Riverine Residential Red-Zone focus. Although we'd lived in Mackenzie Country, Lake Tekapo & Fairlie for over a year, we often returned to Christchurch for Leah's teaching at London St & visiting Jake & Luke. I kept up with post-quake Christchurch landscape by following the news & visiting suburbs & the CBD. CERA still wasn't saying what the Crown would do with 8 000+ red-zone residential properties mostly beside Avon River which CERA took from citizens.
Saturday 28.03.15. While Leah attended a function at Seabrook Mackenzie Centre, London St, celebrating the first ten years of Jean Seabrook Memorial School there (where Leah had taught the first nine years) I reviewed residential red-zone along Avon River where I'd snapped 1 000s of pics during quake years: Avonside Dr, Avon Loop where Jake lived pre-quakes, River Rd, Dallington Tce, Glenarm Tce, Locksley Ave, Kingsford St, Queensbury St & Avonside Dr...
Most houses & commercial buildings in the red-zone had already been demolished by CERA. A few houses still to go. They were boarded, SMF- cordoned & DANGER-taped. Some had ASBESTOS warning-tapes. Trees & shrubs were left by CERA, but most of the residential red-zone was overgrown. Some areas were mown, some areas were fenced giving a parkland effect, but most of the residential red-zone along Avon River was unfenced. On red-zone fencing I saw white & black threat-signs:
NO
UNAUTHORISED
ACCESS
NO DUMPING
CERA
Like Pages Rd Bridge, Swanns Rd Bridge was just patch-repaired & neglected by CERA / SCIRT, although Christchurch citizens were still expected by CERA / SCIRT to use those bridges more than four years post 22 February 2011 Quake. SCIRT repaired abutments at Stanmore Rd Bridge & Avondale Rd Bridge. There were detours along Dallington Tce & Avonside Dr as Gayhurst Rd Bridge was being rebuilt by SCIRT. (The new Gayhurst Road Bridge would open in August 2015).
All residential red-zone roads were bad with potholes & loose shingle. I saw flooding in places where high-tide Avon River leaked under stopbanks. CERA made orange & black signs stopping people entering some residential red-zones. I saw residential red-zone fencing across roads which had signs:
AUTHORISED
VEHICLES ONLY
PEDESTRIAN CYCLIST
AND AUTHORISED
VEHICLE ACCESS ONLY
For information
0800 ring CERA
info@cera.govt.nz
CERA
Kingsford St, Horseshoe Lake: I ignored some of those signs as I wanted to see residential red-zone at the end of the road where I'd snapped post 13 June 2011 Quake. En route, I passed two NZDF jeeps & a Unimog parked on a side-road. At the end of Kingsford St two camouflage-uniformed soldiers toting automatic rifles confronted me. I hand-signalled my turnabout & drove off. Why was CERA still allowing war-games in residential red-zones? (A couple of years ago, cops had played cops-&-robbers at Horseshoe Lake red-zone too). Deputy mayor Buck was in denial that Christchurch looked like a war-zone!
New Brighton Rd / Locksley Ave junction: on a residential red-zone fence, a blue & white CERA sign:
CROWN OWNED LAND
CLEARANCE IN THE
RESIDENTIAL RED ZONE
Where possible we will keep significant planting. We are
aiming to create a safe and attractive area that is easy
to maintain until decisions are made about future land use.
CERA
Sunday 29.03.15. Dyers Rd: When we picked up firewood at Luke's salvage yard, we saw a broken-down car was parked under gum trees by Bromley oxidation ponds. A black Staffordshire terrier was locked in the car. A car window note:
BROKE
BROKEN
HOMELESS
Luke told us the car was there for days & an Irishman slept in it. He was a construction worker who'd fallen on hard-times during CERA's so-called rebuild. An eloquent man, Leah gave him food.
Before we left for Fairlie, Luke showed us rimu-flooring & wooden-arched windows salvaged from Isaac Theatre Royal, Gloucester St, after the theatre's makeover.
Reckoning: August 2015. The Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment, MBIE had sampled some EQC / Fletcher repaired house-foundations & found inadequate repairs. CERA minister Brownlee blamed "Cowboy builders" contracted by EQC / Fletcher, saying they must repair their foundation-repairs! Never mind shoddy repairs done above house-foundations. Builders bleated they'd go bankrupt! Fletcher boss shifted-blame to migrant Irish builders!
No one took responsibility for shoddy repairs, like shoddy jack-'n-pack foundations, or cracked, painted-over gib-boards, or epoxy-glued concrete seen all over Christchurch. That cowardly blame-shifting was like what happened at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into PGC & CTV collapses where owners, engineers, cops, firemen & Council shifted-blame to others.
20.10.15. The Press reported more than 6 500 EQC repaired homes needed re-repairs due to shoddy repairs done by EQC.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Tourism body Christchurch looks like a war zone (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Construction site look reflects rebirth Vicky Buck (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Bexley suburb returns to nature (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Army exercises upsets Christchurch red zoners (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Gerry Brownlee targets cowboy builders after EQC foundation review (The Press / Stuff Co).
See No responsibility on Fletcher EQR for shoddy quake repairs contract suggests (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Survey of Canterbury quake repairs caned by critics and advocates (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Building industry hits back at claims it is solely to blame for shoddy quake repairs (The Press / Stuff Co)
See Six out of seven IAG repairs found to be deficient in govt investigation (The Press / Stuff Co).
See More than 6500 homes need fix after faulty EQC repairs (The Press / Stuff Co).
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Mount Hay by Lake Tekapo, Mackenzie Country
Map ref: BY17 049306. Mount Hay is a vast sheep station on the east side of Lake Tekapo, bounded by Boundary Stream & Richmond Station in the north, Mt Ardmore, 2003 m & Mt Edward 1916 m in the east, Sawdon Station & Lake Tekapo Regional Park in the south. In the middle of Mount Hay Station is Mt Hay itself, 1174 m & next to it Wee McGregor 1146 m, below soaring Two Thumbs Range.
Since our arrival at Lake Tekapo over a year ago, I'd mingled with tourists climbing Mt John 1031 m, rising above the opposite shore of Lake Tekapo & from its heights plotted my route up Mt Hay, from a distance. Leah worked with one of the owners of Mount Hay station who welcomed me to wander Mount Hay Station.
I did a couple of Mount Hay recce walks in December 2014, to a lateral moraine ridge above Edward Stream below Mt Edward & in Sawdon Station, up steep Sawdon Hill 1026 m, also above Edward Stream. Map ref: BY17 038231.
Tues 10.02.15, 9 am. Although drought time, it was time to climb Mt Hay. After dropping Leah off at Lake Tekapo School, I parked my car at the bottom of Ebenezer Ln, off Lilybank Rd, in the Regional Park. I wandered through a pine forest to Mount Hay Station gate, then wandered between 2 dry, stony hills past a dry dam. I wandered round a hill on a farm track & continued along the farm track towards dry Mt Edward. There'd been little rain over the past couple of months so the land was dry.
As my average tramping speed is about 3 km / hour, I gave myself 6 hours to complete Mt Hay climb & return circuit, before fetching Leah at 3.30 pm after school. From my Lake Tekapo Topo 50 map, I guesstimated my return trek to be 20 km, about 12 miles.
Continuing towards Mt Edward, I passed through a farm gate & passed several dry tarns beneath willows. Sheep, ducks & Canada geese scratched for water in the dry tarns. When I'd passed that way in December, the tarns were full. Later on I saw filled water troughs for sheep.
At the second farm gate, I changed direction away from Mt Edward & headed cross-country towards Mt Hay. There were brown rabbits of course, bounding away from me every now & again. Despite ubiquitous Pindone poisoning signs, like the rest of Mackenzie Country, Mount Hay Station was riddled with rabbit warrens. I'd seen them on Cowans Hill at Lake Tekapo, at Sawdon Station & Balmoral Station when I'd climbed Mt John.
After passing sheep at the east end of Roys Lagoon, a glacial kettlehole, I wandered up a lateral moraine ridge below Mt Hay southern slope. It was stony, with occasional large rocks on top, bulldozed by ancient glaciers. By one of the bigger rocks I found an A shaped rock shelter, big enough for a couple of sheep to shelter from stormy weather. I wondered who'd placed the floor stones in the shelter. Ancient Maori?
I came across another farm road & followed the stony road through glacial, dry, hummock country to a stony saddle on the east side of Mt Hay. Beyond the saddle, the road disappeared in the distance to the east of Wee McGregor up a Mt Ardmore ridge. Further east-nor'east, I saw Mt Maude 1797 m, Tekapo Saddle 1387 m & Mt Dobson 2095 m, merging northwards into the Two Thumbs Range.
From Mt Hay saddle I climbed the stony west ridge, which undulated at first, then swept nor'westwards up to Mt Hay summit. I wouldn't have liked to be on that exposed ridge when the nor' wester blew from Mt Cook summit, across Mt Stevenson, Gammack Range & Hall Range in the west & across Lake Tekapo.
Magnificent, 360 degree views on top of Mt Hay: East & west peaks already mentioned. Further south west, Ben Ohau Range looming above Old Man Range, Mary Range & Benmore. Further nor'east, Round Hill ski field below Mt Richmond. Looking northwards & nor'westwards, more peaks - Two Thumbs, Mt Chevalier, Mt Ajax, Mt Ross, Razor Back & Mt Gerald above McCauley River. Nor' westwards - Mt Sibbald & Mt Erebus above Godley River. Both rivers fed Lake Tekapo. At the head of Godley River I saw distant Mt Fletcher. At the edge of the Hall Range, Mt Mistake loured above the NW end of Lake Tekapo.
Southwards I saw Mt Hay farm bldgs & shelter belts & beyond to the Regional Park & Sawdon Station. In front of Mt Hay, westwards across Lake Tekapo, I saw Motuariki Island & behind the western shore, Cass River delta feeding Lake Tekapo from western ranges. Shelter belts showed Glenmore Station south of Cass River & Godley Peaks Station north of Cass River.
Every day at work Leah saw those peaks around Lake Tekapo. Some of her students came from stations around Lake Tekapo.
I'd summited Mt Hay in 3 hours, about 400 vertical metres. A couple of aerials fastened to poles were on top, one had a solar panel facing west. There was also a pyramid structure made from metal rods on top.
On the summit, amongst low-lying, sparse, Alpine vegetation, I saw scattered, green scab weed & scattered mats of tiny, yellow Raoulia daisies, covering rocks. There were also stunted matagouri & porcupine bushes on the summit. Brown skinks scuttled on the ground.
From Mt Hay summit a tussock slope went down behind the stony ridge, Down the tussock slope, I followed a fence back to the ridge, where the fence crossed the ridge. I retraced my path down the ridge to the saddle again.
I walked the gravel road a bit & descended Mt Hay lower, south western slope through matagouri. On the flats I passed mobs of sheep in paddocks. I wandered past a hill bounding the western end of Roys Lagoon. I greeted a bloke driving a truck, laying new shingle on farm roads. I crossed a hot, dry valley, eroded by overgrazing & rabbit warrens & crossed a hot, dry tarn back to my car. My return trek took me 3 hours.
Permission from station owners & hill walking fitness is needed. A cloudless day, I got sun burnt, as most of the natural terrain is treeless & desert like. I walked in closed shoes, shorts, shirt & hat. I backpacked water, food, longs, jersey, all weather parka, plastic mackintosh & space blanket. I cell phoned Leah from Mt Hay summit & took cell phone pics. On steep bits my walking stick was useful for support & fending off prickly matagouri & briar roses. During my 6 hour tramp I drank 1.5 litres Coca Cola (for sugar content & water) & a half litre water. I was still dehydrated afterwards. As the station has stock paddocks, I crossed many fences & farm gates.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Since our arrival at Lake Tekapo over a year ago, I'd mingled with tourists climbing Mt John 1031 m, rising above the opposite shore of Lake Tekapo & from its heights plotted my route up Mt Hay, from a distance. Leah worked with one of the owners of Mount Hay station who welcomed me to wander Mount Hay Station.
I did a couple of Mount Hay recce walks in December 2014, to a lateral moraine ridge above Edward Stream below Mt Edward & in Sawdon Station, up steep Sawdon Hill 1026 m, also above Edward Stream. Map ref: BY17 038231.
Tues 10.02.15, 9 am. Although drought time, it was time to climb Mt Hay. After dropping Leah off at Lake Tekapo School, I parked my car at the bottom of Ebenezer Ln, off Lilybank Rd, in the Regional Park. I wandered through a pine forest to Mount Hay Station gate, then wandered between 2 dry, stony hills past a dry dam. I wandered round a hill on a farm track & continued along the farm track towards dry Mt Edward. There'd been little rain over the past couple of months so the land was dry.
As my average tramping speed is about 3 km / hour, I gave myself 6 hours to complete Mt Hay climb & return circuit, before fetching Leah at 3.30 pm after school. From my Lake Tekapo Topo 50 map, I guesstimated my return trek to be 20 km, about 12 miles.
Continuing towards Mt Edward, I passed through a farm gate & passed several dry tarns beneath willows. Sheep, ducks & Canada geese scratched for water in the dry tarns. When I'd passed that way in December, the tarns were full. Later on I saw filled water troughs for sheep.
At the second farm gate, I changed direction away from Mt Edward & headed cross-country towards Mt Hay. There were brown rabbits of course, bounding away from me every now & again. Despite ubiquitous Pindone poisoning signs, like the rest of Mackenzie Country, Mount Hay Station was riddled with rabbit warrens. I'd seen them on Cowans Hill at Lake Tekapo, at Sawdon Station & Balmoral Station when I'd climbed Mt John.
After passing sheep at the east end of Roys Lagoon, a glacial kettlehole, I wandered up a lateral moraine ridge below Mt Hay southern slope. It was stony, with occasional large rocks on top, bulldozed by ancient glaciers. By one of the bigger rocks I found an A shaped rock shelter, big enough for a couple of sheep to shelter from stormy weather. I wondered who'd placed the floor stones in the shelter. Ancient Maori?
I came across another farm road & followed the stony road through glacial, dry, hummock country to a stony saddle on the east side of Mt Hay. Beyond the saddle, the road disappeared in the distance to the east of Wee McGregor up a Mt Ardmore ridge. Further east-nor'east, I saw Mt Maude 1797 m, Tekapo Saddle 1387 m & Mt Dobson 2095 m, merging northwards into the Two Thumbs Range.
From Mt Hay saddle I climbed the stony west ridge, which undulated at first, then swept nor'westwards up to Mt Hay summit. I wouldn't have liked to be on that exposed ridge when the nor' wester blew from Mt Cook summit, across Mt Stevenson, Gammack Range & Hall Range in the west & across Lake Tekapo.
Magnificent, 360 degree views on top of Mt Hay: East & west peaks already mentioned. Further south west, Ben Ohau Range looming above Old Man Range, Mary Range & Benmore. Further nor'east, Round Hill ski field below Mt Richmond. Looking northwards & nor'westwards, more peaks - Two Thumbs, Mt Chevalier, Mt Ajax, Mt Ross, Razor Back & Mt Gerald above McCauley River. Nor' westwards - Mt Sibbald & Mt Erebus above Godley River. Both rivers fed Lake Tekapo. At the head of Godley River I saw distant Mt Fletcher. At the edge of the Hall Range, Mt Mistake loured above the NW end of Lake Tekapo.
Southwards I saw Mt Hay farm bldgs & shelter belts & beyond to the Regional Park & Sawdon Station. In front of Mt Hay, westwards across Lake Tekapo, I saw Motuariki Island & behind the western shore, Cass River delta feeding Lake Tekapo from western ranges. Shelter belts showed Glenmore Station south of Cass River & Godley Peaks Station north of Cass River.
Every day at work Leah saw those peaks around Lake Tekapo. Some of her students came from stations around Lake Tekapo.
I'd summited Mt Hay in 3 hours, about 400 vertical metres. A couple of aerials fastened to poles were on top, one had a solar panel facing west. There was also a pyramid structure made from metal rods on top.
On the summit, amongst low-lying, sparse, Alpine vegetation, I saw scattered, green scab weed & scattered mats of tiny, yellow Raoulia daisies, covering rocks. There were also stunted matagouri & porcupine bushes on the summit. Brown skinks scuttled on the ground.
From Mt Hay summit a tussock slope went down behind the stony ridge, Down the tussock slope, I followed a fence back to the ridge, where the fence crossed the ridge. I retraced my path down the ridge to the saddle again.
I walked the gravel road a bit & descended Mt Hay lower, south western slope through matagouri. On the flats I passed mobs of sheep in paddocks. I wandered past a hill bounding the western end of Roys Lagoon. I greeted a bloke driving a truck, laying new shingle on farm roads. I crossed a hot, dry valley, eroded by overgrazing & rabbit warrens & crossed a hot, dry tarn back to my car. My return trek took me 3 hours.
Permission from station owners & hill walking fitness is needed. A cloudless day, I got sun burnt, as most of the natural terrain is treeless & desert like. I walked in closed shoes, shorts, shirt & hat. I backpacked water, food, longs, jersey, all weather parka, plastic mackintosh & space blanket. I cell phoned Leah from Mt Hay summit & took cell phone pics. On steep bits my walking stick was useful for support & fending off prickly matagouri & briar roses. During my 6 hour tramp I drank 1.5 litres Coca Cola (for sugar content & water) & a half litre water. I was still dehydrated afterwards. As the station has stock paddocks, I crossed many fences & farm gates.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Mount Michael, Allandale near Fairlie
Map ref: BY18 297206. We know South African expats who own a hilltop house on Mt Michael, close to Farm Barn Cafe, about 8 kms drive from Fairlie. Backing the house, a new stand of Oregon Pine, Psudotsuga menziesii was planted below a mature stand of Pinus radiata, If a fire ever started in the pines, the house would go up in smoke. The hilltop house had panoramic views - Mt Fox in the west, Devils Peak & Blue Mountain in the east.
Mon 09.02.15. I parked my car by the hilltop house on Mt Michael, as I wanted to walk along the flat top of Mt Michael to 2 Telecom cell phone masts, about halfway along the top. At the back of the house I climbed through the Oregon pine plantation. Some of the topmost Oregon pine plantings were dried out by a wind funnel caused by the mature Pinus radiata trees. Grass was flattened on top too, giving a crop circle effect - swirled, flattened grass.
I climbed over a fence at the top & sidled along another fence by the pines, overlooking red deer in the steep paddock below, until I reached another fence to be climbed, by a paddock spotted with gorse. Thereafter the walk was straight forward, through paddocks, past 2 hilltop pines, to a wooden stock pen. near the Telecom gravel road.
Alpine views were magnificent with Fairlie centre stage, part surrounded by low Brothers Range east, higher Albury Range west & Mt Michael itself north east, about the same height as Brothers Range. In the distance below low cloud, I saw a helicopter whopping above the gravel road going up Middle Valley from Raincliffs. I was higher than the helicopter. In the north, Opuha dam was low due to low summer rains.
It was harvest time below with golden wheat fields & hay fields drying out, both sides of Mt Michael, some fields already harvested with hay bales dotting the landscape. Beyond low ranges, south eastwards were high Alpine peaks: Mt Nimrod on the way to Timaru, Mt Nessing closer to Fairlie. Albury Range obscuring Mackenzie Pass between Dalgety Range & unseen Rollesby Range.
At the other end of Albury Range, westwards I saw Burkes Pass winding towards Mt Maude & distant Mt Edward. Most days, Leah bussed Burkes Pass to teach at Lake Tekapo School. Viewing northwards across Tekapo Saddle, I saw Mt Dobson, Stoneleigh Saddle, Mt Richmond, then Mt Fox Range, snowless in sunny February. In the north was Butlers Saddle & High Claytons going east to Blue Mountain, Devils Peak & Mt Walker. We twisted past those last 3 mountains, on our drive down Mt Michael, whenever we drove to Geraldine.
Upon reaching the stock pens. I went up the gravel road to the Telcom masts & enjoyed the views both sides of Mt Michael. I didn't go further along Mt Michael top, as I didn't want to disturb sheep in one of the paddocks,
I quickly returned to my car at the hilltop house, as Pacific low clouds scudded up the valleys, both sides of Brothers Range - Middle Valley & the valley going down to Timaru. Half an hour later, by the time I got to my car it was raining. The first decent rain, after hot & dry December - January days.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Mon 09.02.15. I parked my car by the hilltop house on Mt Michael, as I wanted to walk along the flat top of Mt Michael to 2 Telecom cell phone masts, about halfway along the top. At the back of the house I climbed through the Oregon pine plantation. Some of the topmost Oregon pine plantings were dried out by a wind funnel caused by the mature Pinus radiata trees. Grass was flattened on top too, giving a crop circle effect - swirled, flattened grass.
I climbed over a fence at the top & sidled along another fence by the pines, overlooking red deer in the steep paddock below, until I reached another fence to be climbed, by a paddock spotted with gorse. Thereafter the walk was straight forward, through paddocks, past 2 hilltop pines, to a wooden stock pen. near the Telecom gravel road.
Alpine views were magnificent with Fairlie centre stage, part surrounded by low Brothers Range east, higher Albury Range west & Mt Michael itself north east, about the same height as Brothers Range. In the distance below low cloud, I saw a helicopter whopping above the gravel road going up Middle Valley from Raincliffs. I was higher than the helicopter. In the north, Opuha dam was low due to low summer rains.
It was harvest time below with golden wheat fields & hay fields drying out, both sides of Mt Michael, some fields already harvested with hay bales dotting the landscape. Beyond low ranges, south eastwards were high Alpine peaks: Mt Nimrod on the way to Timaru, Mt Nessing closer to Fairlie. Albury Range obscuring Mackenzie Pass between Dalgety Range & unseen Rollesby Range.
At the other end of Albury Range, westwards I saw Burkes Pass winding towards Mt Maude & distant Mt Edward. Most days, Leah bussed Burkes Pass to teach at Lake Tekapo School. Viewing northwards across Tekapo Saddle, I saw Mt Dobson, Stoneleigh Saddle, Mt Richmond, then Mt Fox Range, snowless in sunny February. In the north was Butlers Saddle & High Claytons going east to Blue Mountain, Devils Peak & Mt Walker. We twisted past those last 3 mountains, on our drive down Mt Michael, whenever we drove to Geraldine.
Upon reaching the stock pens. I went up the gravel road to the Telcom masts & enjoyed the views both sides of Mt Michael. I didn't go further along Mt Michael top, as I didn't want to disturb sheep in one of the paddocks,
I quickly returned to my car at the hilltop house, as Pacific low clouds scudded up the valleys, both sides of Brothers Range - Middle Valley & the valley going down to Timaru. Half an hour later, by the time I got to my car it was raining. The first decent rain, after hot & dry December - January days.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Raincliff Forest Tracks
Flanking Middle Valley Rd, Raincliff Forest is about 17 kms from Fairlie, in hilly farmland below Southern Alps.
At Raincliff Forest car park, a Blakely Pacific Limited sign board stated:
Originally planted around 1890 this 84 hectare forest is a managed unit now owned and operated by Blakely Pacific Limited.
It is Blakely Pacific's intention that harvesting and replanting will continue to recognise and preserve the unique character of this forest.
The forest contains a wide variety of exotic trees and you are invited to wander the marked walkways throughout this area...
The sign board showed the following Raincliff Forest tracks:
Hoare Track 60 mins
Mackay Track 40 mins
Johnson Track 15 mins
Burnetts Track 10 mins
Burkes Track 10 mins
Below Middle Valley Rd, a dirt road, Leah & I wandered part of Hoare Track, near Raincliff Stream. We also wandered Burnetts Track & Burkes Track which joined Hoare Track. Although a hot summer's day, mature forest gave us shade. Bobbing fantails entertained us in the understory when they flew around us checking us out.
Some mature, exotic trees we saw in Raincliff Forest:
* Redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum
* Norway spruce, Picea abies
* Ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa
* Monterey cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa. Our old walking sticks are homemade Macrocarpa, so we were looking out for fresh windfalls. Prunings we found had lain around a while & were brittle, useless for good walking sticks.
* Oak, Quercus
* Ash, Fraxinus excelsior
* European larch, Larix decidua
* Radial pine, Pinus radiata
* Birch, Pendula
* Gum, Eucalyptus
* Oregon pine, Pseudotsuga menziesii
* Alder & Crack Willow along Raincliff Stream
Kiwis moan about wilding pines in Mackenzie Country. I thought pines were attractive & useful for windbreaks, inhaling carbon & stopping soil erosion. I hated all the Crack Willows polluting NZ river banks & lake shores. Why didn't Kiwis get rid of polluting Willows & replace them with native river trees?
An exotic / native mix of understorey plants in Raincliff Forest:
Exotics.
* Sycamore, Acer pseudplatanus. One of the exotics I loath as it's a prolific seeder.
* Holly, Ilex
* Gorse, Ulex europaeus, some pest sprayed
* Ivy, Hedera
* Blackberry, Rubus fruticosus
Natives.
* Pittosporum eugenoides
* Pittosporum tenuifolium
* Fern species
* Broom, Carmichaelia
* Bush lawyer, Rubus cissoides
* Broadleaf, Griselinia littoralis
* Cabbage tree, Cordyline australis
* Whiteywood, Melicytus ramiflorus
* Wineberry, Aristotelia serrata
* Five finger, Pseudopanax arboreus
* Pepper tree, Horopito, Pseudowintera colorata
Tracks were well maintained, shared-use tracks with MTBs. As it was a hot, nor'wester day we had Raincliff Forest to ourselves.
Four days later we returned to wander Raincliff Forest tracks above Middle Valley Rd. We wandered the other bit of Hoare Track & Mackay Track, which formed a slender figure 8 walk. It took us about 2.5 hours, much longer than the recommended times on the car park board. Presumably those times were for MTBs. Sometimes an MTB track paralleled the walking track, avoiding many wooden stairs up steep slopes. Besides tall forest trees, there were magnificent views of distant Fox Peak & Devils Peak, seen from the western extremity of Hoare Track.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
At Raincliff Forest car park, a Blakely Pacific Limited sign board stated:
Originally planted around 1890 this 84 hectare forest is a managed unit now owned and operated by Blakely Pacific Limited.
It is Blakely Pacific's intention that harvesting and replanting will continue to recognise and preserve the unique character of this forest.
The forest contains a wide variety of exotic trees and you are invited to wander the marked walkways throughout this area...
The sign board showed the following Raincliff Forest tracks:
Hoare Track 60 mins
Mackay Track 40 mins
Johnson Track 15 mins
Burnetts Track 10 mins
Burkes Track 10 mins
Below Middle Valley Rd, a dirt road, Leah & I wandered part of Hoare Track, near Raincliff Stream. We also wandered Burnetts Track & Burkes Track which joined Hoare Track. Although a hot summer's day, mature forest gave us shade. Bobbing fantails entertained us in the understory when they flew around us checking us out.
Some mature, exotic trees we saw in Raincliff Forest:
* Redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum
* Norway spruce, Picea abies
* Ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa
* Monterey cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa. Our old walking sticks are homemade Macrocarpa, so we were looking out for fresh windfalls. Prunings we found had lain around a while & were brittle, useless for good walking sticks.
* Oak, Quercus
* Ash, Fraxinus excelsior
* European larch, Larix decidua
* Radial pine, Pinus radiata
* Birch, Pendula
* Gum, Eucalyptus
* Oregon pine, Pseudotsuga menziesii
* Alder & Crack Willow along Raincliff Stream
Kiwis moan about wilding pines in Mackenzie Country. I thought pines were attractive & useful for windbreaks, inhaling carbon & stopping soil erosion. I hated all the Crack Willows polluting NZ river banks & lake shores. Why didn't Kiwis get rid of polluting Willows & replace them with native river trees?
An exotic / native mix of understorey plants in Raincliff Forest:
Exotics.
* Sycamore, Acer pseudplatanus. One of the exotics I loath as it's a prolific seeder.
* Holly, Ilex
* Gorse, Ulex europaeus, some pest sprayed
* Ivy, Hedera
* Blackberry, Rubus fruticosus
Natives.
* Pittosporum eugenoides
* Pittosporum tenuifolium
* Fern species
* Broom, Carmichaelia
* Bush lawyer, Rubus cissoides
* Broadleaf, Griselinia littoralis
* Cabbage tree, Cordyline australis
* Whiteywood, Melicytus ramiflorus
* Wineberry, Aristotelia serrata
* Five finger, Pseudopanax arboreus
* Pepper tree, Horopito, Pseudowintera colorata
Tracks were well maintained, shared-use tracks with MTBs. As it was a hot, nor'wester day we had Raincliff Forest to ourselves.
Four days later we returned to wander Raincliff Forest tracks above Middle Valley Rd. We wandered the other bit of Hoare Track & Mackay Track, which formed a slender figure 8 walk. It took us about 2.5 hours, much longer than the recommended times on the car park board. Presumably those times were for MTBs. Sometimes an MTB track paralleled the walking track, avoiding many wooden stairs up steep slopes. Besides tall forest trees, there were magnificent views of distant Fox Peak & Devils Peak, seen from the western extremity of Hoare Track.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Four to Nine Years Post Sept 2010 Darfield Quake. CBD Update. CERA Bosses Leave
Christchurch CBD focus. Saturday 11.10.14. It was four years since the 4 September 2010 Quake. We'd survived aftershocks & rebuild disruptions during 2010-2013. In 2014 we moved to Lake Tekapo then Fairlie in Mackenzie Country about 200km southwest of Christchurch. We returned regularly to Christchurch: relocating our possessions; visiting Jake & Luke still working & flatting in Christchurch; for Leah's lecturing & meetings at Seabrook Mackenzie Centre, London St.
As Leah had another meeting in Christchurch, I dropped her off at Black Betty Cafe, Manchester St. Black Betty Cafe was so successful at New Brighton it had moved to the CBD opposite Ara polytech. Before I rejoined Leah at Seabrook Mackenzie Centre, I trekked Christchurch's demolished CBD. Since I'd last trekked Christchurch CBD in mid December 2013 there was slow progress by CERA's CCDU. There were some private rebuilds & some Council activities amidst dusty demolition-sites, Wilsons carparks & a few businesses trying to re-establish.
(September 2018. While Leah attended a three-day teacher-conference at rebuild Rydges Hotel, Latimer Sq, I rechecked previous treks described in this post, hence the parenthases. While CBD trekking I saw a CBD buzz: citizens enjoying their new CBD. Still scarred, the CBD was busy).
Christchurch CBD notes:
St Asaph St: Still tatty: backs of part-demolished / abandoned High St buildings were an an eyesore. (September 2018. A High St brick-facade was steel-propped. Behind on St Asaph St side, I saw concrete tilt-slab offices being built. That area would become known as Salt District).
Manchester St / St Asaph St / Tuam St: Both sides of Manchester St demolition-sites were a mess. I saw many demolition-sites still on Poplar St, High St, Tuam St, Lichfield St & Madras St. I saw slow CCDU's green East Frame / Rauora Park. It was still part-demolished & I saw abandoned buildings still rotting on High St near Alice in Videoland.
Opposite EPIC Innovation building the Odeon Theatre's roof was gone from Manchester St roadside. The unclaimed roof had lain there an eyesore for years. Part-demolished Odeon Theatre was still an eyesore, theatre seats & part-demolished auditorium were still exposed to the elements. (September 2018. Odeon Theatre facade was still propped by stacked shipping-containers blocking Tuam St traffic. Ditto September 2019).
Tuam St: The multi-storey Council ruin, asbestos-ridden, was demolished in 2014 for the new Bus Interchange. The temporary bus exchange had worked for a couple of years further west along Tuam St before making way for CERA's Blueprint Justice Precinct.
Manchester St: I saw East Frame blocks between Lichfield St & Worcester St & several demolition-sites which were grassed for East Frame / Rauora Park. Majestic Theatre ruin & a Bedford Row ruin & Shooters & neighbouring ruins were all gone. That tidied section of Manchester St would enable Rauora Park in the East Frame. (September 2018. I trekked grassy Rauora Park which would be a wind-funnel until planted trees formed shelter against southerlies).
Manchester St / Worcester St: Broken Trinity Church / Octagon Restaurant was still an eyesore. Kitsch photo-art of trashed Trinity Church covered its north & south facades. (September 2018. I saw a FOR LEASE real-estate board in front of Trinity Church. 2023. Poor-funding, Trinity Church would still not be completely repaired).
June 2015. Shands Emporium would be relocated next to Trinity Church. Across the road, the post-quake rebuild Westende House would be demolished, July 2015. CCDU wanted to widen Manchester St there to build a bus-stop. (September 2018. I saw a shingle carpark on Westende demolition-site by Rauora Park. Manchester St vehicle-lanes were not widened, only footpaths were widened for pedestrians & bicycles. Slow traffic-lights, new bus-lanes, bus-stops & the 30 km/h speed limit just ensured Manchester St congestion. September 2019. Bus-lanes were dangerous. At one intersection, traffic had to wait for a traffic-light enabling busses to turn left while cutting across waiting traffic. An accident waiting to happen!)
Cathedral Sq: Christ Church Cathedral remained an eyesore, four years so far. The Cathedral was still surrounded by boards & fencing. I saw Arctic promotion boards in front of the western facade which showed various Arctic scenes & research by various countries. The Maori plant whare still stood in front of a fence-closed entrance to the Cathedral's western facade. Asian tourists happy-snapped Cathedral ruins there. (September 2018. I saw no change to Christ Church Cathedral nor its cordon-fence & whare which would soon be removed. Dr Megan Woods, a Labour MP got Regenerate Christchurch to ensure that Christ Church Cathedral would be Reinstated. 2019-20. No Reinstatement. 2021. Reinstatement would begin. 2024. There were Reinstatement cost problems, therefore a change of plan was needed to reduce Reinstatement costs! 2026. Still no Reinstatement!)
The Press had published aerial pics of the east side (apse side) of Christ Church Cathedral rather than the ruined western facade, thus trying to bamboozle public that there was little damage to Christ Church Cathedral. If true, why board up & fence-cordon Christ Church Cathedral stopping public access? (September 2018. Christ Church Cathedral was still a mess, the most expensive pigeon loft in the world. Ditto 2020).
Cathedral Sq: Multi-storey Camelot Hotel awaited its 2015 demolition for Central Library / Turanga rebuild which would open October 2018. Novotel was open. Cathedral Junction was open, the trams were running. Heritage Hotel was open. Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel was closed. (Distinction Hotel would open, March 2018. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020-21, Distinction Hotel would be a quarantine hotel).
Cathedral Sq: Multi-storey Government Life was being demolished. It was filled with asbestos pollution! Never mind passersby. Gloucester St ruins near the Arcades ruin & Government Life ruin were also being demolished.
Gloucester St: Old Central Library ruin was half-demolished for CCDU's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Gloucester St Bridge was still closed for repairs. CERA wanted to spend millions of dollars erecting the new Convention Centre / Te Pae on swampland!. (September 2018. I saw the new Convention Centre's massive steel framework erected next to a heritage building, Isaac House, Colombo St / Armagh St. 2018-21. Convention Centre / Te Pae, a construction in progress).
Colombo St / Hereford St: the BNZ asbestos-polluted multi-story was only part-demolished. Closed Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel was next door. (September 2018. BNZ was demolished at last. A new five-storey Spark was being constructed, a massive steel frame similar to the new Convention Centre / Te Pae's steel frame diagonally opposite in Cathedral Sq. Hereford St was reduced to one-lane traffic due to an OPRC-cordon for construction vehicle access).
Colombo St / Cashel Mall: I saw the new BNZ Centre construction site by The Crossing. Pagoda Court ghost, awaiting demolition, was on The Crossing corner. (September 2018. Still abandoned. Sept 2019. Demolished. A new multi-storey was being erected for Kathmandu). Opposite Ballantynes was humming. To enable the new BNZ Centre, Restart Cashel Mall's container-shops opposite Ballantynes were moved closer to the Remembrance Arch nearOxford Tce. (September 2018. I saw Restart Cashel Mall's container-shops were gone, replaced by new Riverside Market shops, 2019).
Oxford Tce: The Mad Cow was demolished for relocated container-shops. Remembrance Arch was boarded for repairs. Remembrance Arch's lions were gone for repairs. The Saturday Flea-market stalls & takeaway food-carts lined Cashel Mall. Pre-quakes, those stalls & carts were at the Arts Centre, Worcester Blvd. (September 2018. I saw Remembrance Arch repairs were completed).
Oxford Tce: I saw The Terrace rebuild was stalled, its steel-skeleton was incomplete, unpainted steel-joint-panels on painted-girders were already rusting! 2015. The Terrace would resume rebuilding. (September 2018. I saw the The Terrace was completed with lanes between buildings. Cafes & bars functioned).
Gloucester St / Durham St Nth: The Provincial Council ruin was still closed for repairs. Opposite on the Amuri Courts demolition-site, a crane was still on-site while the Awly Building office block rebuild progressed. On the opposite corner, Cambridge Tce, Deloitte five-storey office rebuild was almost completed: It had wavy-glass walls, all green-glass panneled. (September 2018. I saw the Provincial Council ruin was still closed for repairs. Awly Building across the road was completed.)
Worcester Blvd: The Art Gallery was closed, fence-cordoned for repairs. The Arts Center was closed, fence-cordoned for repairs. (September 2018. The Arts Centre repairs were still on-going. The Great Hall was open, but the Observatory building was still collapsed, awaiting rebuild).
Rolleston Ave: Canterbury Museum was humming: I saw new displays: old Arctic portable plyboard huts; modern Arctic modular constructions, some portable, as Arctic ice / snow moves. I watched a movie of Sir Edmund Hillary's 1950s expedition to the South Pole, his Sno Cats falling into crevasses en route. An Arctic Sno Cat & tractor was on display.
Botanic Gardens : I saw the Visitor Centre was completed.
Durham St Nth / Chester St West: NZ Radio ruin & Spicers ruin had been demolished for a law office rebuild in progress, Tavendale and Partners.
Durham St Nth / Kilmore St: Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition-site: the Pallet Pavilion was gone. The relocatable wooden Arches still stood on-site. The Gap Filler wooden office was still on-site. I watched a small digger landscaping the site pushing new soil near replanted grass. 2024. The Woooden Arches were still on-site.
Kilmore St: The broken Town Hall was still boarded, no repairs yet. The road was repaired with new tarseal before Forte Health's glassy rebuild. (September 2018. Town Hall was still being repaired. February 2019. Repaired Town Hall was reopened. 2021. Our family would attend Leah's University of Canterbury graduation there. Leah had completed a post-grad literacy diploma while living / teaching in South Canterbury).
Council's Black Map, a Victorian Map showed Christchurch rivers & swamps. The map showed new Forte Heath was built atop an underground stream flowing to Avon River. The CBD's bare-ground after CBD demolitions made it easy for me to see where underground streams ran, where damage was done during quakes. Example: Parallel Kilmore St & Salisbury St & Peterborough St were all built above an underground stream. Those roads were blitzed by the quakes! Broken Town Hall stood on Kilmore St beside Avon River. The multi-storey PGC on Cambridge Tce had collapsed in the 22 February 2011 Quake causing 18 fatalities! It was built on an old, silty levee close to Avon River. Post-quake engineers & architects repeated similar swamp-build stupidity as former CBD swamp-builders. A Bullseye for the next big quake, as Christchurch CBD was built on the Christchurch Fault which killed so many people during the 22 February 2011 Quake!
Peterborough St / Manchester St crossing: Road repairs progressed. I saw that CERA's regrassing diagonally opposite St Lukes demolition-site was overgrown, just like nine months ago when I'd last trekked by. That shabby vegetation insulted families of those who'd died in the nearby PGC multi-storey collapse during the 22 February 2011 Quake. (2021. On the PGC demolition-site, I saw a small, grassy park was backed by new buildings & was fronted by the restored Edmonds Band Rotunda).
Barbadoes St Cemetery by Avon River: I saw many gravestones were still toppled. In the CBD all along slumped Avon River banks, I saw the banks were restored with black-material laid on river-mud & pinned with steel-pins. In places the riverbank repairs narrowed the river, constrictting & speeding up water-flow. (2022. The gravestones were still toppled).
Fitzgerald Ave by the rebuilt northbound bridge overlooking Oxford Tce: While I viewed the residential red-zone's demolition-sites across Avon River where Jake once flatted in Avon Loop, Luke pulled up in his green Toyota van. A Pleasant coincidence. (September 2019. I saw that all residential red-zone houses had been demolished in Avon Loop. Oxford Tce was still being repaired, a riverside boardwalk was being constructed).
Reckoning: 18.11.14. TV 1 news & The Press reported CERA boss Sutton's demise: One of his female staff had complained that Sutton got fresh with female staff, hugged female staff, calling them "honey" & "sweetie" & telling sexist jokes. Sutton announced his resignation at a press conference, admitting mea culpa & whining about exhaustion!
Over 41 months odd since the 13 June 2011 Quake, Sutton oversaw formation of CERA red-zones & green-zones in quaked areas & demolitions of 1 000s of houses in residential red-zones & demolitions of 100s of houses & commercial buildings in Christchurch's CBD red-zone.
Sutton oversaw SCIRT infrastructure road-repairs which were still incompleted, an irritant to road-users due to OPRC detours & poorly repaired roads.
Sutton oversaw CERA's Blueprint for Christchurch's CBD. So far, the CBD was dusty demolition-sites, abandoned buildings, a few struggling businesses, some rebuilds or revamps done by Council or the private sector, some repaired hotels, some New Regent St restored businesses, repaired Cathedral Junction & Restart Cashel Mall container-shops on demolition-sites.
Sutton's unfinished business: No CERA Blueprint anchor-projects were built yet. As for CCDU's Blueprint Frames, many buildings were demolished in the East Frame for Rauora Park & as an afterthought new apartments were planned. The South Frame had surviving businesses like car dealerships which had been screwed around by Sutton's CERA until January 2015 when Sutton left. CERA then decided not to purchase most of those viable South Frame businesses, backtracking on the South Frame, just wanting some green-lanes between buildings.
Sutton's CERA had planted grass in some demolished red-zones & in the demolished CBD's East Frame. CERA's planted & mown grass didn't allow natural plant-succession in red-zones nor did it encourage local fauna back to red-zones. So far, the only rebuild CERA had done was fiddle with Blueprint CBD's Avon River banks & revamp some CBD riverbank paths & gardens.
Sutton's legacy: CERA demolitions, SCIRT & the Blueprint. Sutton's CERA was formed post 22 February 2011 Quake & would only last till April 2016. A 02.09.14 CERA media release read: CERA will become a Department Agency within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet... CERA's puffery during its 2011-2016 tenure would thus be offloaded to the PM's Department & Cabinet. Anyone wanting CERA historical information like zonings, demolitions & media releases... would have to apply to the PM's Department & Cabinet, or other government agencies, or CERA Document Archives which were suggested on CERA's Disestablishment website.
Friday 19.12.14. While Leah had a Xmas function at London St, I trekked the gritty CBD again & saw rebuilding progressing at Poplar St where Jake had flatted pre-quakes. The Odeon Theatre was still part-demolished, an eyesore. TV news featured a Johnny-Come-Lately touting his forthcoming book of broken buildings & had shown him sneaking into SMF-cordoned Odeon Theatre's demolition-site to take pics. I'd taken many pics of post-quake Odeon Theatre. Latest news: photographers sneaking into broken buildings like Christ Church Cathedral & taking pics. That was an indictment of CERA's slow demolitions & slow recovery!
Besides graffiti on ruined-walls, I also saw street art on broken walls, or walls of revamped buildings, like a ballerina mural on the back-wall of revamped Isaac Theatre Royal. Latest street art: colourful fibre-glass giraffes all over the CBD!
Manchester St / Lichfield St: On Majestic Theatre's demolition-site, I saw a Council carpark.
Manchester St / High St: I saw workmen revamping the tram-line.
High St: During lunch hour amongst ruins, at the Brick Farm, I saw a gritty gastro-pub full of boozy men, no women.
Stranges Ln between Lichfield St & High St: I saw three busy, new gastro-pubs in a new-build, a pre-quakes, brick building across the lane. Stranges Ln spooked me, as I didn't trust the old, brick building.
Cashel St / High St crossing: Three diggers were parked atop a massive, concrete rubble-pile, ready for a rebuild.
Cathedral Sq: Christ Church Cathedral ruin was still derelict. The Wizard was back jabbering to tourists, an apprentice Wizard in tow. I saw a man dressed in white leggings, white shirt, black waistcoat & tricorn hat chatting to a hobo. I saw men playing giant-chess nearby. The old Council Library ruin & Government Life ruin had been demolished at last for CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae.
Victoria Sq: Multi-storey Victoria Square apartments had been demolished, also for CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. The repaired Colombo St Bridge looked good beside abandoned Town Hall.
CERA media release, 10.02.15: Warwick Isaacs to take on new challenge. Like Sutton, all that Isaacs left was a demolished red -zone CBD, mostly demolition-sites & ruins. Some private-sector rebuilds were done. No Blueprint anchor projects had started. Just tinkering with Avon River banks during Isaacs's tenure.
Reckoning: CERA media release, 29.01.15: Residential chapter release paves way for vibrant central city living. Isaacs had left shortly after CERA altered the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan & City Plan (District Plan under Resource Management Act 1991) enabling a quicker rebuild of housing in the CBD, particularly in CCDU's East Frame.
Isaacs: A Liveable City creates a new Central City Residential Zone which gives those building homes more flexibility in their design & allows a range of housing types for those who are keen to look at living in a vibrant central city.
We have a goal of seeing more than 20 000 people living in the central city in attractive neighbourhoods with diverse communities. The residential chapter includes more information on development initiatives such as residential development in the East Frame, an area that will be home to approximately 2 000 people and which will begin construction toward the end of the year. [End of 2016: no residential buildings had started in the East Frame. September 2018. Fletcher had begun expensive, concrete tilt-slab apartments, Lichfield St / Madras St. September 2019. Latimer Terraces, Bedford Terraces & Bedford Apartments were built. Liverpool Terraces was a work in progress. 2022. Lining Manchester St, concrete tilt-slab apartments were built].
The boost to residential activity will encourage further commercial growth and investment as people move into the central city.
The latter was obvious, but it took CERA nearly four years post 22 February 2011 Quake to admit it. CERA's original Blueprint wanted to use East & South Frame as a land-bank cum parkland to improve land values for a favoured few red-zone sections inside the Frame, CERA's so-called core-CBD. Meanwhile, damaged & CERA's cordon-strangled CBD businesses had relocated elsewhere, while CERA dithered.
Isaacs had quit to becoming CEO of Stonewood Homes which soon went into liquidation.
28.02.15. On one of my Christchurch trips, I drove Luke along New Brighton Rd past red-zone Locksley Ave turnoff with views across Kerrs Reach & residential red-zone both sides of Avon River to New Brighton. Luke showed me salvage-sites he'd worked at like red-zone housing-demolitions at Kate Sheppard Retirement Village & red-zone housing-demolitions at New Brighton & Bexley.
We returned to town via Pages Rd past red-zone Bexley, Wairoa St, Waitaki St & Bexley Rd. Most houses in the residential red-zone we passed were demolished. The residential red-zone we saw had scruffy, overgrown vegetation. Pages Rd Bridge was still broken. We saw a new Burger King had been built on a demolition-site, Aldwins Rd / Linwood Ave. Luke said, "Burger King went up pretty quickly in competition with McDonald's & KFC across the road."
Most roads I drove that day like Bealey Ave, Fitzgerald Ave, St Asaph St... were still broken. So much for SCIRT repairs: we saw inferior asphalt, repeatedly laid, patch-on-patch by contractors. Asphalt trucks roamed Christchurch, but new tarseal soon cracked & needed repairs again & again. SCIRT contractors made a fortune doing crap work digging up roads over & over again.
New mayor Dalziel had recently opined it would take another thirty years before Christchurch roads would be up to pre-quake standards. Never mind massive rates increases by her Council.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Victim upset by Suttons conduct (The Press / Stuff Co)
See Land for anchor projects reduced (The Press / Stuff Co)
See Warwick Isaacs to take on new challenge (CERA media release 10 February 2015)
See Christchurch faces 30 more years of rough roads (The Press / Stuff Co)
See Rauora Park (Christchurch City Council).
As Leah had another meeting in Christchurch, I dropped her off at Black Betty Cafe, Manchester St. Black Betty Cafe was so successful at New Brighton it had moved to the CBD opposite Ara polytech. Before I rejoined Leah at Seabrook Mackenzie Centre, I trekked Christchurch's demolished CBD. Since I'd last trekked Christchurch CBD in mid December 2013 there was slow progress by CERA's CCDU. There were some private rebuilds & some Council activities amidst dusty demolition-sites, Wilsons carparks & a few businesses trying to re-establish.
(September 2018. While Leah attended a three-day teacher-conference at rebuild Rydges Hotel, Latimer Sq, I rechecked previous treks described in this post, hence the parenthases. While CBD trekking I saw a CBD buzz: citizens enjoying their new CBD. Still scarred, the CBD was busy).
Christchurch CBD notes:
St Asaph St: Still tatty: backs of part-demolished / abandoned High St buildings were an an eyesore. (September 2018. A High St brick-facade was steel-propped. Behind on St Asaph St side, I saw concrete tilt-slab offices being built. That area would become known as Salt District).
Manchester St / St Asaph St / Tuam St: Both sides of Manchester St demolition-sites were a mess. I saw many demolition-sites still on Poplar St, High St, Tuam St, Lichfield St & Madras St. I saw slow CCDU's green East Frame / Rauora Park. It was still part-demolished & I saw abandoned buildings still rotting on High St near Alice in Videoland.
Opposite EPIC Innovation building the Odeon Theatre's roof was gone from Manchester St roadside. The unclaimed roof had lain there an eyesore for years. Part-demolished Odeon Theatre was still an eyesore, theatre seats & part-demolished auditorium were still exposed to the elements. (September 2018. Odeon Theatre facade was still propped by stacked shipping-containers blocking Tuam St traffic. Ditto September 2019).
Tuam St: The multi-storey Council ruin, asbestos-ridden, was demolished in 2014 for the new Bus Interchange. The temporary bus exchange had worked for a couple of years further west along Tuam St before making way for CERA's Blueprint Justice Precinct.
Manchester St: I saw East Frame blocks between Lichfield St & Worcester St & several demolition-sites which were grassed for East Frame / Rauora Park. Majestic Theatre ruin & a Bedford Row ruin & Shooters & neighbouring ruins were all gone. That tidied section of Manchester St would enable Rauora Park in the East Frame. (September 2018. I trekked grassy Rauora Park which would be a wind-funnel until planted trees formed shelter against southerlies).
Manchester St / Worcester St: Broken Trinity Church / Octagon Restaurant was still an eyesore. Kitsch photo-art of trashed Trinity Church covered its north & south facades. (September 2018. I saw a FOR LEASE real-estate board in front of Trinity Church. 2023. Poor-funding, Trinity Church would still not be completely repaired).
June 2015. Shands Emporium would be relocated next to Trinity Church. Across the road, the post-quake rebuild Westende House would be demolished, July 2015. CCDU wanted to widen Manchester St there to build a bus-stop. (September 2018. I saw a shingle carpark on Westende demolition-site by Rauora Park. Manchester St vehicle-lanes were not widened, only footpaths were widened for pedestrians & bicycles. Slow traffic-lights, new bus-lanes, bus-stops & the 30 km/h speed limit just ensured Manchester St congestion. September 2019. Bus-lanes were dangerous. At one intersection, traffic had to wait for a traffic-light enabling busses to turn left while cutting across waiting traffic. An accident waiting to happen!)
Cathedral Sq: Christ Church Cathedral remained an eyesore, four years so far. The Cathedral was still surrounded by boards & fencing. I saw Arctic promotion boards in front of the western facade which showed various Arctic scenes & research by various countries. The Maori plant whare still stood in front of a fence-closed entrance to the Cathedral's western facade. Asian tourists happy-snapped Cathedral ruins there. (September 2018. I saw no change to Christ Church Cathedral nor its cordon-fence & whare which would soon be removed. Dr Megan Woods, a Labour MP got Regenerate Christchurch to ensure that Christ Church Cathedral would be Reinstated. 2019-20. No Reinstatement. 2021. Reinstatement would begin. 2024. There were Reinstatement cost problems, therefore a change of plan was needed to reduce Reinstatement costs! 2026. Still no Reinstatement!)
The Press had published aerial pics of the east side (apse side) of Christ Church Cathedral rather than the ruined western facade, thus trying to bamboozle public that there was little damage to Christ Church Cathedral. If true, why board up & fence-cordon Christ Church Cathedral stopping public access? (September 2018. Christ Church Cathedral was still a mess, the most expensive pigeon loft in the world. Ditto 2020).
Cathedral Sq: Multi-storey Camelot Hotel awaited its 2015 demolition for Central Library / Turanga rebuild which would open October 2018. Novotel was open. Cathedral Junction was open, the trams were running. Heritage Hotel was open. Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel was closed. (Distinction Hotel would open, March 2018. During the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020-21, Distinction Hotel would be a quarantine hotel).
Cathedral Sq: Multi-storey Government Life was being demolished. It was filled with asbestos pollution! Never mind passersby. Gloucester St ruins near the Arcades ruin & Government Life ruin were also being demolished.
Gloucester St: Old Central Library ruin was half-demolished for CCDU's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Gloucester St Bridge was still closed for repairs. CERA wanted to spend millions of dollars erecting the new Convention Centre / Te Pae on swampland!. (September 2018. I saw the new Convention Centre's massive steel framework erected next to a heritage building, Isaac House, Colombo St / Armagh St. 2018-21. Convention Centre / Te Pae, a construction in progress).
Colombo St / Hereford St: the BNZ asbestos-polluted multi-story was only part-demolished. Closed Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel was next door. (September 2018. BNZ was demolished at last. A new five-storey Spark was being constructed, a massive steel frame similar to the new Convention Centre / Te Pae's steel frame diagonally opposite in Cathedral Sq. Hereford St was reduced to one-lane traffic due to an OPRC-cordon for construction vehicle access).
Colombo St / Cashel Mall: I saw the new BNZ Centre construction site by The Crossing. Pagoda Court ghost, awaiting demolition, was on The Crossing corner. (September 2018. Still abandoned. Sept 2019. Demolished. A new multi-storey was being erected for Kathmandu). Opposite Ballantynes was humming. To enable the new BNZ Centre, Restart Cashel Mall's container-shops opposite Ballantynes were moved closer to the Remembrance Arch nearOxford Tce. (September 2018. I saw Restart Cashel Mall's container-shops were gone, replaced by new Riverside Market shops, 2019).
Oxford Tce: The Mad Cow was demolished for relocated container-shops. Remembrance Arch was boarded for repairs. Remembrance Arch's lions were gone for repairs. The Saturday Flea-market stalls & takeaway food-carts lined Cashel Mall. Pre-quakes, those stalls & carts were at the Arts Centre, Worcester Blvd. (September 2018. I saw Remembrance Arch repairs were completed).
Oxford Tce: I saw The Terrace rebuild was stalled, its steel-skeleton was incomplete, unpainted steel-joint-panels on painted-girders were already rusting! 2015. The Terrace would resume rebuilding. (September 2018. I saw the The Terrace was completed with lanes between buildings. Cafes & bars functioned).
Gloucester St / Durham St Nth: The Provincial Council ruin was still closed for repairs. Opposite on the Amuri Courts demolition-site, a crane was still on-site while the Awly Building office block rebuild progressed. On the opposite corner, Cambridge Tce, Deloitte five-storey office rebuild was almost completed: It had wavy-glass walls, all green-glass panneled. (September 2018. I saw the Provincial Council ruin was still closed for repairs. Awly Building across the road was completed.)
Worcester Blvd: The Art Gallery was closed, fence-cordoned for repairs. The Arts Center was closed, fence-cordoned for repairs. (September 2018. The Arts Centre repairs were still on-going. The Great Hall was open, but the Observatory building was still collapsed, awaiting rebuild).
Rolleston Ave: Canterbury Museum was humming: I saw new displays: old Arctic portable plyboard huts; modern Arctic modular constructions, some portable, as Arctic ice / snow moves. I watched a movie of Sir Edmund Hillary's 1950s expedition to the South Pole, his Sno Cats falling into crevasses en route. An Arctic Sno Cat & tractor was on display.
Botanic Gardens : I saw the Visitor Centre was completed.
Durham St Nth / Chester St West: NZ Radio ruin & Spicers ruin had been demolished for a law office rebuild in progress, Tavendale and Partners.
Durham St Nth / Kilmore St: Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition-site: the Pallet Pavilion was gone. The relocatable wooden Arches still stood on-site. The Gap Filler wooden office was still on-site. I watched a small digger landscaping the site pushing new soil near replanted grass. 2024. The Woooden Arches were still on-site.
Kilmore St: The broken Town Hall was still boarded, no repairs yet. The road was repaired with new tarseal before Forte Health's glassy rebuild. (September 2018. Town Hall was still being repaired. February 2019. Repaired Town Hall was reopened. 2021. Our family would attend Leah's University of Canterbury graduation there. Leah had completed a post-grad literacy diploma while living / teaching in South Canterbury).
Council's Black Map, a Victorian Map showed Christchurch rivers & swamps. The map showed new Forte Heath was built atop an underground stream flowing to Avon River. The CBD's bare-ground after CBD demolitions made it easy for me to see where underground streams ran, where damage was done during quakes. Example: Parallel Kilmore St & Salisbury St & Peterborough St were all built above an underground stream. Those roads were blitzed by the quakes! Broken Town Hall stood on Kilmore St beside Avon River. The multi-storey PGC on Cambridge Tce had collapsed in the 22 February 2011 Quake causing 18 fatalities! It was built on an old, silty levee close to Avon River. Post-quake engineers & architects repeated similar swamp-build stupidity as former CBD swamp-builders. A Bullseye for the next big quake, as Christchurch CBD was built on the Christchurch Fault which killed so many people during the 22 February 2011 Quake!
Peterborough St / Manchester St crossing: Road repairs progressed. I saw that CERA's regrassing diagonally opposite St Lukes demolition-site was overgrown, just like nine months ago when I'd last trekked by. That shabby vegetation insulted families of those who'd died in the nearby PGC multi-storey collapse during the 22 February 2011 Quake. (2021. On the PGC demolition-site, I saw a small, grassy park was backed by new buildings & was fronted by the restored Edmonds Band Rotunda).
Barbadoes St Cemetery by Avon River: I saw many gravestones were still toppled. In the CBD all along slumped Avon River banks, I saw the banks were restored with black-material laid on river-mud & pinned with steel-pins. In places the riverbank repairs narrowed the river, constrictting & speeding up water-flow. (2022. The gravestones were still toppled).
Fitzgerald Ave by the rebuilt northbound bridge overlooking Oxford Tce: While I viewed the residential red-zone's demolition-sites across Avon River where Jake once flatted in Avon Loop, Luke pulled up in his green Toyota van. A Pleasant coincidence. (September 2019. I saw that all residential red-zone houses had been demolished in Avon Loop. Oxford Tce was still being repaired, a riverside boardwalk was being constructed).
Reckoning: 18.11.14. TV 1 news & The Press reported CERA boss Sutton's demise: One of his female staff had complained that Sutton got fresh with female staff, hugged female staff, calling them "honey" & "sweetie" & telling sexist jokes. Sutton announced his resignation at a press conference, admitting mea culpa & whining about exhaustion!
Over 41 months odd since the 13 June 2011 Quake, Sutton oversaw formation of CERA red-zones & green-zones in quaked areas & demolitions of 1 000s of houses in residential red-zones & demolitions of 100s of houses & commercial buildings in Christchurch's CBD red-zone.
Sutton oversaw SCIRT infrastructure road-repairs which were still incompleted, an irritant to road-users due to OPRC detours & poorly repaired roads.
Sutton oversaw CERA's Blueprint for Christchurch's CBD. So far, the CBD was dusty demolition-sites, abandoned buildings, a few struggling businesses, some rebuilds or revamps done by Council or the private sector, some repaired hotels, some New Regent St restored businesses, repaired Cathedral Junction & Restart Cashel Mall container-shops on demolition-sites.
Sutton's unfinished business: No CERA Blueprint anchor-projects were built yet. As for CCDU's Blueprint Frames, many buildings were demolished in the East Frame for Rauora Park & as an afterthought new apartments were planned. The South Frame had surviving businesses like car dealerships which had been screwed around by Sutton's CERA until January 2015 when Sutton left. CERA then decided not to purchase most of those viable South Frame businesses, backtracking on the South Frame, just wanting some green-lanes between buildings.
Sutton's CERA had planted grass in some demolished red-zones & in the demolished CBD's East Frame. CERA's planted & mown grass didn't allow natural plant-succession in red-zones nor did it encourage local fauna back to red-zones. So far, the only rebuild CERA had done was fiddle with Blueprint CBD's Avon River banks & revamp some CBD riverbank paths & gardens.
Sutton's legacy: CERA demolitions, SCIRT & the Blueprint. Sutton's CERA was formed post 22 February 2011 Quake & would only last till April 2016. A 02.09.14 CERA media release read: CERA will become a Department Agency within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet... CERA's puffery during its 2011-2016 tenure would thus be offloaded to the PM's Department & Cabinet. Anyone wanting CERA historical information like zonings, demolitions & media releases... would have to apply to the PM's Department & Cabinet, or other government agencies, or CERA Document Archives which were suggested on CERA's Disestablishment website.
Friday 19.12.14. While Leah had a Xmas function at London St, I trekked the gritty CBD again & saw rebuilding progressing at Poplar St where Jake had flatted pre-quakes. The Odeon Theatre was still part-demolished, an eyesore. TV news featured a Johnny-Come-Lately touting his forthcoming book of broken buildings & had shown him sneaking into SMF-cordoned Odeon Theatre's demolition-site to take pics. I'd taken many pics of post-quake Odeon Theatre. Latest news: photographers sneaking into broken buildings like Christ Church Cathedral & taking pics. That was an indictment of CERA's slow demolitions & slow recovery!
Besides graffiti on ruined-walls, I also saw street art on broken walls, or walls of revamped buildings, like a ballerina mural on the back-wall of revamped Isaac Theatre Royal. Latest street art: colourful fibre-glass giraffes all over the CBD!
Manchester St / Lichfield St: On Majestic Theatre's demolition-site, I saw a Council carpark.
Manchester St / High St: I saw workmen revamping the tram-line.
High St: During lunch hour amongst ruins, at the Brick Farm, I saw a gritty gastro-pub full of boozy men, no women.
Stranges Ln between Lichfield St & High St: I saw three busy, new gastro-pubs in a new-build, a pre-quakes, brick building across the lane. Stranges Ln spooked me, as I didn't trust the old, brick building.
Cashel St / High St crossing: Three diggers were parked atop a massive, concrete rubble-pile, ready for a rebuild.
Cathedral Sq: Christ Church Cathedral ruin was still derelict. The Wizard was back jabbering to tourists, an apprentice Wizard in tow. I saw a man dressed in white leggings, white shirt, black waistcoat & tricorn hat chatting to a hobo. I saw men playing giant-chess nearby. The old Council Library ruin & Government Life ruin had been demolished at last for CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae.
Victoria Sq: Multi-storey Victoria Square apartments had been demolished, also for CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. The repaired Colombo St Bridge looked good beside abandoned Town Hall.
CERA media release, 10.02.15: Warwick Isaacs to take on new challenge. Like Sutton, all that Isaacs left was a demolished red -zone CBD, mostly demolition-sites & ruins. Some private-sector rebuilds were done. No Blueprint anchor projects had started. Just tinkering with Avon River banks during Isaacs's tenure.
Reckoning: CERA media release, 29.01.15: Residential chapter release paves way for vibrant central city living. Isaacs had left shortly after CERA altered the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan & City Plan (District Plan under Resource Management Act 1991) enabling a quicker rebuild of housing in the CBD, particularly in CCDU's East Frame.
Isaacs: A Liveable City creates a new Central City Residential Zone which gives those building homes more flexibility in their design & allows a range of housing types for those who are keen to look at living in a vibrant central city.
We have a goal of seeing more than 20 000 people living in the central city in attractive neighbourhoods with diverse communities. The residential chapter includes more information on development initiatives such as residential development in the East Frame, an area that will be home to approximately 2 000 people and which will begin construction toward the end of the year. [End of 2016: no residential buildings had started in the East Frame. September 2018. Fletcher had begun expensive, concrete tilt-slab apartments, Lichfield St / Madras St. September 2019. Latimer Terraces, Bedford Terraces & Bedford Apartments were built. Liverpool Terraces was a work in progress. 2022. Lining Manchester St, concrete tilt-slab apartments were built].
The boost to residential activity will encourage further commercial growth and investment as people move into the central city.
The latter was obvious, but it took CERA nearly four years post 22 February 2011 Quake to admit it. CERA's original Blueprint wanted to use East & South Frame as a land-bank cum parkland to improve land values for a favoured few red-zone sections inside the Frame, CERA's so-called core-CBD. Meanwhile, damaged & CERA's cordon-strangled CBD businesses had relocated elsewhere, while CERA dithered.
Isaacs had quit to becoming CEO of Stonewood Homes which soon went into liquidation.
28.02.15. On one of my Christchurch trips, I drove Luke along New Brighton Rd past red-zone Locksley Ave turnoff with views across Kerrs Reach & residential red-zone both sides of Avon River to New Brighton. Luke showed me salvage-sites he'd worked at like red-zone housing-demolitions at Kate Sheppard Retirement Village & red-zone housing-demolitions at New Brighton & Bexley.
We returned to town via Pages Rd past red-zone Bexley, Wairoa St, Waitaki St & Bexley Rd. Most houses in the residential red-zone we passed were demolished. The residential red-zone we saw had scruffy, overgrown vegetation. Pages Rd Bridge was still broken. We saw a new Burger King had been built on a demolition-site, Aldwins Rd / Linwood Ave. Luke said, "Burger King went up pretty quickly in competition with McDonald's & KFC across the road."
Most roads I drove that day like Bealey Ave, Fitzgerald Ave, St Asaph St... were still broken. So much for SCIRT repairs: we saw inferior asphalt, repeatedly laid, patch-on-patch by contractors. Asphalt trucks roamed Christchurch, but new tarseal soon cracked & needed repairs again & again. SCIRT contractors made a fortune doing crap work digging up roads over & over again.
New mayor Dalziel had recently opined it would take another thirty years before Christchurch roads would be up to pre-quake standards. Never mind massive rates increases by her Council.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Victim upset by Suttons conduct (The Press / Stuff Co)
See Land for anchor projects reduced (The Press / Stuff Co)
See Warwick Isaacs to take on new challenge (CERA media release 10 February 2015)
See Christchurch faces 30 more years of rough roads (The Press / Stuff Co)
See Rauora Park (Christchurch City Council).
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Post Quakes, Academic Research Permissions
Emails, Research Permissions focus. During & since quake times, I received requests from all over for use of my quake-pics in publications or research. (Comment spams was deleted)! If students wanted to use my pics for theses, I allowed permission to use a pic or two, if the permission request was authentic, asking for specific photo permissions. If many photo permissions were asked for, or a whole blog post was required, the requestor was scamming my intellectual property. Annoying were those who used my blog pics & didn't ask. They assumed because I published on Blogger my intellectual property was theirs to use in a Commons scam .
Emails: First request, a Canterbury University, geography researcher: he was irritating, I declined. Second request, an Austrian archeology researcher, I gave permission. Third example, USA engineer, permitted.
I left the following punctuation, grammar & spelling errors as-is, I used only initials for privacy.
PERMISSION REQUEST 1. Thursday, 18 September 2014 email, student GA, University of Canterbury:
Hey there Mark my name is GA, I am a 3rd year student at University of Canterbury, and I am currently participating in the 300 level Geography 309 Research methods in Geography Our research group consisting of myself, JD, NF & WAH, has been assigned to working with the Peterborough village community [Peterborough St, in Christchurch's ruined CBD] with DL as our community representative [a landscape architect] to develop an interactive mapping tool to archive past, present and future images and memories under the supervision of Professor EP.
We are hoping to have permission to utilize images from your website http://wozawanderer.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/snowjob-christchurch-cbd-post-june-13-html and the possibilities of linking your website to the mapping site software.
Could you please advise us as to any legal requirements relating to copyright regulations... [Why didn't Professor EP provide his student with copyright information]?
My Tuesday, 23 September 2014 email reply:
Beware. You're asking for Copyright property; potential theft of my intellectual-property. I took, edited, uploaded many quake pics at considerable personal & financial costs, now people want them. I track down Copyright theft of my pics through Google searches & give some permission for use of my Copyright pics, for those who ask. My Woza Mark & Woza Wanderer blog comments show what I mean.
I don't mind specific quake images being used for varsity research purposes with my Woza Wanderer citing. I've already given several varsity students permissions to do so, amongst other permissions. As it stands via Blogger, anyone in the world can ask for permission to use my blog pics. Why does Canterbury University want to control my blog pics?
Your linking / archiving suggestions sounds like Canterbury University wants to control use of & own my Copyright pics & Content. Over 3 quake years, I blogged many quake posts, more than just the snow-job post. You're vague about varsity linking & archiving. I'd want to know specifically who'd want to use my Copyright pics for their own financial gain. Those thousands of images & content are mine & my family's copyright intellectual-property. Archiving it under control of Canterbury University, it becomes Canterbury University intellectual- property & no longer mine & my family's property.
Tell me what benefits / financial gains I get to have my Content, Copyright pics & intellectual-property linked to by Canterbury University & archived by Canterbury University?
PS. Read Google's copyright info on Blogger. Read NZ Copyright Act for Copyright info. Christchurch Central Library had copies of the Act when I last looked.
Student GA's Tuesday, 23 September 2014 email reply:
Hi Mark sorry if my email was taken in the wrong context, the university of Canterbury is not to blame.
Our research group think you image collection of the CBD and blogg are amazing and can understand that you have concerns. we were willing to annotate all images with you name etc, and the link would have followed the Images intending on directing additional viewers to your blogg.
We are sorry for the misunderstanding.
Take care and nice work...
My Wednesday, 24 September email reply:
Again you are vague. Context is a weasel-word for deception.
I have NOT given you or any other UC student named by you or UC geography faculty permission to store, use or manipulate my copyright Woza Wanderer blog material, including pics & content, in any way. If you or others you mention have already done so, please delete, as it is my intellectual-property, created at my cost & my legacy to my family.
I suggest you consult intellectual-property lawyers. I'm astounded that Professor EP you mention has not already supervised so...
My Satueday, 27 September 2014 email to Professor EP, University of Canterbury:
With reference to my email exchange with your student GA, my email address list was hacked within 2 days. That makes GA suspect. Everyone in my email address list was emailed by [cultural]boomerang.com. [The spam email to my email address list was about 4 EU countries, Poland, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria trying to improve students' English & studies via cultural activities].
Given GA's tone of entitlement to my intellectual-property, I suggest you supervise GA regarding others' intellectual-property & goodwill pertaining to UC....
No response from Professor EP.
PERMISSION REQUEST 2. Thursday, 7 October 2014 email from Dr AK, Carnuntum archeologist, Austria:
Quite recently I happened to find your blog containing data on and pictures of the earth quake at Christchurch.
I am in the process of editing the acts of a scientific congress having taken place at Carnuntum / Austria in 2013 with the topic "The Carnuntum Earth Quake in Context", dealing with aspects of an earth quake which more or less obliterated the Roman town of Carnuntum around AD 360. In one of the articles submitted, its author, MK, who originally developed the theory that a quake once hit this place, needs a picture of a toppled wall which has without doubt been destroyed by a quake, as a parallel to prove that walls can indeed look like this after such an event (archeologists normally have no objection against the interpretation that an earth quake hit a site, but geologists tend to doubt any evidence not supported by seismograms, which are quite hard to come by for antiquity, but this is a lengthy discussion with which I don't want to bother you).
You have published online, in your blog, the picture attached, showing a perfect sample of a toppled wall at Christchurch, quite similar to what they do indeed often look alike in our excavations and this image would fit perfectly well as an illustration for Dr. MK's argument. I therefore request, with all courtesy, your permit to use the image in question, downloaded from your blog, in print in the above mentioned volume. This is a scientific, non-profit publication and therefore I hope to receive your permit cost free. You will of course be mentioned as author of the picture, therefore I kindly request that you tell me the name you want to be shown...
Dr. AK
Grabung Carnuntum
Archaologischer Park Carnuntum...
I gave Dr AK permission to use my quake-toppled-wall pic in his Austrian publication. It wasn't my first such permission, nor my last.
PERMISSION REQUEST 3. Sunday 08.02.15. An email exchange with a USA engineer, Dr CD, who felt entitled to all my 20 600 edited & uploaded, quake-pics:
Sunday 08.02.15. USA engineer, Dr CD: I am writing to request permission to use photographs you have posted. I will use these photographs in some professional publications I am preparing.
Let me first introduce myself. I am Dr CD. I have a PhD in civil engineering focusing on geotechnical engineering and lifeline systems. I live and work in Los Angeles, California. I work at the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. I investigate and report on earthquake effects and how lifeline systems are impacted. I do my research on a voluntary basis, mostly out of interest and drive to learn about and improve our common understanding of earthquake impacts on infrastructure and society. My goal is to incrementally improve our ability to reduce earthquake impacts and increase our seismic resilience around the world.
I have been to Christchurch several times since 2010 and am working with people from the University of Canterbury, CCC, SCIRT, GNS, the Treasury and others. My current interest is a unique study on the flooding which occurred following the series of earthquakes and how liquefaction caused this flooding. You have a set of photographs useful for helping me to make my case. In order to make this case and convince the scientific community of the facts I am preparing professional publications to be printed in conference proceedings, workshops, professional monographs and peer reviewed journals.
My request to you is to allow me to utilize your photographs from your blogs in my publications free of charge. Each time I use these photographs I will give full credit and reference Mark Esslemont.
Please let me know if you would provide permissions for general use of your posted photographs, or if you prefer I can provide specific request for each photograph I would like to use.
I am attaching photographs currently of most interest to me. However as I proceed with my studies there are others you have taken which may be useful for documentation.
I do not want to burden your time, but if you have additional photographs with the liquefaction flooding please let me know. Also I would like to know the locations where each was taken. I would appreciate help in identifying the photograph locations if you do not mind,
[Dr CD wanted a lot of "free" work. He obviously hadn't scrutinized my 178 quake blog posts & seen that my 20 600 odd pics were ordered according to locations & captioned accordingly. I didn't caption every single pic, as I would've repeated information I'd already captioned in associated pics. That was massively time consuming, making it easy for lazy academics & copyright thieves].
I do appreciate your taking time to take and post the information you have in the past. It is of great value for all to see. I also appreciate your time to review my request here.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration...
My Sunday 08.02.15 reply: You may use my blog pics you need for your research. Just credit my name & Woza Wanderer blog for each pic you use. It is not a good idea to give general permission, as my quake pics are unique & a copyright legacy for my family. I would want to know what specific pics you will use for your publications.
I expect future publishers / publications would also need to know which of my copyright pics have been published elsewhere?
My quake pics were edited & uploaded in haste during quakes & aftershock times, so not all pics are captioned, time consuming & ongoing still, but the title of each blog post & captioned pics give the location, in addition to my content, street names, etc, in each blog post.
Ask, if you require any more info for specific pics?
Good luck with your research. I've had several requests for use of my quake pics for research projects, by councils' usage, universities, etc, local & worldwide, so my copyright is imperative.
I don't have current pics of the latest Christchurch quake related flooding [at Flockton Basin] as I am now living in Fairlie, several hours drive away from Christchurch, in the Southern Alps...
Monday 09.02.15. USA engineer Dr CD's response: Thank you greatly for approval to use your photos. I will acknowledge you and Woza Wanderer blog each time and also let you know which photographs are being used in each publication I use them in.
I definitely do not want to impact your copyright and did not intend to request to do so. To the contrary I completely respect your interest and copyright, which is why I made the request.
Thank you again and please be prepared to hear from me again, probably several times over the coming year to get more information on specific photos and also to identify which photos I would like to use in different publications.
I never heard from Dr CD again.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Emails: First request, a Canterbury University, geography researcher: he was irritating, I declined. Second request, an Austrian archeology researcher, I gave permission. Third example, USA engineer, permitted.
I left the following punctuation, grammar & spelling errors as-is, I used only initials for privacy.
PERMISSION REQUEST 1. Thursday, 18 September 2014 email, student GA, University of Canterbury:
Hey there Mark my name is GA, I am a 3rd year student at University of Canterbury, and I am currently participating in the 300 level Geography 309 Research methods in Geography Our research group consisting of myself, JD, NF & WAH, has been assigned to working with the Peterborough village community [Peterborough St, in Christchurch's ruined CBD] with DL as our community representative [a landscape architect] to develop an interactive mapping tool to archive past, present and future images and memories under the supervision of Professor EP.
We are hoping to have permission to utilize images from your website http://wozawanderer.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/snowjob-christchurch-cbd-post-june-13-html and the possibilities of linking your website to the mapping site software.
Could you please advise us as to any legal requirements relating to copyright regulations... [Why didn't Professor EP provide his student with copyright information]?
My Tuesday, 23 September 2014 email reply:
Beware. You're asking for Copyright property; potential theft of my intellectual-property. I took, edited, uploaded many quake pics at considerable personal & financial costs, now people want them. I track down Copyright theft of my pics through Google searches & give some permission for use of my Copyright pics, for those who ask. My Woza Mark & Woza Wanderer blog comments show what I mean.
I don't mind specific quake images being used for varsity research purposes with my Woza Wanderer citing. I've already given several varsity students permissions to do so, amongst other permissions. As it stands via Blogger, anyone in the world can ask for permission to use my blog pics. Why does Canterbury University want to control my blog pics?
Your linking / archiving suggestions sounds like Canterbury University wants to control use of & own my Copyright pics & Content. Over 3 quake years, I blogged many quake posts, more than just the snow-job post. You're vague about varsity linking & archiving. I'd want to know specifically who'd want to use my Copyright pics for their own financial gain. Those thousands of images & content are mine & my family's copyright intellectual-property. Archiving it under control of Canterbury University, it becomes Canterbury University intellectual- property & no longer mine & my family's property.
Tell me what benefits / financial gains I get to have my Content, Copyright pics & intellectual-property linked to by Canterbury University & archived by Canterbury University?
PS. Read Google's copyright info on Blogger. Read NZ Copyright Act for Copyright info. Christchurch Central Library had copies of the Act when I last looked.
Student GA's Tuesday, 23 September 2014 email reply:
Hi Mark sorry if my email was taken in the wrong context, the university of Canterbury is not to blame.
Our research group think you image collection of the CBD and blogg are amazing and can understand that you have concerns. we were willing to annotate all images with you name etc, and the link would have followed the Images intending on directing additional viewers to your blogg.
We are sorry for the misunderstanding.
Take care and nice work...
My Wednesday, 24 September email reply:
Again you are vague. Context is a weasel-word for deception.
I have NOT given you or any other UC student named by you or UC geography faculty permission to store, use or manipulate my copyright Woza Wanderer blog material, including pics & content, in any way. If you or others you mention have already done so, please delete, as it is my intellectual-property, created at my cost & my legacy to my family.
I suggest you consult intellectual-property lawyers. I'm astounded that Professor EP you mention has not already supervised so...
My Satueday, 27 September 2014 email to Professor EP, University of Canterbury:
With reference to my email exchange with your student GA, my email address list was hacked within 2 days. That makes GA suspect. Everyone in my email address list was emailed by [cultural]boomerang.com. [The spam email to my email address list was about 4 EU countries, Poland, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria trying to improve students' English & studies via cultural activities].
Given GA's tone of entitlement to my intellectual-property, I suggest you supervise GA regarding others' intellectual-property & goodwill pertaining to UC....
No response from Professor EP.
PERMISSION REQUEST 2. Thursday, 7 October 2014 email from Dr AK, Carnuntum archeologist, Austria:
Quite recently I happened to find your blog containing data on and pictures of the earth quake at Christchurch.
I am in the process of editing the acts of a scientific congress having taken place at Carnuntum / Austria in 2013 with the topic "The Carnuntum Earth Quake in Context", dealing with aspects of an earth quake which more or less obliterated the Roman town of Carnuntum around AD 360. In one of the articles submitted, its author, MK, who originally developed the theory that a quake once hit this place, needs a picture of a toppled wall which has without doubt been destroyed by a quake, as a parallel to prove that walls can indeed look like this after such an event (archeologists normally have no objection against the interpretation that an earth quake hit a site, but geologists tend to doubt any evidence not supported by seismograms, which are quite hard to come by for antiquity, but this is a lengthy discussion with which I don't want to bother you).
You have published online, in your blog, the picture attached, showing a perfect sample of a toppled wall at Christchurch, quite similar to what they do indeed often look alike in our excavations and this image would fit perfectly well as an illustration for Dr. MK's argument. I therefore request, with all courtesy, your permit to use the image in question, downloaded from your blog, in print in the above mentioned volume. This is a scientific, non-profit publication and therefore I hope to receive your permit cost free. You will of course be mentioned as author of the picture, therefore I kindly request that you tell me the name you want to be shown...
Dr. AK
Grabung Carnuntum
Archaologischer Park Carnuntum...
I gave Dr AK permission to use my quake-toppled-wall pic in his Austrian publication. It wasn't my first such permission, nor my last.
PERMISSION REQUEST 3. Sunday 08.02.15. An email exchange with a USA engineer, Dr CD, who felt entitled to all my 20 600 edited & uploaded, quake-pics:
Sunday 08.02.15. USA engineer, Dr CD: I am writing to request permission to use photographs you have posted. I will use these photographs in some professional publications I am preparing.
Let me first introduce myself. I am Dr CD. I have a PhD in civil engineering focusing on geotechnical engineering and lifeline systems. I live and work in Los Angeles, California. I work at the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. I investigate and report on earthquake effects and how lifeline systems are impacted. I do my research on a voluntary basis, mostly out of interest and drive to learn about and improve our common understanding of earthquake impacts on infrastructure and society. My goal is to incrementally improve our ability to reduce earthquake impacts and increase our seismic resilience around the world.
I have been to Christchurch several times since 2010 and am working with people from the University of Canterbury, CCC, SCIRT, GNS, the Treasury and others. My current interest is a unique study on the flooding which occurred following the series of earthquakes and how liquefaction caused this flooding. You have a set of photographs useful for helping me to make my case. In order to make this case and convince the scientific community of the facts I am preparing professional publications to be printed in conference proceedings, workshops, professional monographs and peer reviewed journals.
My request to you is to allow me to utilize your photographs from your blogs in my publications free of charge. Each time I use these photographs I will give full credit and reference Mark Esslemont.
Please let me know if you would provide permissions for general use of your posted photographs, or if you prefer I can provide specific request for each photograph I would like to use.
I am attaching photographs currently of most interest to me. However as I proceed with my studies there are others you have taken which may be useful for documentation.
I do not want to burden your time, but if you have additional photographs with the liquefaction flooding please let me know. Also I would like to know the locations where each was taken. I would appreciate help in identifying the photograph locations if you do not mind,
[Dr CD wanted a lot of "free" work. He obviously hadn't scrutinized my 178 quake blog posts & seen that my 20 600 odd pics were ordered according to locations & captioned accordingly. I didn't caption every single pic, as I would've repeated information I'd already captioned in associated pics. That was massively time consuming, making it easy for lazy academics & copyright thieves].
I do appreciate your taking time to take and post the information you have in the past. It is of great value for all to see. I also appreciate your time to review my request here.
Thank you in advance for your kind consideration...
My Sunday 08.02.15 reply: You may use my blog pics you need for your research. Just credit my name & Woza Wanderer blog for each pic you use. It is not a good idea to give general permission, as my quake pics are unique & a copyright legacy for my family. I would want to know what specific pics you will use for your publications.
I expect future publishers / publications would also need to know which of my copyright pics have been published elsewhere?
My quake pics were edited & uploaded in haste during quakes & aftershock times, so not all pics are captioned, time consuming & ongoing still, but the title of each blog post & captioned pics give the location, in addition to my content, street names, etc, in each blog post.
Ask, if you require any more info for specific pics?
Good luck with your research. I've had several requests for use of my quake pics for research projects, by councils' usage, universities, etc, local & worldwide, so my copyright is imperative.
I don't have current pics of the latest Christchurch quake related flooding [at Flockton Basin] as I am now living in Fairlie, several hours drive away from Christchurch, in the Southern Alps...
Monday 09.02.15. USA engineer Dr CD's response: Thank you greatly for approval to use your photos. I will acknowledge you and Woza Wanderer blog each time and also let you know which photographs are being used in each publication I use them in.
I definitely do not want to impact your copyright and did not intend to request to do so. To the contrary I completely respect your interest and copyright, which is why I made the request.
Thank you again and please be prepared to hear from me again, probably several times over the coming year to get more information on specific photos and also to identify which photos I would like to use in different publications.
I never heard from Dr CD again.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Jack Lovelock Track, Fairlie
Named after 1936 Berlin Olympian, Jack Lovelock Track is a flat, 8 km, circular walk along Fairlie outskirt roads.
Starting along School Rd towards Albury Range, pass Fairlie Primary School, then wander out of town amongst sheep paddocks till tar seal becomes dirt road.
A couple of kms out of Fairlie, turn right along Jack Lovelock Track, pass sheep paddocks & farm land, cross 3 fords, then briefly join Te Puke Rd, which joins Nixons Rd back to town.
Westwards are great views of Albury Range, then nor' eastwards - Mt Maud, Mt Edward, Two Thumbs Range, Mt Dobson, Fox Peak, then eastwards to Ashwick Flats & Devils Peak.
Part rural paddocks, part town, Nixons Rd has newer houses including a homestay & a variety of farm animals - horses, sheep, kuni pigs, alpacas.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
Starting along School Rd towards Albury Range, pass Fairlie Primary School, then wander out of town amongst sheep paddocks till tar seal becomes dirt road.
A couple of kms out of Fairlie, turn right along Jack Lovelock Track, pass sheep paddocks & farm land, cross 3 fords, then briefly join Te Puke Rd, which joins Nixons Rd back to town.
Westwards are great views of Albury Range, then nor' eastwards - Mt Maud, Mt Edward, Two Thumbs Range, Mt Dobson, Fox Peak, then eastwards to Ashwick Flats & Devils Peak.
Part rural paddocks, part town, Nixons Rd has newer houses including a homestay & a variety of farm animals - horses, sheep, kuni pigs, alpacas.
Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
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