Sunday, July 17, 2011

CERA Regime. Nurses Hostel Demolition & Daffodils

Nurses Hostel demolition focus. Sat 16.07.11. I wanted to see end demolition of old Hagley Hostel, cc 1931, nurses hostel, being demolished since mid May. It was 10 months post Sept 4, M7.1 Darfield Quake & a month post June 13 Quake. The nurses hostel was damaged in the Feb 22, M6.3 Killer Quake & red stickered for demolition by Civil Defence during the National State of Emergency.


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, yellow digger demolishes a house, Carlton Mill Rd / Bealey Ave





Carlton Mill Rd: Snapped a yellow digger demolishing an old house, Bealey Ave cnr. Yellow digger crunched & heaped wooden remains. Workman wearing a mask, hosed water on house remains, laying dust. Neighbour skittered around the site, worried about dust & debris polluting his house. He didn't stay long, neither did I, wary of asbestos. Erect, brick chimney on top of rubble remained, framed by wintry, leafless trees.


16.07.11. BEWARE UNEVEN SURFACE. Post June 13 quake, Avon River footbridge, Christchurch Botanic Gdns carpark


Parked my car in Botanic Gdns carpark, trekked through Botanic Gdns to Hagley Hostel, Riccarton Ave: Near the the carpark, a digger stood by empty Christchurch Model Yacht Club pond. Avon River footbridge, threat sign:

BEWARE
UNEVEN
SURFACE.

By the rose garden, hot house, Cuningham House, white, plastic taped, steel fence cordoned in front of the concrete balcony. The balcony cracked, unstable, yellow stickered. World Peace Bell, red, plastic, tape cordoned. Across Avon River again, Bandsmen's Memorial, steel mesh fence cordoned.


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, closed Cuningham House hot house, Christchurch Botanic Gdns


16.07.11. Bench plaque, Christchurch Botanic Gdns


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, danger taped, World Peace Bell, Christchurch Botanic Gdns


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, steel mesh fence cordoned Bandsmen's Memorial, Christchurch Botanic Gdns

Botanic Gdns: By a wooden fence & obscuring tree, I snapped a yellow digger at Hagley Hostel demolition site, loading scrap metal into a dump truck. Back of the yellow digger cab, cursive words: DECONSTRUCTION ARTIST. The yellow digger raised & dropped several bits of metal, loosening concrete. Ground thumping felt like aftershocks.


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Botanic Gdns view of a yellow digger loading Hagley Hostel demolition metal into a truck by Christchurch Women's Hospital






16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Hagley Hostel, yellow digger, Christchurch Hospital




16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, fire engine, Hagley Hostel demolition site, Christchurch Hospital


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, 2 yellow diggers, Hagley Hostel demolition site, Christchurch Hospital

Botanic Gdns: By Avon River side, under oak trees I trekked round the back of Christchurch Hospital, for a better view of Hagley Hostel demolition site. Back of Christchurch Women's Hospital, I snapped a pile of demolition rubble, 2 yellow diggers & a fire engine on top. Two workmen in yellow, Hi-Vis vests hovered, scowling at me, too close to their steel mesh fence cordon. I couldn't approach Riccarton Ave side of the demolition site, as shipping containers blocked my way by Women's Hospital.


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, back view, Christchurch Women's Hospital & Hagley Hostel demolition site, Christchurch Hospital


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Riverside entrance, Christchurch Hospital


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Avon River bank excavation & Botanic Gdns steel mesh fence cordon. Christchurch Arts Centre & YMCA beyond trees


16.07.11. White / orange, plastic bollard, orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Post June 13 quake, yellow, electricity generator, Christchurch Hospital carpark by Avon River


16.07.11. White / orange, plastic bollard, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake & June 13 quake closed Antigua St Footbridge over Avon River, by Antigua Boat Sheds, near Christchurch Hospital

Botanic Gdns: Continuing trekking round Christchurch Hospital, I snapped Avon River scenes by the hospital RIVERSIDE entrance. Across the river through wintry trees I saw multi-storey YMCA & Christchurch Arts Centre ghost. On the opp river bank excavations were near the water. Higher up the bank, steel mesh fence cordon in Botanic Gdns.

Hospital Bridge over Avon River: Coolpixed a yellow, electricity generator in the hospital carpark, behind a combo-cordon: white / orange, plastic bollard, orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence.

Antigua St Footbridge over Avon River to Antigua Boat Sheds: closed since the Feb 22 Killer Quake, combo-cordoned by white / orange, plastic bollards & a steel mesh fence.


16.07.11. KEEP CALM and CARRY ON. Post Feb 22 quake tea towells, Christchurch Hospital bookshop, Riccarton Ave


Hospital bookshop window: Snapped tea towells, raising Feb 22 Killer Quake funds. Red towell, WW11 slogan, white lettering:

  KEEP
 CALM
    and
CARRY
    ON

White, tea towell, orange Edmonds Flour can:

CHRISTCHURCH
  SURE TO RISE

Pic of Christ Church Cathedral on the can, sun's rays behind the Cathedral.


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, 8 green, plastic sewage tanks, full of crap, Christchurch Hospital main entrance, Riccarton Ave


Ricccarton Ave: In the front carpark near Christchurch Hospital main entrance, eight green, plastic, sewage tanks held hospital quake crap. Old lady with walking stick hobbled past, put coins in a pay carpark machine.


16.07.11. DANGER KEEP OUT. Post June 13 quake, red, plastic, tape cordoned, Nurses Memorial Chapel, Christchurch Hospital, Riccarton Ave



Passed the Nurses Memorial Chapel, red, plastic, tape cordoned, DANGER KEEP OUT. At Christchurch Women's Hospital front entrance, I snapped a yellow digger bashing the remains of Hagley Hostel metal framed multi-storey, chewing lumps of concrete from the frame in russet dust clouds. An orange, Hi-Vis jacketed, workman on a red cherry picker hosed dust & debris, while the yellow digger grabbed, pulled, bashed. Before the demolition site, shipping containers, joined end to end, formed a tunnel for pedestrians, with a sign: WALK THROUGH. I didn't.


16.07.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Shipping container WALK THROUGH. Post June 13 quake, Hagley Hostel demolition site, Christchurch Hospital, Riccarton Ave



16.07.11 Post June 13 quake, Maori carving, Christchurch Women's Hospital entrance & view of Hagley Hostel demolition site, Riccarton Ave


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake,  2 yellow diggers & water hosing from a red cherry picker, Hagley Hostel demolition site, Christchurch Hospital, Riccarton Ave




16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, 2 yellow diggers, Hagley Hostel demolition site, Christchurch Hospital, Riccarton Ave




16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, yellow digger demolishing a Hagley Hostel metal frame & concrete wall, Christchurch Hospital, Riccarton Ave








Crossed Riccarton Ave  snapping Hagley Hostel front facade, left standing, supported by rubble while the rest of the bldg was demolished. Post quakes, Christchurch Hospital parking moved to South Hagley Park, by cricket, netball, soccer, rugby fields.


16.07.11 Post June 13 quake, Riccarton Ave view, Hagley Hostel demolition site & Christchurch Women's Hospital


16.07.11. KEEP OUT. Steel mesh fence, white / orange, plastic bollard cordon. Green portaloo. Post June 13 quake, Hagley Hostel demolition site, Christchurch Hospital, Riccarton Ave







16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Christchurch Hospital main entrance, Riccarton Ave


16.07.11. Post quakes, temp bus exchange, Hagley Ave, Christchurch. Another temp bus exchange was on Bealey Ave


Crossed South Hagley Park cricket field, snapping post quake, temporary bus exchange, Hagley Ave. Fetched Luke from there when he caught late night buses to the exchange. Late night driving home to Burnside from the temporary bus exchange, via Montreal St, the CBD was dead, no lights, no high-rises seen, black hole, CBD gone.


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Botanic Gdns early daffodils. Christchurch Women's Hospital behind


16.07.11. Daffodils. Post June 13 quake, Christchurch Botanic Gdns view, Hagley Hostel demolition by 3 yellow diggers


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, white daffodils & white lily of the valley flowers, Christchurch Botanic Gdns


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, The Wrestlers, Christchurch Botanic Gdns



16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, daffodils, Christchurch Botanic Gdns


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, Christchurch Botanic Gdns workman by Bandsmen's Memorial


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, pruned rose garden, by quake closed Cuningham House, hot house, Christchurch Botanic Gdns


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, closed, yellow stickered, Townend House, hot house, Christchurch Botanic Gdns


Returning to Botanic Gdns carpark: Trekked beneath oaks again by Avon River bank. Early yellow daffodils, white lily of the valley blooms, backdropped by leafless oaks & Hagley Hostel demolition. By the Wrestlers sculpture, Asian tourists toting cameras trekked too.

Back of closed Cuningham House: closed hot house, Townend House, 23.06.11, yellow stickered:

"Damage to entry area of Cunningham [sic] House, resulting in inadequate egress for public. Restrictions on use during ongoing earthquakes..."



Back at carpark: Snapped excavation by an orange digger, Christchurch Model Yacht Club. Liquefaction damaged pond would be drained, repaired with a new clay base. Back wall cnr of the Model Yacht Club: diagonal crack, L shape steps rising from ground to eaves.


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, cracked, closed Model Yacht Club, Hagley Park


16.07.11. Post June 13 quake, orange digger & excavation of quake damaged pond, Model Yacht Club, Hagley Park





Driving past Bealey Ave / Carlton Mill Rd again, house demolition site quiet, chimney gone.

*Trekked Carlton Mill Rd, Christchurch Botanic Gdns, Riccarton Ave, Hagley Ave. 96 snaps

Coda:

 20.10.11.Ten months post Feb 22 Killer Quake, when citizens were still banned from the CBD red zone cordon, in late Oct 2011, CERA would abandon the two temporary bus exchanges, Bealey Ave & Hagley Ave. CERA then opened a "new," temporary bus exchange, Lichfield St.

Simultaneously, CERA touted CBD red zone, bus tours from Cranmer Sq, during weekends, from Nov 5 to late Dec. Christchurch citizens, after a year of quakes & aftershocks, had to pay for bus tours in CERA's sanitized CBD. Never mind celebrities who'd had conducted quake tours in the cordoned CBD months before. Tasman & Nelson district councillors would have a conducted tour, gawping in the CBD red zone. (The Press 20.10.11). Excuse: it would help them sort out their quake responses.

Sept 2012. The new temporary Bus Exchange between Tuam St & Lichfield St would operate. CERA's Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU) would Blueprint & build the permanent Bus Interchange on the old Council bldg site, between Lichfield St & Tuam St, main entrance, Lichfield St / Colombo St.

2019. Colombo St: Hoyts EntX would open, opp the new Bus Interchange.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

2 comments:

  1. Great shots. Minor correction - the "Sure to Rise" image isn't of a beer can, it's of a tin of Edmonds flour. Edmonds was based in Christchurch; the original site is now Edmonds Gardens on Ferry Road near Ensors. I wouldn't want my beer to rise, once it's down I want it to stay there :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ta blahblahblah. Input appreciated, my migrant slip showing. I drive that way most workday mornings. Go well.

    ReplyDelete