Christchurch Garden City Trust presents
festival of flowers
17 Feb - 2 Mar 2012
Port-a-loos on a Pine Mound
Bunty's Retreat
Poor Bunty. The plumbing of her Cashmere residence is munted!
In order to maintain her high standards she has commandeered and made her
own port-a-loo to which she has tastefully applied her designer skills. She must
retain her self-sufficiency and her privacy in her personal privy. Her garden is
blooming and the future is looking bright.
Cashmere Garden Club
Colour me beautiful
Christchurch
Nearby Canterbury Museum: we saw a room full of wearable art. Another room, 100s of quilted hearts, from NZ & overseas, hung on walls. Hearts for Christchurch idea rose from the 22.02.11 Killer Quake.
18.02.12. Post quake, Festival of Flowers, Christchurch Botanic Gdns, Rolleston Ave
18.02.12. Taking the piss, quake portaloo, Christchurch Botanic Gdns
18.02.12. Post quake, Hearts for Christchurch, Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Ave
Part of the heart room: sectioned off with flowers & monarch butterflies. Four days later the monarch butterflies were released at the 22.02.11 Killer Quake memorial service, Hagley Park.
18.02.12. Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Ave: Monarch butterflies for 22.02.11 quake anniversary, memorial service, Hagley Park
Christchurch had already endured the 04.09.10 Darfield Quake & 26.12.10 Boxing Day Quake when the M6.3 Killer Quake struck at 12.51pm on 22.02.11.
As the Royal Commission of Inquiry was already doing most of the work, it was time cops started investigating manslaughter cases against building owners who'd allowed death-trap bldgs to stand & designers, architects, engineer inspectors, Council workers who'd allowed such bldgs to blot the landscape for decades. Pre-quakes Council had failed to enforce its own bldg code for old, quake prone bldgs!
Wed 22.02.12, 8.30am. Watched a live TV broadcast of the Feb 22 Killer Quake, memorial service in Latimer Sq. Dignitaries sat on stage: Old Maori leader with a stick, Governor General, mayor, National Leader, Labour Leader, Anglican bishop, Muslim priest, Rabbi, 2 Asian priests, all dressed like peacocks, all speechifying except the GG. Some interpretation by 2 hand-waving, deaf-interpreters. Four high school girls sang. The staged service ended with a seated military band playing, accompanied by a male soloist, military dressed in red coats. The whole lot, including a small standing crowd, surrounded by cops.
Those self-important people never raised concerns about safety & security of Christchurch citizens post 04.09.10 Darfield Quake & Boxing Day Quake, 5 months warning before 22.02.11 Killer Quake. Just business as usual, some cordoned, stickered bldgs, little safety!
Over quake years people contacted me personally, or via blog comments & emails, giving feedback. Some asked for permission to use my blog pics, for post quake fundraisers; proposed Avon River Park; queries about damaged bldgs; for Council planning of suburban shop rebuilds; Regional Council quake safety planning. A Canadian school teacher used my blog posts for classroom activities. Other pic use: university theses, MAs & Phds; journalist information; quake archeology research; quake mapping research; engineering, quake flooding research; protest organizers; journal publications.
Wed 22.02.12. Avoiding schmaltzy anniversary functions, I trekked Avondale:
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers on bench, Avon River, Avonside Dr, nr Bowie Pl
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers on orange, plastic, road cones, Avonside Dr, nr Bowie Pl
Avonside Dr: quake anniversary, white agapanthus, in orange, plastic, road cones.
Dallington Tce: hydrangeas in orange, plastic, road cones. Nearby sign:
ROAD
CLOSED
AHEAD
Locksley Ave: Bunches of flowers in orange, plastic, road cones. That anniversary day, I saw several ROAD CLOSED signs on Avondale roads, amongst ghost houses.
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, Gayhurst Rd Bridge, Gayhurst Rd / Dallington Tce. Gayhurst Rd Bridge would be demolished, rebuilt, reopened 2015
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, Locksley Ave, nr Gayhurst Rd Bridge. Houses would be demolished
22.02.12. Red zone, Locksley Ave, abandoned house, blue water pipe, Locksley Ave. The house would be demolished
22.02.12. EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT. Locksley Ave view, anniversary flowers on Snell Pl Footbridge, steel mesh fence cordoned, over Avon River. Snell St Footbridge would be demolished
Anniversary flowers festooned, steel mesh fence cordoned, Snell St Footbridge. Cordon fence, threat sign:
EXTREME
DANGER
KEEP
OUT
Never mind cracked, buckled, lumpy, patched roads still to be properly fixed by Council, quakemire still to be cleared by Council. I regularly drove past new, sewage pipe excavations by South New Brighton School, which still used portaloos a year post Feb 22 Killer Quake. Sewage roadworks went on for months, causing Estuary Rd / Bridge St detours & a dust bowl for residents.
22.02.12. Avonside Dr view, quake anniversary flowers on orange, plastic, road cones, Avon River stopbank, by Avondale Rd Bridge
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers, Avondale Rd Bridge. Quake separation of span from abutment. Abutment would be demolished & replaced by SCIRT, 2013
Avonside Dr: Anniversary flowers festooned Avondale Rd Bridge. Bridge sign:
Healthy Christchurch
and Avon Otakaro Network
February 22 / Earthquake Commemoration Site
river of flowers
Te Waitohi Maumahara
Site to be hosted by From (time)
Avondale Residents 12:30 to 1:30pm
Association
For details visit www...
Damages everywhere: tilted power poles; cracked, liquefactioned pavements; blue, plastic, water pipes on pavements; roadside, green or black, plastic, sewage tanks; toppled garden walls; toppled house walls; overgrown gardens; ghost houses, curtains closed; wood propped walls; tarped roofs; boarded walls & windows; toppled chimneys; cracked, liquefactioned driveways; closed garages; rubbish in gardens & on pavements; Council, plastic, rubbish bins in gardens; demolition sites.
Alongside Avonside Dr the gravel-repaired, raised stopbank separated Avondale roads from Avon River & stopped green zoned Avondale from drowning.
22.02.12. Red zone, green portaloo & Avon River stopbank, Avonside Dr / Alloway St
22.02.12. Red zone house, Alloway St
22.02.12. Post quake, house demolition site, Alloway St / Avondale Rd
22.02.12. Post quake, boarded house, Alloway St
Tributes that sunny day: 1 000s of flowers on orange, plastic, road cones in red zone areas & on other roads I passed, like River Rd & Dallington Tce: agapanthus, hydrangeas, roses, lilies, many other flowers & fern leaves. Rosemary for remembrance too. Posies on power poles also honoured the dead.
22.02.12. Red zone house, Prestwick St / Avonside Dr
22.02.12. Quake trashed, red zone house, Prestwick St
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, Prestwick St / Avondale Rd
22.02.12. Red zone house, Prestwick St
Another time, I'd seen plastic flowers on orange, plastic, road cones on Durham St Sth, when Restart Cashel Mall was opened. I'd also seen tinsel on orange, plastic, road cones at Parklands during the Xmas Quake Swarm.
22.02.12. Quake tilted, power poles, Avonside Dr / Woolley St. Avon River raised stopbank, red zone Locksley Ave behind
22.02.12. Post quake, blue, sucker truck, Woolley St
Woolley St: A blue, sucker truck drifted by touting: "Drilling Waste Removal, Cesspit, Pond & Septic Cleaning." For years post quakes, we saw sucker trucks roaming Christchurch's bumpy roads, causing more damage to ravaged roads.
22.02.12. Quake trashed, red zone house, Woolley St
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cone, Woolley St
22.02.12. Rubbish bins. Red zone, house demolition site, Woolley St
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cone, by quake damaged house, Woolley St
22.02.12. ROAD CLOSED. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, Avondale Rd
22.02.12. Quake abandoned tricycle, Woolley St
22.02.12. Red zone, abandoned house, Woolley St
CERA Landcheck website, Avondale zoning:
Alloway St: 43 properties, 43 red zone.
Prestwick St: 31 properties, 31 red zone.
Woolley St: 56 properties, 25 red zone, 31 green zone.
Sharlick St: 24 properties, 24 red zone.
Edna St: 24 properties, 24 red zone.
Niven St: 56 properties, 23 red zone, 33 green zone.
Breezes Rd: 89 properties, 27 red zone, 62 green zone.
Pembroke St: 50 properties, 11 red zone, 39 green zone.
Several Avondale streets were entirely red zoned near Avon River. Where some streets were part red zoned, part green zoned, the green zoned houses were further away from Avon River & its liquefaction. According to CERA & engineering firm Tonkin & Taylor, red zoners must leave home, as infrastructure was too expensive to replace.
Over the next couple of years, most red zone, ghost houses I passed would be demolished by CERA. Pity nearby green zoners enduring dusty, grimy, demolition sites, dirty air, newly formed wasteland in CERA's red zone, allowing gawkers, vagrants, vandals, thieves, arsonists, taggers to harass.
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cone, Sharlick St / Avonside Dr. Avon River, raised stopbank, red zone Locksley Ave behind
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones. Green, plastic, sewage tank, Avonside Dr. Avon River, raised stopbank left
22.02.12. Quake junk, house demolition site, Sharlick St
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers on orange, plastic, road cones, Sharlick St
22.02.12. Post quake, black, plastic, sewage tank, blue tarp tent, Sharlick St
Sharlick St: Someone lived in a blue tarp tent in their front garden. Although Council & NZ National govt / CERA were in denial about the post quake housing crisis, exacerbated by red zoning, there were tents, caravans, vans, car sleepers, beach sleepers in Christchurch for anyone to see. As for NZ Labour opposition, hardly a cheep about the post quake housing crisis.
22.02.12. Red zone, abandoned house, Sharlick St
22.02.12. Red zone, abandoned motorbike, Sharlick St
All properties I passed, close to Avon River were red zone. Further away from Avon River properties became green zone. While snapping, I trekked all the shorter streets between Avonside Dr & Avondale Rd. Trekked short bits of Breezes Rd & Pembroke St & when it was obvious properties were green zoned (neat gardens, cut grass, parked cars, twitching curtains) I returned to my car near Avonside Dr.
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flower in orange, plastic, road cone, Avonside Dr / Edna St
22.02.12. Quake trashed, red zone house, Edna St. Blue water pipe on pavement
22.02.12. Red zone, house demolition site, Edna St
Edna St, A board Hazard notice:
NOTICE
THIS IS A MULTIPLE
HAZARD AREA
PERSONS ENTERING THIS PROPERTY
MUST COMPLY WITH ALL SAFETY
REGULATIONS UNDER THE
HEALTH AND SAFETY IN
EMPLOYMENT ACT 1992
AND ITS AMENDMENTS
DO NOT ENTER
WITHOUT PERMISSION AND
NOTIFICATION OF THE
HAZARDS WITHIN
Saw several such Hazard notices in Avondale.
22.02.12. Red zone, abandoned house, Edna St
Like other post quake, red zones I'd trekked, the area was slummy, derelict: ghost houses, overgrown gardens. Patched roads were cleared of quakemire, but pavements & driveways were still muddied. Portaloos & green or black, plastic, sewage tanks were still on road verges a year post Feb 22 Killer Quake. Two sucker trucks roamed, clearing drains.
22.02.12. Steel mesh fence cordoned, red zone house, Niven St / Avonside Dr. Avon River raised stopbank behind
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cone, Niven St
22.02.12. Red zone, abandoned house, Niven St
22.02.12. ROAD CLOSED. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, by road works, Niven St / Avondale Rd
Some red zone houses were still inhabited. Others appeared to be inhabited: mowed lawns. Saw 3 gardening businesses mowing lawns & verges, hopeing to foil thieves, vagrants, hooligans.
22.02.12. ROAD CLOSED. Quake anniversary flower in orange, plastic, road cone, Breezes Rd
22.02.12. Post quake, house demolition site, red zone, Breezes Rd
22.02.12. Wood braced, garden wall, red zone, Breezes Rd
22.02.12. Post quake, green, plastic, sewage tank, abandoned, red zone housing, Breezes Rd
Avondale Rd: Several detours, as road workers did repairs.
Avondale Rd / Breezes Rd junction: Liquefactioned shops, all closed. ROAD CLOSED signs & orange, plastic, road cone cordons. Workmen wearing orange hard hats & orange Hi-Vis vests fixed Breezes Rd. SCIRT sign: REBUILDING THE CITYS'S ROADS AND UNDERGROUND PIPES
Breezes Rd / Avonside Dr junction: Grey skies.
22.02.12. ROAD CLOSED. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, red zone, Breezes Rd
22.02.12. Red zone, abandoned house, Breezes Rd
22.02.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Quake trashed, liquefactioned, closed shops, Breezes Rd / Avondale Rd junction
22.02.12. Post quake road works, Breezes Rd / Avondale Rd
At 12.51pm, 22.02.11 Killer Quake time, I snapped road signs, Avonside Dr / Breezes Rd. Canada geese flew in V formation high above. Remembrance.
Year prior, Avondale houses, inhabited. Year later, ghost houses, demolition sites, weedy gardens. Most Avondale houses, near Avon River, would be demolished. Once people left, nature flourished: lush plant growth, tall weeds, long grass.
22.02.12. Quake anniversary, Canada geese, V formation flying over Avon River, Breezes Rd / Avonside Dr
22.02.12. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, Avonside Dr. Avon River raised stopbank, red zone Locksley Ave behind
22.02.12. Quake trashed, abandoned house, Pembroke St / Avonside Dr. Blue water pipe on pavement
22.02.12. Post quake, liquefactioned junk, red zone, Pembroke St
22.02.12. Quake trashed house, Pembroke St
22.02.12. Post quake, abandoned house, Pembroke St. 30 km/h speed limit, to stop traffic shaking houses to bits
22.02.12. ROAD CLOSED. Quake anniversary flowers in orange, plastic, road cones, Pembroke St
*Ttekked Avonside Dr, Dallington Tce, Locksley Ave, Alloway St, Prestwick St, Woolley St, Sharlick St, Edna St, Niven St, Breezes Rd, Pembroke St. 214 images.
23.02.12. M4.1 quake, 5.21am, 15km depth, 20km NE of Christchurch (GeoNet). Pegasus Bay faults rumbled again.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See New Zealand stops to remember (The Press / Stuff Co).
Responded to a UK email inquiring about a demolished house in Papanui Rd.
ReplyDeleteJust spied this post. Very weird seeing the family home on someone elses blog! They only moved out on 15 October last year :) I photographed it again last month 24th when i was down for my grandson's 2nd birthday..it had the demolition sign up... i guess it's gone now!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/porkynz/sets/72157632840307245/
Great coverage as usual! So many of those houses are gone...they're getting on with business!