CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) – The Christ Church Cathedral was arguably New Zealand’s most iconic building before much of it crumbled in an earthquake 10 years ago. The years of debate that followed over whether the ruins should be rebuilt or demolished symbolized the paralysis that has at times struck Christchurch’s wider rebuilding.
As the city on Monday marks a decade since the earthquake, which killed 185 people and destroyed countless other lives, there are finally signs of progress on the cathedral.
It is being rebuilt to look something like the original completed in 1904, only with modern improvements to make it warmer and safer, even adding extra much needed bathrooms. But first, workers must stabilize the remains.
Peter Carrell, the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, said the reopening will be an important milestone.
“I think it will be hugely important as it will be one of the last pieces in the puzzle to put Christchurch back together,” said Carrell. “It will be a healing to the heart of Christchurch after the earthquake.”
Nevertheless, the doors are not expected to open for another six years. Preserving what’s left is more expensive and time consuming than demolishing and starting over. And so far, the mix of funds from insurance, church, congregation and government sources is only about two-thirds of the price tag of $ 154 million New Zealand dollars ($ 111 million).
Keith Paterson, the project director, said the goal is to have a fundraising team raise the rest of the money from both local and international donors.
“We are confident that we will have the money in place by the time the project is completed,” Carrell said. “We have enough money to start with.”
Elsewhere in the city, shiny new buildings are popping up, along with innovative playgrounds and parks. But where some buildings once stood, there are now only empty parking lots, and the migration of shops and businesses to the suburbs that took place after the earthquake has not yet been completely reversed.
Inequality in neighborhoods also persists. Parts of the city in the west look the same as before the earthquake. But in the east, where the ground was prone to liquefaction, entire suburbs have been razed to the ground.
Authorities have deemed the country too unstable to rebuild. Some suburbs now look like gigantic parks, with a few fruit trees and power lines the only sign that there were once houses.
Richard Cosgrove’s house on the River Avon in the suburb of Dallington was one of those demolished. The communications consultant remembers the enormous forces that played out during the earthquake.
“The whole area has sunk dramatically,” he said. “We had a wooden villa built in 1922. In fact, the four corners went in different directions.”
Cosgrove said the strong community bonds that developed when neighbors tried to save their homes and worked to improve the area stopped when the government declared it unsafe for reconstruction.
“That broke up the community,” he said.
Cosgrove and his wife now live on a small farm outside of town.
“We thought if we moved elsewhere in the city it would remind us of what we had lost, so we decided to start a new life in the countryside,” he said.
But he remains optimistic about Christchurch and its future. He said the setbacks people have endured have brought the community together and made it stronger and more resilient, and that many of the foreign workers who came to help rebuild were so impressed that they stayed.
“We have a really great city,” said Cosgrove. “It’s quite an impressive renovation that has taken place. I think about all the great things they’ve done. “
Still, he says, it would have been nice if it had all happened a bit earlier.