Exploring New Zealand #6: Christchurch Cathedral Square and Canterbury Museum
When I was preparing this trip to New Zealand, some people told me Christchurch wasn't that good. How wrong they were. Christchurch is a beautifully planned city plenty of interesting things to keep you busy for a couple of days. We took many photos at the Cathedral Square, climbed the Christchurch Cathedral tower, visited the fascinating Canterbury Museum and spent an afternoon at the Orana Wildlife Park.
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Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the 'Square', is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch is located. The square was originally intended to be called Ridley Square, after the Protestant martyr Nicholas Ridley, but in Edward Jollie's 1850 plan of central Christchurch it is clearly marked Cathedral Square. Ridley's co-martyrs and colleague bishops, Cranmer and Latimer have Squares named after them, not far distant from Cathedral Square.
- Update 5 September 2010: Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch's landmark heritage buildings have made it through yesterday's damaging 7.1 magnitude earthquake, and hefty aftershocks, relatively unscathed. Five hundred buildings have been affected across Christchurch, including 90 in the central city where there are many heritage and character buildings. Christchurch landmarks to have fared well the earthquake include the Provincial Chambers, the Christchurch Cathedral, the Arts Centre, Christ's College and the Public Trust building and other buildings on Oxford Terrace. One building extensively damaged is the Repertory Theatre in Kilmore St, just months ahead of a major restoration project, a city council spokeswoman said. Staff from Christchurch City Council and the Historic Places Trust have begun inspecting central city buildings alongside the council's building evaluation team, and will also assess buildings elsewhere in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. A very small number of buildings have suffered extensive damage due to the earthquake, and further assessment will determine whether they can be restored. Many others have suffered minor to moderate damage, and will be fixed in coming weeks. Buildings already strengthened by property owners had generally fared well. We encourage building owners to seek appropriate advice from structural engineers and architects and take steps in the interim to reduce damage and cost by keeping them weather-tight, Urban Design and Heritage team leader Ceciel DelaRue said.
Exploring New Zealand #8: Climbing the Christchurch Cathedral Tower
Climbing the Christchurch Cathedral Tower.
When I was preparing this trip to New Zealand, some people told me Christchurch wasn't that good. How wrong they were. Christchurch is a beautifully planned city plenty of interesting things to keep you busy for a couple of days. We took many photos at the Cathedral Square, climbed the Christchurch Cathedral tower, visited the fascinating Canterbury Museum and spent an afternoon at the Orana Wildlife Park.
- Update 5 September 2010: Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch's landmark heritage buildings have made it through yesterday's damaging 7.1 magnitude earthquake, and hefty aftershocks, relatively unscathed. Five hundred buildings have been affected across Christchurch, including 90 in the central city where there are many heritage and character buildings. Christchurch landmarks to have fared well the earthquake include the Provincial Chambers, the Christchurch Cathedral, the Arts Centre, Christ's College and the Public Trust building and other buildings on Oxford Terrace. One building extensively damaged is the Repertory Theatre in Kilmore St, just months ahead of a major restoration project, a city council spokeswoman said. Staff from Christchurch City Council and the Historic Places Trust have begun inspecting central city buildings alongside the council's building evaluation team, and will also assess buildings elsewhere in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. A very small number of buildings have suffered extensive damage due to the earthquake, and further assessment will determine whether they can be restored. Many others have suffered minor to moderate damage, and will be fixed in coming weeks. Buildings already strengthened by property owners had generally fared well. We encourage building owners to seek appropriate advice from structural engineers and architects and take steps in the interim to reduce damage and cost by keeping them weather-tight, Urban Design and Heritage team leader Ceciel DelaRue said.
Christchurch under siege - Roadside Stories
New Zealand's most English city, Christchurch was hit by devastating earthquakes in September 2010 and February and June 2011. In the February quake 185 people died. Over a quarter of the city centre's buildings - many of them historic - were condemned, and the statue of city founder John Robert Godley was toppled.
Christchurch,
The shaky isles: Canterbury & other earthquakes,
The 2011 Christchurch earthquake,
Earthquakes,
John Robert Godley,
Canterbury region: geology,
Images of earthquake damage courtesy of Ross Becker.
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Roadside Stories are a series of audio guides to places of interest on major road trips in New Zealand. Each guide tells the story of an attraction along the way -- its people, its history, its cultural and natural significance. For more information about Roadside Stories visit
Goodlife Homes Hill Builders Christchurch
Goodlife Homes are specialist Hill Builders in Christchurch. Find out more about building on the hills around Christchurch and the Port Hills.
New Zealand-Christchurch Part 11
Welcome to my travelchannel.On my channel you can find almost 1000 films of more than 70 countries.
See the playlist on my youtube channel.Enjoy!
Christchurch:
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's third-most populous urban area. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch.
The city was named by the Canterbury Association, which settled the surrounding province of Canterbury. The name of Christchurch was agreed on at the first meeting of the association on 27 March 1848. It was suggested by John Robert Godley, who had attended Christ Church, Oxford. Some early writers called the town Christ Church, but it was recorded as Christchurch in the minutes of the management committee of the association. Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand.
The river that flows through the centre of the city (its banks now largely forming an urban park) was named Avon at the request of the pioneering Deans brothers to commemorate the Scottish Avon, which rises in the Ayrshire hills near what was their grandfathers' farm and flows into the Clyde.
The usual Māori name for Christchurch is Ōtautahi (the place of Tautahi). This was originally the name of a specific site by the Avon River near present-day Kilmore Street and the Christchurch Central Fire Station. The site was a seasonal dwelling of Ngāi Tahu chief Te Potiki Tautahi, whose main home was Port Levy on Banks Peninsula. The Ōtautahi name was adopted in the 1930s. Prior to that the Ngāi Tahu generally referred to the Christchurch area as Karaitiana, a transliteration of the English word Christian. The city's name is often abbreviated by New Zealanders to Chch. In New Zealand Sign Language, the city's name is the fingerspelled letter C (made by forming the hand into a C shape) signed twice, with the second to the right of the first, while mouthing Christchurch.
The Christchurch city council has announced that Christchurch will be built as a city in a garden with an estimated cost of NZ$2 billion. The size of the city's business district will be reduced, giving much more space over to parkland. In addition, the height of buildings will be limited to 7 floors in the city centre.
At the city's centre is Cathedral Square, surrounding the now-earthquake-damaged -- landmark Anglican cathedral, Christ Church. The area around this square and within the 'four avenues' of Christchurch (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue was considered the central business district of the city. The central city also had a number of residential areas, including Inner City East, Inner City West, Avon Loop, Moa Neighbourhood and Victoria. Cathedral Square is located at the crossing of two major central streets, Colombo Street and Worcester Street, both of which are currently cordoned off at the approaches to the square.
Cathedral Square, the heart of the city, hosted attractions such as the Wizard of New Zealand, Ian Brackenbury Channell, and evangelist Ray Comfort; regular market days; free standing food and coffee carts; an aquarium, pubs and restaurants and the city's chief tourist information centre.
The central city also included the pedestrianised sections of Cashel and High streets commonly known as 'City Mall'. Refurbished in 2008/09 the mall before the earthquake of February 2011 featured especially designed seating, flower and garden boxes, more trees, paving, and an extension to the central city tram route. The Bridge of Remembrance commemorating war dead stands at the western end of the mall.The Cultural Precinct provided a backdrop to a vibrant scene of ever-changing arts, cultural, and heritage attractions within an area of less than one square kilometre. The Arts Centre, the Canterbury Museum and the Art Gallery are located in the Cultural Precinct. The majority of the activities were free and a printable map was provided.
In 2010, the Christchurch City Council released A City For People Action Plan, a programme of work through to 2022 to improve public spaces within the central city to entice more inner city residents and visitors. A primary action was to reduce the impact of motorised private vehicles and increase the comfort of pedestrians and cyclists. The plan was based on a report prepared for the council by renowned Danish design firm Gehl Architects. Since the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake Wellington architect Ian Athfield has been selected to re-plan, although many varied suggestions have been promoted for rebuilding the central city
The Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament of Christchurch, New Zealand
Christchurch CBD, New Zealand - 23/04/2011 PART 2
Looking east down Worcester Boulevard towards Cathedral Square. The Cathedral lost its spire in the 22 February 2011 earthquake. 122 years earlier in 1888, the Hope Fault in north Canterbury ruptured in a magnitude 7.0-7.3 earthquake, which caused the Cathedral spire to topple as well. It needs to be remembered no building codes for earthquake reinforcing existed then.
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Recorded on 23 April 2011.
On 04 September 2010 a magnitude 7.1 earthquake centred 40km from Christchurch, New Zealand, struck the city causing widespread damage. However it caused no loss of life and after 3 weeks much of the Central Business District had reopened.
On 22 February 2011, a very destructive and deadly magnitude 6.3 aftershock occurred 6km from the CBD and 5 kilometres deep at 1251hrs local time. At this point in time the death toll stands at about 180 people. The entire CBD bordered by the Four Avenues (named after key settlers in Canterbury province) - Deans, Bealey, Fitzgerald and Moorhouse - was cordoned off, with the cordon enforced by New Zealand military and police personnel, Australian police and Singaporean army personnel.
With aftershocks starting to - HOPEFULLY - taper off, and the most dangerous buildings start to get demolished, the public are being granted access to parts of the city.
Christchurch Railway Station (New Zealand)
Christchurch,Railway,Station,(New,Zealand)
Christchurch,Railway,Station,is,in,the,Canterbury,region,of,New,Zealands,South,Island,It,is,on,the,Main,North,Line,at,Addington,junction,,and,is,the,only,remaining,passenger,railway,station,in,the,city:,suburban,passenger,trains,were,cancelled,due,to,lack,of,demand,in,the,1970s,It,is,the,terminus,of,the,South,Island’s,two,remaining,long-distance,passenger,trains,,the,TranzAlpine,and,the,Coastal,Pacific
The,current,station,is,the,third,Christchurch,railway,station,The,two,earlier,stations,were,adjacent,to,each,other,on,Moorhouse,Avenue,,a,short,distance,to,the,east,on,the,Main,South,Line,,closer,to,the,city,centre
Contents
1,History
11,First,station
12,Proposed,Christchurch,city,station
13,Second,station
131,Earthquake,damage
14,Third,station
2,Today
3,See,also
4,Footnotes
History
First,station
The,site,of,Christchurchs,first,railway,station,,on,Moorhouse,Avenue,at,the,bottom,of,Madras,Street,,with,the,1960,station,building,in,the,background
Christchurchs,first,railway,station,was,built,by,the,Canterbury,Provincial,Council,for,its,5ft3in,1,600&,Christchurch,Railway,Station,(New,Zealand)
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Building Consents
A resource of the Waimakariri District Council, Building Unit.
More information at
MBIE Earthquake Repairs to Canterbury Homes seminar - 27 August 2015
Recording of the seminar MBIE Earthquake Repairs to Canterbury Homes, held at the In The Know Hub, 27 August 2015.
Background: Earlier this month MBIE released the results of a survey on the quality of earthquake repairs undertaken on 101 homes that had been exempt from a building consent under Schedule 1 (repairs and maintenance) of the Building Act.
Thirty-two properties had structural repair work carried out that was non-compliant with the Building Code. An additional 23 homes were assessed as having minor repair defects.
See more details and view the report here »
This seminar covered:
- an overview of the report - how it was undertaken, what the report found and the recommendations
- clarification of some of the technical information including findings about ‘jack and pack’ repairs
and EQC and EQR answered questions and outlined:
- their response to the MBIE report
- how they will address issues outlined by the report
- discuss next steps.
More about the In The Know Hub here:
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) is the agency established by the Government of New Zealand to lead and coordinate the ongoing recovery effort following the devastating earthquakes of September 2010 and February 2011.
CERA is supporting a range of organisations in making well co-ordinated and timely decisions. It aims to help restore the social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being of greater Christchurch communities.
CERA:
Christchurch CBD, New Zealand - 23/04/2011 PART 1
Recorded on 23 April 2011.
On 04 September 2010 a magnitude 7.1 earthquake centred 40km from Christchurch, New Zealand, struck the city causing widespread damage. However it caused no loss of life and after 3 weeks much of the Central Business District had reopened.
On 22 February 2011, a very destructive and deadly magnitude 6.3 aftershock occurred 6km from the CBD and 5 kilometres deep at 1251hrs local time. At this point in time the death toll stands at about 180 people. The entire CBD bordered by the Four Avenues (named after key settlers in Canterbury province) - Deans, Bealey, Fitzgerald and Moorhouse - was cordoned off, with the cordon enforced by New Zealand military and police personnel, Australian police and Singaporean army personnel.
With aftershocks starting to - HOPEFULLY - taper off, and the most dangerous buildings start to get demolished, the public are being granted access to parts of the city.
1504/171 Queen St (City Life)
Spacious 1 bedroom apartment now available in the heart of Queen Street in the stunning City Life Hotel.
This is the perfect inner city pad with access to all hotel facilities including gym and indoor heated lap pool.
Whether it be as an investment with serious potential for capital gains, or as your very own luxury inner city apartment, this caters for all!
The last apartment we sold in this building sold to the first buyer to view it, don't delay or you will miss out!
Canterbury Earthquakes Recovery
‘Fast-moving’ is a good way to describe CanCERN’s recent Let’s Find and Fix initiative. Coordinating efforts with recovery agencies, insurers and claims management services, in early 2014 CanCERN helped put in place temporary repairs to hundreds of damaged homes before the onset of a fourth post-earthquake winter.
CanCERN (Canterbury Communities’ Earthquake Recovery Network) is supported by The Tindall Foundation via our Canterbury Earthquake Recovery strategy. Set up by local residents’ groups after the September 2010 quake, CanCERN facilitates interactions with insurers, the Earthquake Commission and other government agencies, helping people to find and, where possible, co-create solutions to their needs. Read more on our website
Footage edited by Grant Cummuskeyat Finnzed finnzed.co.nz
Central city footage from the Christchurch earthquake (clip 3 of 3)
Clip 3 of 3. Footage from the Christchurch CBD after the 6.3 earthquake on February 22, 2011. Footage by Frank Film for the Ministry of Civil Defence. Go to for the latest information.
A view of Christchurch
Took a video of Christchurch using my Phantom 2 vision. Added some music so its not so boring to watch
Christchurch
Christchurch (/ˈkraɪstʃɜrtʃ/; Māori: Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's third-most populous urban area. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch. The population of Christchurch City at the 5 March 2013 census was 341,469.
The city was named by the Canterbury Association, which settled the surrounding province of Canterbury. The name of Christchurch was agreed on at the first meeting of the association on 27 March 1848. It was suggested by John Robert Godley, who had attended Christ Church, Oxford. Some early writers called the town Christ Church, but it was recorded as Christchurch in the minutes of the management committee of the association. Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
New Zealand Geography/New Zealand Country
Please watch: Types of Clouds
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Learn about the regions and capitals of New Zealand in the Southwest Pacific Ocean with this fun educational music video for children and parents! Brought to you by the Kids Learning Tube youtube channel!
I'd love to thank my Patreon supporters: Isla and Mia,
Parker Templeton, Matthew Leache, Bennett Mancill, Jaxon Gish, Matt B, Maxwell Shapiro, Jesse Guzelyurt, Sajel Patel, Mauro Johnson, The Richards/Steele Family, Jake Milan. You all do so much to keep Kids Learning Tube alive!
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Music: Copyright 2015, 2016, 2017 Kids Learning Tube
Video: Copyright 2015, 2016, 2017 Kids Learning Tube
Lyrics:
We’re the regions of New Zealand
it’s really nice to meet you
here’s the geography
of our island country, it’s true
The Southwest Pacific Ocean
is where our country stands
The North and South islands
make up our mainland
I’m the North Island
of New Zealand
And I’m made up of 9 Regions
they are all really grand
This is the Northland Region
The most Northern region I’d say
It has a capital named
Whangarei
This is Auckland
it is a region within me
Auckland is also the name
of the principal City
Here is Waikato
Also a North Island region
It’s most populous city
is named Hamilton
The Bay of Plenty Region
Is what you’re looking at now
Tauranga’s the most populous city
without a doubt
The Gisborne District
Also known as a region in me
And it’s the largest settlement
is Gisborne city
The Hawke's Bay Region
is on my estate coast
Napier and Hastings
are the largest cities at most
This is the Taranaki Region
it is sitting to the west
Stratford is the seat of
this region and it’s the best
Manawatu-Wanganui
is a region in me
Palmerston North
is the main city
Wellington Regions
the southmost point on me
Home to New Zealand's capital
it’s Wellington you see
We’re the regions of New Zealand
it’s really nice to meet you
here’s the geography
of our island country, it’s true
The South-West Pacific Ocean
is where our country stands
The North and South Islands
make up our mainland
I’m the SOUTH ISLAND
of the country of New Zealand
I’m here to tell you about
my 7 Regions
This is the Tasman District
A northern district in me
The town of Richmond holds the seat
of the district council, you see
This is Nelson
it’s also a region now you know
If you see what I’m seeing
it’s Nelson city that is shown
This is Marlborough
or Marlborough Region if you please
it’s the most populous city’s
Blenheim and that’s where it will be
West Coast region
is what you’re seeing here
Greymouth’s it’s the largest town
that is certainly clear
The Canterbury Region
with a central-eastern location
The large city of Christchurch
is the seat of the region
Here is Otago
A region in my Southeast
Dunedin is the principal city
to say the least
Here’s the region of Southland
the southernmost point on me
The commercial center
is Invercargill you see
I am New Zealand
Thanks for learning about me
Wellington is my capital
onto the chorus, please
We’re the regions of New Zealand
it’s really nice to meet you
here’s the geography
of our island country, it’s true
The South-West Pacific Ocean
is where our country stands
The North and South islands
make up our mainland
383. Butia palm (Yatay / Pindo / Jelly) 012
Here is a photo of a Butia palm. The exact variety is unknown, because Butia capitata and Butia yatay are so closely related, many of the palms around are considered to be hybrids anyway. Christchurch city, and Canterbury province is in the (cooler) South Island of New Zealand, about 43 degrees south latitude. Palm trees, both the single native variety and the many exotic varieties, are far more common in the North Island of NZ. Many buildings in Christchurch were damaged, some severely by the major earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. Moorhouse Avenue is a multi-lane road that fringes the southern edge of the CBD inner city (downtown) area. Since the EQs, many of the old buildings have been demolished and new buildings are springing up in their place. Driving past yesterday I noticed that some Butia palms had suddenly appeared. Now except for one in the botanic gardens, which has been growing happily outside there for more than 20 years, I do not know of any Butias growing outside in Christchurch. I have seen them for sale in only one plant nursery, Texture Plants in Prebbleton. (Actually they are in Christchurch City council area, the other side of the road is Prebbleton, Selwyn District Council area. ...oh and the Butias I have here at my place, although mine are all much smaller and still in pots. Butia palms can tolerate a short lived frost of a few degrees Celcius, and here in Christchurch at least, can survive the occasional falls of snow. About once in every 20 years we have a freak snowfall and the snow will last for 2 or 3 days before melting. However for example we had 2 such snowfalls just 3 weeks apart in Winter 2011. My potted palms including Butia and Syagrus romanzoffianum (sp?) sitting close to the house wall but still get some snow on them all survived perfectly. I expect these already advanced specimens of Butia to do very well indeed. After finishing this video, I noticed a second even larger more advance fruit stalk forming on the opposite side of this palm. Butia palms often have several fruiting stalks per palm, with many edible fruits per stalk. Warning, I have heard it suggested that people who have not eaten butia fruits before to consume only a few the first time, because it requires some enzyme or something for you to digest it, and it takes awhile for your body to learn how to make it...however I don't know how accurate that is. I have eaten the fruits before and they are very tasty, have traditionally been used to make an alcoholic wine or a jelly-jam spread. The Butia palm should be very much more widely planted throughout the near-coastal South Island of NZ, and anywhere else where heavy frosts and snows do not occur. I have heard that some are thriving along a sea-front location in Southern England. They are considered one of the most salt tolerant palms. They can also tolerate semi-arid semi-desert conditions (provided they are watered to get them established). Seeds (once you have eaten the fruit) should be planted promptly and germination is sporadic but occurs over a 3 month to 2 year period. Seeds can be directly seeded into weed-free ground, and upto 3 plants can sprout from each individual plant, however where that happens, best to allow all the plants to remain growing together as a multi-headed plant. Butia palms eventually develop a truck, in subtropical climates may be upto 8 metres high after many decades, probably shorter or nearly trunkless in cooler climates. My small potted butias are featured in some of my earlier videos on Youtube. Video number 13 about 1m25sec from the start, here is a link to it
Heritage Destruction in Christchurch - Cranmer Courts day 21
Wednesday 24 Oct 2012, day 21 of demolition - Cranmer Court building
MORE INFO BELOW
Continued from Day 20:
Quick drive past in the evening to gather engineering photos and last call for arty shots, as this end of the building has seen its last sunset. Also a little bit of video for my viewer (whoever you are).
Another floor standing with one wall missing. That massively thick stone wall looked a bit dubious to my untrained eye, but is actually a corner, post-demolition. There's some decent cracks in this unit (ones even a red-zoner would be proud of) but I can't tell if they're all on the stone (in plaster) because it butts up against built in cupboards etc.
This unit has a concrete first floor. I'd swear some of it is original or at least much older than 1980s, for various reasons which I wrote up, but won't include here because that style of reinforcing with the wiggles on it (high bond deformed bar) didn't appear until ~1950. At least I've got plenty of photos (going to the university's SEISMIC project). Doesn't matter anyway, the building was in the pictured state for the earthquakes (except it wasn't collapsing).
Kind of glad I missed the demolition on this one, apparently there were billowing clouds of dust, much worse than other days - as visible on the road. Not good for my new camera.
Apparently they were going to save the windows which became cracked. Not sure if that happened. Presumably RS&B demolition crew, it's their job after all. (Got to say something to make up for all this free advertising, whatever the facts may be.) I also realised the historic Cranmer Court 15 plaque (not shown in this vid) can't be original because it wasn't called that until the 1980s!
Once again run out of space to wedge in something political, but I might as well copy in my reply (from day 9 of demolition = 12/10/12) to someone who was trying to tell everyone the buildings were never earthquake strengthened during the 1980s rebuild, and were basically a crumbling mess (a widely held opinion):
Evidently quite strong due to survival of [greater than]0.5g PGA, multiple events / directions / depths / distances, with minimal structural damage for an apparently URM building. I have photos of the anchor plates before Feb, and their partial failure shortly afterwards. They looked old, possibly original, but it still counts as earthquake strengthening, as does the original steel, and gobs of new reinforcing to the structural additions. Also the fallage onto the gardens (the cordons were much further out into the road back then). It was nothing like the partial collapse of the Provincial Chambers, apart from the tower part. I was standing about 2m away from the facade yesterday while it was being demolished, apart from accusing stares from the contractors, I didn't feel in jeopardy. Of course, not recommended the public does this, and in fact 99.999% of the city's population doesn't/didn't (about 4 of 400k did = 0.001%), which is a fairly good solution if you're worried about safety. No one has offered to come up with whatever it's going to cost after a very likely looking deal fell through, because demolition was arranged overnight. Not disputing that people aren't fronting up with the cash, but who would in the face of ongoing CERA persecution. If I could buy the land (the building comes free) I'd go and buy $50k of ties and wire rope and do the bloody job myself - from the outside. Heritage-meets-quake chic. Big project, but as a residential property owner I wouldn't have to comply with the hugely expensive OSH laws. But there's CERA. And a lot of technical details I don't actually know, I'm just saying. I thought the 21st century was supposed to be all about advanced technology and flying cars, yet we're completely stumped by anything which resembles Stonehenge.
I never got a reply.
I admit the facade wasn't tied on all that well in that rebuild (apparently that's how they squeaked it through financially and saved the building from demolition), but it doesn't need to cost a good part of Kim Dotcom's net worth to get the job done safely as a retrofit. The building structure is there (well, not much left now), the stones just need to be tied to it.
In fact to give you some idea, assuming an average big stone of 100kg, to hold on for 1g lateral acceleration (assuming already supported vertically but otherwise free floating and nothing else coming loose) requires only 0.5mm^2 of ordinary unmarked 500MPa 304 stainless steel before it will come off (yes, 1mm diameter wire would hold it). An M2 fastener would give margin for things like preload, impact loads, and a few fatigue cycles (yes, that's one 2mm screw in the middle of the 100kg stone). I've never seen a masonry bit for a micro-fastener. Perhaps a portable abrasive waterjet?
Anyway compare that to the cost of the unnecessary demolition. How many red zone houses would that have built?
New Zealand deadly earthquake
New Zealand deadly earthquake