CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) – Christ Church Cathedral was arguably the most iconic building in New Zealand before much of it collapsed in an earthquake ten years ago. The years of debate that followed as to whether the ruins should be rebuilt or demolished symbolized the paralysis that has sometimes affected Christchurch’s wider reconstruction.
Since the city on Monday marks a decade since the quake, which killed 185 people and claimed countless lives, there are finally signs of progress in the cathedral.
It is being rebuilt to look like the original that was finished in 1904, only with current improvements to make it warmer and safer, even to add much needed extra bathrooms. But first, workers must stabilize the remnants.
Peter Carrell, the Anglican bishop of Christchurch, said its reopening will represent a key milestone.
“I think it will be hugely significant, because it will be one of the final pieces of the puzzle of reuniting Christchurch,” Carrell said. “It will be a healing of Christchurch’s heart after the earthquake.”
Still, the doors are not expected to open for another six years. Preserving what’s left is more expensive and time consuming than tearing it down and starting over. And so far, the mix of funds from insurance sources, churches, councils and governments amounts to only about two-thirds of the New Zealand $ 154 million ($ 111 million).
Keith Paterson, the project director, said the goal is for a fundraising team to raise the rest of the money from both local and international donors.
“We are very confident that we will get the money when the project is over,” Carrell said. “Let’s start with a lot of money.”
Elsewhere in the city, bright new buildings are popping up, along with playgrounds and innovative playgrounds. But where there were some buildings, now there are only empty parking lots and the migration of shops and businesses to the suburbs that happened after the earthquake has not yet been completely reversed.
There is also a disparity in neighborhoods. Some parts of the city to the west look very similar to before the earthquake. But in the east, where the land was prone to liquidation, entire suburbs have been razed.
Authorities have considered the land too unstable to rebuild. Some suburbs now look like giant parks, with some fruit trees and power lines, the only sign that there were houses.
Richard Cosgrove’s house on the River Avon in the suburbs of Dallington was one of those demolished. The communications consultant recalls the enormous forces at play during the earthquake.
“The whole area sank en masse,” he said. “We built a wooden villa in 1922. Basically, the four corners went in separate directions.”
Cosgrove said the strong community bonds that were formed when residents tried to save their homes and worked to improve the area ended when the government declared it was unsafe for its reconstruction.
“That broke the community,” he said.
Cosgrove and his wife now live out of town on a small farm.
“We thought that if we moved anywhere else in the city, it would remind us of what we lost, so we decided to build a new life in the country,” he said.
But he remains optimistic about Christchurch and its future. He said the adversities that people have suffered have brought the community together and made it stronger and more resilient, and that many of the foreign workers who came to help rebuild have been so impressed that they have stayed.
“We have a really fantastic city,” Cosgrove said. “It is a very impressive reconstruction that has continued. I think about all the great things they have done. ”
Still, he says, it would have been nice if everything had happened a little earlier.