CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) – Christ Church Cathedral was arguably New Zealand’s most iconic building before much of it collapsed in an earthquake 10 years ago. The years of debate that followed over whether the ruins should be rebuilt or demolished came to symbolize the paralysis that sometimes afflicted Christchurch’s broader reconstruction.
As the city marks on Monday a decade since the earthquake, killing 185 people and leaving countless other lives, there are finally signs of progress in the cathedral.
It is being rebuilt to look a lot like the original that was completed in 1904, with only modern improvements to make it warmer and safer, even to add needed extra bathrooms. But first, workers must stabilize the remains.
Peter Carrell, Anglican bishop of Christchurch, said the reopening would mark an important milestone.
“I think it will be extremely significant, because it will be one of the final pieces in the puzzle of putting Christchurch back together,” said Carrell. “It will be a cure for the heart of Christchurch after the earthquake.”
Still, the doors should not be opened for another six years. Preserving what is left is more expensive and time consuming than demolishing and starting over. And so far, the mix of insurance funds, church, council and government sources amounts to only about two-thirds of the price of New Zealand’s $ 154 million ($ 111 million).
Keith Paterson, the project’s director, said the goal is for a fundraising team to raise the rest of the money from local and international donors.
“We are very confident that we will get the money when the project is completed,” said Carrell. “We have a lot of money to start.”
Elsewhere in the city, shiny new buildings are emerging, along with innovative playgrounds and parks. But where there used to be some buildings, now there are only empty parking lots, and the migration of stores and businesses to the suburbs that happened after the earthquake has not yet been fully reversed.
There is also a disparity in the neighborhoods. Parts of the city to the west look the same as they did before the earthquake. But in the east, where the soil was subject to liquefaction, entire suburbs were razed to the ground.
The authorities consider the terrain very unstable for reconstruction. Some suburbs now look like giant parks, with some fruit trees and power lines being the only sign that houses once existed.
Richard Cosgrove’s house on the banks of the River Avon, in the suburb of Dallington, was one of those demolished. The communications consultant recalls the enormous forces at play during the earthquake.
“The whole area sank massively,” he said. “We built a wooden villa in 1922. Basically, the four corners went in different directions.”
Cosgrove said the strong community ties that formed when neighbors tried to save their homes and worked to improve the area ended when the government declared it unsafe for reconstruction.
“It separated the community,” he said.
Cosgrove and his wife now live outside the city on a small farm.
“We thought that if we moved to another place 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 that the adversity that people suffered united the community and made it stronger and more resilient, and that many of the foreign workers who came to help with the reconstruction were very impressed to have stayed.
“We have a really great city,” said Cosgrove. “It is an impressive reconstruction that has taken place. I think of all the great things that they did. “
Still, he says, it would have been nice if it had all happened a little earlier.