquefactioned carpark, Madras St, steel mesh fence cordon. The bldgs would be demolished for Margaret Mahy Family Playground carpark
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, closed, steel mesh fence cordoned, quake damaged bldgs, Madras St, near Oxford Tce crossing. The bldgs incl The Poplars right would be demolished for Margaret Mahy Family Playground carpark
Armagh St / Madras St: Quake sunk Amicus House ghost would be demolished. Along Madras St, Harcourts & Securities House were already demolished. Near Gloucester St cnr, 2 orange diggers completed demolition of Securities House in late afternoon sunlight.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, quake trashed Amicus House right, later demolished, Madras St / Armagh St cordon. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, diggers demolish Securities House, Madras St cordon. Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel behind survived the quakes
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, 2 orange diggers demolish Securities House, Madras St / Gloucester St. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished
Barbadoes St: Serial quake damages: a ghost house, brick wall peeled off, rooms exposed. 2 storey, ghost house, Worcester St cnr, brick walls peeled off, a board sign: DO NOT DEMOLISH! Wishful thinking, the house would be demolished. The demolition site would become a temporary Youth Hub. Nearby, red digger parked on top of house demolition rubble.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, serial, quake damaged, old, brick house, Barbadoes St
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, serial, quake damaged, 2 storey house, Barbadoes St / Worcester St. The house would be demolished
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, red digger on demolition rubble, Barbadoes St, near Worcester St crossing
Hereford St to Latimer Sq steel mesh fence cordon: Some damaged bldgs, empty. Brick Hereford House gone, demolished. Brick Beaufort House trashed. When I'd trekked that way before, a sign: "Do Not Demolish Heritage." Beaufort House B & B owner would deconstruct Beaufort House, brick by brick.
Across the road, St Johns Anglican Church ghost would soon be demolished. Shigaru Ban's Cardboard Cathedral would be built on St Johns demolition site.
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake broken Beaufort House, Hereford St. Beaufort House would be demolished & replaced by flats
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake, Feb 22 quake, June 13 quake trashed St Johns Anglican Church, Hereford St / Madras St. St Johns would be demolished. Shigaru Ban's Cardboard Cathedral would be built on site
Cashel St: Sludged past Provincial Hotel, cnr demolition site, to CTV demolition site, Cashel St / Madras St.
05.07.11. Demolition site, Sept 4 quake damaged, serial quake trashed Provincial Hotel, Barbadoes St / Cashel St
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolition site, Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed St Pauls Trinity Pacific Presbyterian Church, Cashel St / Madras St
CTV, fire-blackened lift shaft gone, demolished. All that was left of CTV & 115 dead was an empty demolition site, nearby graffiti on a brick wall, dead flowers on the steel mesh fence cordon, opp Holden Motors. No one around, but me.
CERA erred by dumping CTV demolition rubble at Burwood dump (at a separate cordoned site) destroying forensic evidence. A year later at the July 2012 Royal Commission of Inquiry, engineers would claim ignorance as to why CTV collapsed. (Forensic evidence gone, incl 4 unfound pulverised bodies).
IRD ghost stood opp CTV site. In future, long after Christchurch CBD was red zoned, occupied by CERA & NZDF cordons, we would post our annual tax returns to Wellington IRD. Post quakes, Fletcher would build flats on Bedford Row behind IRD ghost, part of CERA's housing by its Blueprint E Frame. None of the tilt-slab flats would have garages. Oct 2021 when I trekked E Frame shortened Bedford Row, fence signs by the new flats:
RESIDENTS ONLY
Non-authorised
vehicles will
be towed
Please phone Parks Towing on...
05.07.11. Condolence flowers on demolition site, steel mesh fence cordon, Feb 22 quake collapsed CTV bldg, Madras St / Cashel St
Cashel St / Madras St, opp IRD: Demolished St Pauls Trinity Pacific Presbyterian Church, a pile of Oamaru whitestone, column drums remained. Pile of church wood beams, 2 fluted blue & gold painted, steel poles remained. Tangled pile of scaffolding pipes remained.
Lichfield St: To the demolition zone, a half demolished, brick bldg beyond the steel mesh fence cordon. Ghosts loomed down the street. Broken window glass lay on the pavement by fabric house ghost, near a portaloo. The bldg would be demolished. Steel mesh fence cordon, protest sign:
WE'RE
READY
WHEN'S
CERA
05.07.11. EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, quake damaged fabric house, Lichfield St. The bldg would be demolished.
Steel mesh fence cordon, ubiquitous threat sign:
EXTREME
DANGER
KEEP
OUT
Over the next 2 years during CERA's occupation of the red zone CBD, citizens paid rates & taxes to be banned from Christchurch CBD by NZ National govt. Excuse: public safety. During CERA's CBD demolitions & rebuild lethargy, CERA would struggle to convince citizens it was OK to return to the CERA demolished CBD. There would be little to see, just ghosts & CERA demolished wasteland.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordoned Lichfield St / Madras St crossing. Serial quake trashed Lichfield St bldgs beyond. All the bldgs in the pic would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, part demolished bldg, Lichfield St / Madras St. The bldg would stay part demolished for years, an eyesore
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, 2 quake crushed cars in carpark between Lichfield St / Tuam St. Green, plastic sewage tank beyond
Block between Lichfield St / Tuam St empty space: Turners & Growers site, parked excavator machines, trucks, two crushed cars. CERA would Blueprint a new stadium on Turners & Growers site, but by 2022 the stadium was not built yet, just a fence around Turners & Growers site, demolished road strips within between Madras St & Barbadoes St.
Tuam St checkpoint: Spoke to a NZDF soldier checking trucks leaving the red zone, demolition zone: "When trucks leave," he said, "they drive under that raised water pipe on Tuam St, to shower sludge off."
Poplar St: Where Jake had pre quakes flatted in the red zone. Brick ghosts nearby. Most Poplar St bldgs would be demolished.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, carpark view, serial quake trashed Madras St bldgs, between Tuam St / Lichfield St cordoned crossings. Edward Gibbon would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, serial quake trashed Madras St bldgs. Inland Revenue bldg behind. Edward Gibbon & apex car hire, between, would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, Tuam St / Madras St checkpoint view, serial quake damaged Tuam St bldgs. Quake trashed Poplar St junction, by face brick bldg. Edward Gibbon & bldgs up to Alice in Videoland (old PO, creamy parapet) would be demolished
05.07.11. NO ENTRY. Steel mesh fence cordon, checkpoint, NZDF soldier. Post June 13 quake, Tuam St / Madras St crossing
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, brick wall peeled off bldg by quake, Tuam St, near Madras St cordon checkpoint
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, C4 Coffee, relocated from CBD cordoned Poplar St to Tuam St, near Madras St cordon checkpoint
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, truck wash by CBD, red zone checkpoint, Tuam St / Madras St cordon checkpoint
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, serial quake damaged RC Cathedral dome, seen from Barbadoes St / St Asaph St crossing. The dome would be removed by crane
St Asaph St: Gridlocked.
St Asaph St / Barbadoes St: Serial quake trashed, brick, Community of the Sacred Name, Anglican Convent ghost. The Convent would be demolished. RC Cathedral ghost: Dome, bare wooden skeleton, copper plating gone. Dome would be removed by crane. RC Cathedral would be abandoned for years, then demolished, 2020-21.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, serial quake damaged, brick, Community of the Sacred Name, Anglican Convent, Barbadoes St / St Asaph St. The Convent would be demolished
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, CBD cordon fence signs, St Asaph St, near Christchurch Polytech
St Asaph St: Opp a CPIT bldg, June 13 Quake, collapsed, old, brick bldg, sprawled behind a fence cordon, rubble, tangled metal on the road. Steel mesh fence cordon sign:
EARTHQUAKE DEAL!
Lost your gym?
*Free joining
*Free uniform
*Free 1st week
Academy of Combat Mixed Martial Arts
Buchan St, Sydenham
ph...
St Asaph / High St crossing: Steel mesh fence cordon, business protest signs:
WELCOME
TO
COLDITZ
IS CERA
PRICE
GOUGING
ON
DEMO'S
IN
LIMBO
AGAIN!
PLEASE SAVE HIGH STREET
THE HEART OF CHCH CITY
Protest signs hung near brick ghosts on High St. Next few years: those High St ghosts would slouch behind steel mesh fence cordons, eyesores.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, blue portaloo, steel mesh fence cordon, St Asaph St / Madras St / High St crossing
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, CBD, steel mesh fence cordon, protest sign, High St / St Asaph St crossing
05.07.11. St Asaph St, CBD, steel mesh fence cordon view, June 13 quake trashed, old, brick bldg, High St
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. CBD business protest sign, by June 13 quake collapsed bldg, High St / St Asaph St cordon
St Asaph St: McKenzie Willis, steel mesh fence cordon, more business protest signs:
MONTH 1
MONTH 2
MONTH 3
MONTH 4
MONTH 5
MONTH 6
WHEN IS THE
RECOVERY
STARTING?
WELCOME
TO
LIMBOLAND
JUST
WAITING?
FRANKLY
BROWNLEE
DOES NOT
GIVE A
DAMN
CHCH
ECONOMIC
RUIN
ASSURED
CERA
COMMUNICATE
NOW
BUSINESS
INTERUPTION (sic)
INSURANCE
HAS NOT
PAID OUT
Near protest signs, relocation / business as usual sign:
Now open at
181 Blenheim Road
Come and visit us
at our new premises
for all your
home furnishing needs
CBD businesses had relocated to the suburbs, while CERA occupied the NZDF cordoned CBD. Those businesses either bought or built new premises, or rented long term in the suburbs. CERA occupied its CBD red zone, demolition zone. It would be years before CBD revived.
Behind St Asaph St steel mesh fence cordon, a Feb 22 Killer Quake, demolition site, with shingle, part demolished bldgs & old brick bldgs backing High St, sanitized, like a "movie set" for rubberneckers & tourists to ogle. (2019. The area would be known as the Salt District).
Many old, brick / stone bldgs on St Asaph St, High St, elsewhere in the CBD, were not made quake-safe, with reinforcements, before 2010-2011 quakes. Thus, Feb 22 Killer Quake deaths by CBD fallen masonry! Death-trap owners in the CBD who didn't quake-reinforce their bldgs had much to answer for.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, serial quake damaged, old brick bldg, St Asaph St cordon
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon signs. Post June 13 quake, business protest signs, part demolished / cleaned up, serial quake damaged bldgs, St Asaph St cordon
Insurers increased insurance premiums on old, unreinforced brick or stone bldgs, making them worthless as Heritage bldgs. Sensible option was to demolish, after whining by Heritage hailers. (The Press front page 12.07.11.) No point in insurers insuring brick & stone death-traps.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, business signs on steel mesh fence cordon, part demolished / sanitized, serial quake damaged bldgs, St Asaph St cordon
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, part demolished / sanitized, serial quake damaged bldgs, St Asaph St cordon. The bldgs would be demolished. 2019. The area would be known as the Salt District
St Asaph St / Manchester St crossing: Snapped more demolition sites & northwards along Manchester St, beyond the steel mesh fence cordon, in the red zone, demolition zone, more ghosts. NZDF soldier did checkpoint duty, contractor access only. Public banned.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake broken bldgs, CBD cordon, Manchester St / St Asaph St. The bldgs would be demolished.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, St Asaph St cordon view, Tuam St quake damaged bldg & quake damaged Holiday Inn & Hotel Grand Chancellor beyond. All the bldgs would be demolished
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, St Asaph St, steel mesh fence cordon view, quake damaged, old, brick bldg, Tuam St. The bldg would be demolished
05.07.11. WARNING NO PUBLIC ACCESS BEYOND THIS POINT. Post June 13 quake, St Asaph St / Manchester St steel mesh fence cordon, checkpoint northwards view, serial quake damaged Manchester St. Most bldgs in the pic would be demolished
05.07.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, part demolished, cleaned up, serial quake damaged bldgs, St Asaph St / Manchester St crossing. All bldgs would be demolished
05.07.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. St Asaph St / Manchester St southwards view, quake damaged, Manchester St bldgs. Most bldgs in the pic would be demolished
05.07.11. NO ENTRY. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, St Asaph St cordon view, quake damaged, brick Odeon Theatre, Manchester St. Odeon Theatre would be part demolished, flies gone, but Tuam St facade would be retained. Odeon Theatre would still be part demolished in 2015, an eyesore
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, St Asaph St cordon view, serial quake damaged bldgs: old Christchurch City Council bldg left, Hotel Grand Chancellor middle & Holiday Inn right. All would be demolished
St Asaph St / Colombo St: Twilight. Snapped a yellow digger, beyond the steel mesh fence cordon, on top of demolition rubble, bashing the remains of a Colombo St, brick ghost.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Digger on rubble. Colombo St demolition, Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake trashed old, brick bldgs, between St Asaph St & Tuam St crossings
In the Feb 22 Killer Quake, 16 people died in the vicinity: 2 died near the brick ghost; 1 died further down Colombo St; 4 died by Mollett St crossing; 8 died in the Sumner number 3 red bus when old, brick bldgs collapsed; 1 died near Tuam St crossing.
05.07.11. Asaph St / Colombo St demolition site view, quake damaged bldgs, Westpac left, Hotel Grand Chancellor middle, Holiday Inn right. All would be demolished
After demolition completion, the digger operator in orange, Hi-Vis vest climbed down from his digger. He chatted to another orange, Hi-Vis vested workman on top of Colombo St rubble. NZDF soldier checkpoint I'd seen weeks before, gone.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen on St Asaph St / Colombo St demolition rubble,
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, yellow digger on blue truck, by serial quake trashed bldgs, Colombo St. Most Colombo St bldgs in the pic would be demolished
Quickening my twilight pace, I returned to Carlton Mill Rd, via Avon River beside the red zone, demolition zone: along St Asaph St, Durham St Sth, Cambridge Tce, Armagh St, Cramner Sq, Montreal St, Victoria St.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. June 13 quake damaged shop, St Asaph St
05.07.11. June 13 quake, steel mesh fence cordoned, quake damaged shop, Durham St South
Although some streets were busy with 5 o'clock traffic, little business went on in the CBD, most shops closed. Passed some walkers, photographers, tourists. My trek past steel mesh fence cordoned, CBD red zone, west side:
Cashel Mall: Cracked Bridge of Remembrance steps behind a fence cordon.
Oxford Tce: Across Avon River, red zone, ghost cafes, ghost high rises.
Cambridge Tce / Hereford St: Opp the Central cop shop (imploded 2015): crumbling, brick & stone, Library Chambers ghost (soon demolished). Quake damaged new Council high-rise behind.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Brand new, Christchurch City Council bldg & old, brick Library Chambers, trashed by Feb 22 & June 13 quakes (soon demolished) Hereford St / Cambridge Tce
Worcester St Bridge: Steel mesh fence cordon view into the red zone: Christ Church Cathedral ghost. Kutwell Fabrics, Club Cafe, Canterbury Cheese Mongers, EXTREME DANGER signs hung on the fence. NZDF soldier checkpoint I'd seen before, gone.
05.07.11. Double, steel mesh fence cordon. June 13 quake, Worcester St Bridge, cordon view, crane obscured, quake damaged Christ Church Cathedral
05.07.11. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake damaged Clarendon Tower, awaiting demolition, Worcester St / Oxford Tce, seen from Cambridge Tce
Durham St Nth / Gloucester St: Red zone checkpoint, NZDF soldier, wooden hut.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St cordon, blue portaloo, checkpoint hut. Feb 22 quake trashed Provincial Chambers beyond
Durham St Nth / Gloucester St: N Red zone. NZDF soldier checkpoint I'd seen before, gone. Crumbled stone, Provincial Chambers ghost would be temp-roofed, abandoned for years, awaiting repairs.
05.07.11. CBD steel mesh fence cordoned, Provincial Chambers, Durham St North, damaged by the Sept 4 quake, trashed by the Feb 22 quake. Provincial Chambers would be temp roofed & abandoned for years, awaiting repairs
Durham St Nth / Armagh St: Twilight, red zone. Asian tourists were thrilled by ruins behind the steel mesh fence cordon. Watched a ute driver pull open the Armagh St steel mesh fence cordon (contractor access only) exiting the red zone. Beyond the steel mesh fence cordon, Copthorne Hotel ghost & Crowne Plaza Hotel ghost awaited demolition.
Although close to Hereford St, Central cop shop, cops & NZDF soldiers were absent. Useless checkpoints! Cops blamed red zone thefts on "looters." Cops tried to organize snitch volunteers as eyes & ears for the cordon exterior.
A red helicopter pilot flew tourists around Christchurch trashed CBD & donated the first $20 of every tourist flight fee to a woman who lost her legs in the Feb 22 Killer Quake. Non cordon, CBD residents complained about their privacy invaded for months by the helicopter.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake tourists by CBD fence cordon, Armagh St / Durham St North. Behind the fence, quake trashed Provincial Chambers
Durham St Nth / Chester St West: Behind the steel mesh fence cordon, Sept 4 Darfield Quake damaged, Feb 22 Killer Quake trashed, June 13 Quake flattened, stone Methodist Church ghost. Three people died there in the Feb 22 Killer Quake. The Sept 4 Darfield Quake left cracks in the Methodist Church stone walls, reinforced with useless steel rods. Thereafter the church was steel mesh fence cordoned. Who had allowed people to enter the damaged church post Sept 4 Darfield Quake damages? The church would be rebuilt, 2018-19.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed, June 13 quake demolished Methodist Church, Durham St North. The church would be rebuilt, 2018-19
Sun 10.07.11. TV reported jackass cops wasting justice system resources, trying to convict Arie Voorkamp, 25, Aspergers syndrome, no previous convictions & his mate for "looting" 2 light-bulbs from a quake destroyed property. (Why weren't cops investigating CTV & PGC collapses in the 22.02.11 Killer Quake, killing scores of people!)
NZDF soldiers elbowed Arie while arresting him, causing a black eye & blackouts. Cops gaoled Arie for 11 nights & his mate for 6 weeks. Cops & their jackass bosses didn't process the case properly, by timeously contacting owners of the "looted" property, informing them of light-bulb "looting."
Considering billions of dollars worth of damage to Canterbury & Christchurch, cops bullying Arie Voorkamp & his mate was pethetic. The case would be dropped by cops after media & public scorn.
Armagh St / Montreal St: Windsor Hotel gone, demolished. Tilt slab bldg rose next door, opp demolished Cranmer Centre.
Montreal St / Kilmore St: Serial quake damaged, Cranmer Court ghost, stone turret lay on the pavement, stones piled on pallets. Cranmer Court would be demolished in 2012 despite public protests. 2023. New Cranmer Terraces would be built on site.
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Jubilee Clock Tower, Montreal St / Victoria St
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, open Caxton Press, Victoria St
05.07.11. Post June 13 quake, open fruiterers, Montreal St / Victoria St
Victoria St: Gordon Smith & Sons Fruiterers, still open for trade. Caxton Press open, night workmen working presses, seen through glass windows.
Victoria St / Bealey Ave: Crumbled Knox Presbyterian Church, wooden roof arches & roof were silhouetted, lit by passing traffic. Two years would pass before restoration began on Knox Church, cladding it with copper walls.
05.07.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, twilight, quake trashed Knox Presbyterian Church, Victoria St / Bealey Ave. Knox Church would be restored in 2014 with copper clad walls
Back home, my feet & jandals were quakemired, not even rain washed mud off properly. Shoes, feet needed scrubbing.
*Trekked Carlton Mill Rd, Bealey Ave, Victoria St, Kilmore St, Colombo St, Peterborough St, Manchester St, Cambridge Tce, Barbadoes St, Madras St, Hereford St, Cashel St, Lichfield St, St Asaph St, Durham St South, Durham St North. 232 snaps.
Fri 08.07.11. Relocated Jake's gear across town from his Cranford St "flat," a quake trashed garage, to Gilby St, off Armagh St, near Fitzgerald Ave, second quake move in 4.5 months. Drove Jake's girlfriend & new landlady across town to Hillmorton via Lincoln Rd. Dig a Tattoo, old, brick ghost, Dickens St cnr, brick walls peeled off, later demolished. Did 2 more moves of Jake's gear for storage at our Burnside rental.
Did 2 more moves of his former landlady's gear to another rental down Cranford St to Sherborne St. She moved, non red zone home, as her Feb 22 Killer Quake cracked home was liquefactioned, builders were moving in to fix things post June 13 Quake.
At one point on Sherborne St, with 5 passengers, I held up busy traffic, jack-knifing our trailer while reversing in grey quakemire. Lumps, bumps, potholes, patched roads made trailer towing a roller coaster ride along Wairakei Rd, Heaton St, Innes Rd, Cranford St, Sherborne St, Bealey Ave, Fitzgerald Ave, Stanmore Rd...
Post Feb 22 Killer Quake, Jake moved 4 times in 6 months, before settling in a Geraldine St flat & finding another hospitality job. Due to the Feb 22 Killer Quake, he'd lost his best friend, crushed in a Manchester St pub; lost possessions in his Waltham Rd, quake flooded flat; lost his restaurant job, twice, after surviving a collapsing restaurant wall. As parents we helped pay his weekly bills & rent for several months; washed his quake soiled clothes; helped his flat moves & stored his furniture at our Burnside rental.
Jake's & his landlady's relocations were microcosms of 1 000s of quake moves in Christchurch. Population shifts all over: some in the city, some to outside towns, like Rangiora, Rolleston. When EQC got its slow act together, there would be more moves to scarce rentals, while Fletcher repaired undercap houses. The rental market inflated. And CERA minister Brownlee would deny there was a housing crisis.
The Press 08.07.11. Front page article reported "new" faults: Sept 4 Darfield Quake, Greendale Fault; Dec 26, Boxing Day, Christchurch Fault; Feb 22, Killer Quake, Port Hills Fault, all running west - east; June 13, Peninsula Fault, running NW - SE from Sumner, across Lyttelton Harbour, Port Levy to Pigeon Bay, about 20km from Christchurch.
Coda:
The Press 14.08.15. Brower Amendment, Building Amendment Bill: Ann Brower was the only survivor in the Sumner number 3 red bus crushed by falling masonry on Colombo St, near Mollett St junction, during the 22.02.11 Killer Quake. Due to Ann's lobbying, the Brower Amendment in the Building Amendment Bill ensured that parapets, chimneys, gables, facades on old bldgs throughout NZ would be repaired. Bldg owners of unreinforced bldgs throughout NZ were given 7.5 years to strengthen their bldgs.
June 2019. Years after removal of CBD steel mesh fence cordons, I trekked down improved Mollett St, renamed The Greenway, Te Ara Pu Ha, a transformed lane between buildings, like new build, 4 storey, Unlimited Discovery School. Students took pics of native plantings, like totara, matai, tussocks, amongst concrete seats & picnic tables on The Greenway. 2022. Luke's girlfriend's 2 sons would attend Unlimited Discovery School.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Police drop looting charges (The Press)
See Ann Brower, Fix the parapets first (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Clean up at bomb site Christ Church Cathedral will start next month (The Press / Stuff Co).
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