Christchurch

Canterbury Plains and Christchurch
This is where the Pacific Ocean meets the fertile Canterbury Plains and with the backdrop of the magnificient Southern Alps which gives stunning vistas.Christchurch is its centre and is a city recovering from two terrible natural disasters in a short space of time.
Christchurch had a long history of pre European settlement with the Ngai Tahu the major tribe.Then in 1850 the first four ships arrived in what was to become Lyttleton Harbour.
Christchurch city’s parks and gardens are generally easy strolls on the flat and the big one is called Hagley Park , accessible from a number of entrances and tree lined avenues take you past ornate fountains and sports fields.The River Avon flows through it and the ducks and the punts on the river give it a typical British feel.The Botanic gardens hasa number of sections given over to native plants and the plants we are so accustomed to seeing in our own gardens.A thirty minute punt ride allows you to sit back as an ‘authentic Edwardian’ gently takes you down along the shallow river but at $25 each was one we decided to give a miss.
Christchurch’s main shopping area in the centre was heavily damaged in the two earthquakes but the High St has recovered thankfully with the use of shipping containers as temporary shopping facilities and believe me they look really neat and produce an interesting mix of types of shops.
The central core or red zone is all fenced off whilst demolition continues and a number of buildings outside of this are still caged off and access allowed only under exceptional circumstances.
The focus of attention is what is to happen to the iconic Christchurch cathedral which was built during the Late Victorian period in a gothic revival style with stone quarried from Port Hills It dominated the Cathedral square and contained many works of art that recorded the history of Canterbury,such as Antarctic exploration and involvement in the World Wars.
Other features of the square were the Old Chief Post Office, the former Government Building and a statue of John Robert Godley who is regarded as the father of the Canterbury settlement.As the founder with Edward Gibbon Wakefield of the New Zealand Company the Canterbury association purchased nearly 500 square miles of land under the Church of England dominated province.A slice of England transplanted on to New Zealand shored described as respectable Canterbury Pilgrims who set out on the 4 ships ,Randolph,Charlotte Jane, Cressy and Sir George Seymour.He didn’t stick around , returning to Englamd in 1852.His statue used to stand in front of the cathedral and the steps in front of the cathedral was the site for many street performers including Christchurch’s wizard who used to cast spells and generally pontificate on various issues.He is now leading a campaign to get the cathedral restored after the last quake in February 2011.The statue of Robert Godley lies in a very moving memorial to the quake in the Canterbury Museum awaiting its resiting when the remedial works to the city centre have been decided and completed.
The Arts Centre was located in the Old University of Canterbury buildings on Worcester Boulevard was the home of 40 galleries, studios and shops .It was begun in 1877 and designed by a series of architects the buildings linked by quadrangles and cloisters.It reminded me very much of my old school buildings of the same style and it was a shame to see the damage to these lovely buildings but heartening to see the restoration work being carried out with some of the most serious forms of scaffolding and structural support I have ever seen. Although this is out of the red zone all of it is currently out of bounds behind the security fencing.
The Gothic Canterbury Museum fortunately seems to have avoided the worst of the damage perhaps by being further away from the central cathedral square is well worth seeing to catch up on Maori culture,a 19th reconstruction of a Christchurch street scene with all types of shops and offices,furniture and various objects from Birmingham and the Potteries districts well represented.
A moving exhibit relating to the earthquakes is also present which tries to help the healing process by telling the story of the way the city and its people have come to terms with what has happened to it.A number of the pieces include the Godley statue,the spire of the cathedral, and the Lyttleton Timeball which was a huge blackball that hung from the Tower of the Lyttleton Timeball Station that was lowered daily at 1pm to signal Greenwich Mean Time to ships in the harbour.The girls really enjoyed a fashion exhibit called the WOW, wearable of the wall fashion with all sorts of styles, my favourite was the two budgie bra made from twin stuffed bosom pals!
A note regarding my obsession with parking, normally I resent paying for parking which I consider gives me nothing for the money I pay.Parking in most places in New Zealand comes free for mostly up to a couple of hours but in Christchurch you generally have to pay in the centre and with all the newly created free space this is a large car park city but I don’t mind paying here so long as the money goes to helping the city regenerate.I would also like to pay tribute to the patient parking warden who allowed us time to reapply our parking ticket to the car after running back to the car just as the ticket expired, good on you Mate……Coogee please take note!!