After Shock Jolts Frayed Nerves of Cantabrians

A 5.1 magnitude aftershock jolted the already frayed nerves of Cantabrians on Wednesday. Reported as a sharp, vertical-movement quake it did some more damage to already unstable structures and infrastructure systems. The closure of the CBD has been extended, but water and power seem to be back to regular levels for all but a small number of residents. The "boil" order for water has been removed.

On a personal note, am pleased to report an aged aunt has relented and agreed to move elsewhere to be with family after it was found further mortar had dislodged from a precarious chimney following numerous after shocks.

Cold Harsh Reality of Day 3 - Christchurch Earthquake

Multiplied up a thousand times plus a few more, the reports from the extended family of the damage done to property & more importantly people's nerves by the quake detail how the Christchurch quake is impacting a city & Canterbury. One family's house flooded by a rising Avon River & quake damage, an aged aunt's home threatened by an unstable chimney that threatens to come crashing down into the kitchen, another's home with cracked foundations and so the list goes on.

Curiously, I find myself relaying messages from one branch of the family to another across the city plain at 8,500 miles distance...

To a city now changed:

Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills.
What spires, what hills are those?

That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

   - A E Housman, A Shropshire Lad

And a few much more uplifting lines from Coldplay's Don't Panic:

All in all that I know
There's nothin' here to run from
'Cos yeah, everybody here has
Got somebody to lean on

Quake Damage to Christchurch Heritage Buildings

Sandy in comments under the New Brighton post below gives us this link to preliminary assessments of the earthquake's damage to heritage buildings. Like her I'm saddened by the damage to some of the structures and the reversal of a lot of hard work by many people over the years to preserve these artifacts.

I'm particularly disheartened for the folks working on restoring the Time Ball Station in Lyttelton. They had made great strides in restoration and strengthening and were according to the article close to completing the work. I've had the opportunity to admire their work firsthand on a couple of occasions in recent years on what must be a tough project given the Time Ball station's location and architecture.

If living in New Zealand has taught me anything, however reluctantly I've wanted to learn it over the years, is the power of natural forces to make a mockery of our puny human attempts to create permanence and reshape the physical landscape. Whether standing in the front yard of the Time Ball Station surveying the harbour from mouth to its "foot" (far end from entrance) or poring over aerial photos or various types of maps of Banks Peninsula, I've found myself taking the long, long view: the human presence and our follies are but a blink in deep time. We get to pass this way fleetingly as those before us have and those to come will. But we all in common share in our own times that physical environment.

For all that, I hope what can be saved is saved to hold back the law of entropy at least for one more blink.

Severe Weather Next Test for Christchurch?

Severe nor'westerly gales in the next few days followed by a southerly cold front with rain (the usual climatic mood change in Chch) may be the next test for Christchurch's residents.

The Met Service and emergency services think that the nor'westers may loosen masonry and topple unstable buildings that haven't been made safe by demolition. And, with many damaged buildings exposed to the elements, any rain brought by the southwesterly will likely just compound matters.

Plenty of aftershocks apparently, but not the one big one of a 6 or so that often hits in the first 48 hours after the major one. Seismologists think the big one may acutally have been three quakes close together, but I'm sure most Chch residents regards that as all academic right now.

Power must be on in enough places around Chch for me to be getting direct & indirect reports from family & friends that they are safe & well, most have suffered only minor damage to property but folks like Sandy's parents & neighbours in comments to a previous post below obviously have been hit hard.

"Our man in Burwood" - my big brother - reports a lot of liquefaction of the soil, a phenomenon produced by the quake, has caused a lot of subsidence in east Christchurch of the type Sandy reports in her comment. In addition to buildings being damaged, ruptured water pipes and sewers are the result.

Some on other sites are commenting that they thought the Big One would be in Wellington, not Christchurch. Wellington will have its Big One again - it had huge ones in the 19th Century, the Wairarapa quake being the worst. But no one should have been under any illusion Chch couldn't have one. The effects would simply be different because the city is essentially a drained swamp and Plains are alluvial flood plains. Growing up in Chch, we were always drilled on earthquake preparations & cover and left under no mis-impression it could help in good old Chch.

ANYWHERE in New Zealand is fair game (poor choice of term, perhaps) for earthquakes being on the Pacific Ring of Fire - that's quakes, volcanic activity, and tsunami. Did I miss anything out?

That said, I think if I was to go through a big quake I'd prefer to take my chances in Chch over Wellington, having lived in both cities. Wellington sits on top of several major faults, including the Main Divide fault that bi-sects New Zealand north to south. Dealing with recovery and clean-up on hillsides would likely be more difficult as well compared to the flats of Chch.

Moreover, access into & out of Wellington is limited to a few choke points that if blocked would hamper the ability to evacuate or get assistance into the city. The airport itself sits on reclaimed land uplifted by the Wairarapa quake in the 19th century. Years ago I read that the then Ministry of Works parked a bulldozer at the top of the Ngauranga gorge each night, ready to start work on clearing a passage in the event the gorge highway is blocked by rock slides caused by a quake. That's provided the driver could get there and her 'dozer hadn't been lost down the hillside...

But as my late mother, a proud life-long Christchurch resident, would say "don't borrow trouble". Then she'd put a kettle on for a cup of tea for the "poor beggars" who were "worse off than me" and then go grab her broom, mop, and bucket so she could pitch in. For all that, I'm glad Mum didn't go through it. All the best to those who have & now must clean up the mess.

State of Emergency Declared In Chirstchurch

A state of emergency has been declared in Christchurch, according to Mayor Bob Parker. This provides the city the power to close areas or buildings off for public safety reasons.

Harewood airport is still closed but may be re-opened within a few hours to allow further personnel, supplies & equipment to be brought in. Water may need to be brought in by tankers. Armed forces are mobilizing resources.

After shocks may dislodge loose masonry created by the major shock. A lot of debris on streets etc.

Mayor Parker says reports are that the museum, Arts Centre (old university campus) and Christ College buildings - all heritage or historic sites - have only minor damage, thanks perhaps to the major strengthening of those structures to bring them up to code.

Parker says this is NOT a flattened city but one with some significant damage to older buildings.

After shocks continue.

Central Business District in Christchurch Closed

The centre of Christchurch bounded by the four one-way streets - Barbadoes, St Asaph, Kilmore and Montreal has been closed off - to keep rubberneckers, the occasional looter and others out. You are free to leave, of course - with a quick hurry along by the boys and girls in blue. Some arrests have been made.

A boil water advisory has been issued. Start digging a latrine in the back garden...

Historic Empire Hotel in Lyttelton is about to collapse.

No trains are running in the South Island today while Kiwi Rail checks all tracks & bridges.

Good news - the Radio New Zealand Sound Archive appears intact, according to one of the staff. Historians will be pleased. Not so good for some of the heritage buildings and a lot of shaken up people who will take some time to get back to normal.

Major Earthquake in Christchurch

Major 7.4 earthquake hits Christchurch, my home town! Most of my family lives there, but I haven't for a long time. Last back there in June - and not even a hint of a shaker ;)

Earthquake struck at 4:35 am Saturday, epicenter was some 30 km west of Christchurch and was shallow just 10 km down. Not on the major Alpine fault, but a minor one that seismologists didn't expect to cause much trouble. But large, shallow quakes can be damaging, apparently.

Radio New Zealand is providing very good coverage. Apparently couple of major injuries, no deaths. A lot of close escapes from falling chimneys collapsing into bedrooms.

Significant damage in centre of city. Water, power, and sewage out in many parts of city. Most damage to older brick buildings. thank goodness for tight building codes. The port of Lyttelton has suffered some significant damage. A few bridges are unstable or otherwise damaged. Suburbs of New Brighton and Brooklands may be evacuated because of flooding and sewage problems.

Power company is saying an initial assessment suggests the power can be restored to about 90% of the city by nightfall today. The central business district will take longer as they need to isolate individual damaged buildings from the system first. It sounds like the water supply & sewage system will be out for longer.
.

More Trams at New Brighton, 1945 - 1948

Tram at New Brighton, probably on Seaview Road, 8 January 1948, Christchurch. Photo: Ross McQueen

For the tram enthusiasts, a few more photos of trams at New Brighton, Christchurch, from a later time period in the mid to late 1940s. The consist in the above photo is identified as a "Boon 154 tram, ex-decker trailer 143". Not much has changed in terms of trams from the circa 1920s photos in earlier posts.

 

The No. 5 Tram en route to New Brighton on Bexley Road, January 1948. Photo: Ross McQueen.

 The tram shed at New Brighton, February 1945. Photo: Ross McQueen.

Home on the Afternoon Tram from New Brighton, circa 1910s

 Catching the tram to the Square from the Pier, New Brighton, Christchurch, circa early 1910. The pier is off to the left. Photo: F N Jones, Nelson. click on images for enlarged view.

The Esplanade, New Brighton, showing the Pier, band rotunda, and gardens, early 1900s. The new pier is proximate to the location of the one pictured and the new public library & cafe is about where the building is located in the picture.

The Tram Terminus at New Brighton, circa 1910s.

Ernie Hinds - The World's Original Fastest Indian? at New Brighton, 1914-1917

Ernie Hinds on a 1000c Indian motorcycle at New Brighton, circa 1914, 

The Press, Alexander Turnbull Library

In the early decades of the twentieth century, New Brighton beach, Christchurch, was a popular venue for organized motorcycle races. Ernest (Erie) N F Hinds was a leading racer, seen above with admiring fans on his 1000c Indian motorcycle.

Years before Bert Munro of The World's Fastest Indian movie fame, Ernie Hinds was scorching up & down New Brighton beach breaking Australasian records on his Indian. How many know of Ernie Hinds today, one wonders?

Motor World, NZ Truth, 27 January, 1917, p. 12

 Ernie Hinds on his 1916 Indian Motorcycle in Christchurch, 1916.

The Press, Alexander Turnbull Library.

New Brighton, Christchurch - A Postcard Mosaic, early 1900s

New Brighton, a seaside suburb of Christchurch, NZ, early 1900s. 

Click on pictures for a larger view.

 

 

On the Beach at New Brighton, Christchurch, New Zealand - 1916

Time for a little sun, a cooling sea breeze...

New Brighton, Christchurch, circa 1916

W Strange & Co, Department Store, Christchurch - Part I

 W Strange & Co's Store on High Street, Christchurch, just short of the High & Lichfield Streets corner circa 1863 (?) looking towards the South-East. From The Weekly Press, 15 Dec. 1900, p. 86. Christchurch City Libraries Image Collection.

 

The Old and the New: A northwesterly aspect of the original weatherboard Strange's store in November 1863 contrasted with the 4 storey building erected just a few doors down on the corner of High & Lichfield Streets in 1900. The bottom view taken in 1910 with store sign on the roof line. This was a business postcard mailed to Strange's customers to notify them their orders had arrived. Christchurch City Libraries Image Collection.

Zealandia Cycle Works - Oates & Lowry Co, Christchurch - Cycling Craze #20

Zealandia Cycle, Hawke's Bay Hearld ad, 2 January 1895.

Oates, Lowry and Co's Zealandia Cycle Works, 82 Manchester Street, Christchurch, circa 1900.

Cyclopedia of New Zealand - Canterbury, 1903, p. 315.

Nicholas Oates, senior partner of the firm of Oate, Lowry, and Co., established the business in 1880 with the firm's Zealandia Cycle Works becoming one of the first cycle manufacturers in New Zealand. Alexander Lowry joined the partnership in 1897.

 

Cyclopedia of New Zealand - Canterbury

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand reported in 1903 that the business located at 82 Manchester Street in Christchurch was housed in a large two storey building. The retail store, the Cyclopedia stated, consists of a "large double-fronted shop, with handsome plate-glass windows, displaying a varied stock of bicycles. Behind are the offices, and at the back is the factory, which is thoroughly equipped with all necessary plant and machinery, and is claimed to be the largest in the Colony."

The firm produced its own Zealandia and Atalanta brand bicycles. "[E]verything connected with cycles, except chains, hubs, saddles, pedals, and rims, is made on the premises; the tubing, rough castings, and wrought iron-work are imported, and turned, finished, and plated on the premises."

Between 30 and 40 workers were employed in cycle manufacturing in Christchurch, while repair facilities were operated out of premises in Timaru, Ashburton and Napier. In 1901, a retail store run by Oates, Lowry was operating in Cuba Street, Wellington and other sales outlets were run on an agency basis throughout the country. For example, F W Ansley's Zealandia Cycle Deport sold Zealandia and Atalanta cycles from his premises in Ridgway Street in Wanganui in 1900.

Oates, Lowry and Co was also the first to import a petrol-driven motor car into the Australasian colonies. No date is given for this event.

Ellesmere Guardian ad, 15 December 1897.

Speedy Cycle Works, Retail Store, Christchurch, early 1900s - Cycling Craze #19

Jack Suckling's Speed Cycle Works located at 114 Manchester Street, Christchurch, circa 1912-14. Jack is the moustached man wearing a cap and watch chain at centre right just a fraction behind the row of cyclists. A number of the "scorchers" (cyclists) are in their racing gear, perhaps for a day's track racing at Lancaster Park or for road racing. Photo: Adam McLay. Alexander Turnbull Library. Click on image for larger view.

Jack Suckling was an integral part of the Christchurch "cycling craze" in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. He ran a retail store at several different locations around the central city in the early 1900s, operating at the corner of Kilmore  and Barbadoes Streets in 1906 but by 1909 had relocated to 256 Oxford Terrace east. By the time the above photo was taken his business had moved to 114 Manchester Street, a street along with High Street, that had become popular among cycle businesses as a retail location.

Jack promoted his Speedy cycles to the young men known as "scorchers", the competitive racing cyclists who lived for either the track races at Lancaster Park and out in the small towns around Canterbury or for the road races across the province. Good money was to be made from winning racing prizes to pay back the price of a cycle, so Jack suggested in his advertising, and he'd make a few bob in the process.

Christchurch Star ad, 27 January, 1906

 

Christchurch Star ad, 6 October 1906

Christchurch Star ad, 26 December, 1908.

So why don't you give Jack a call at Christchurch 2574? Don't be surprised if you get a busy signal.

Cycle Store Interior, Christchurch 1910 - Cycling Craze #18

Unidentified Cycle Store Interior, Christchurch, 1910, photo Steffano Webb.

Alexander Turnbull Library

During the cycling craze of the late 1890s and early 1900s, cycle works and retail stores mushroomed in Christchurch as the public embraced the idea of personal transport that did not require catching, harnessing, grooming, feeding and cleaning-up after the "beast". While the horse-drawn tram was giving way to the electric tram, the car was only beginning to make an appearance from around 1900 and was financially out of the reach of the average household. The bicycle could improve one's health and provided greater convenience and flexibility in terms of getting where the rider wanted to go directly rather than be limited by the tram tracks. Of course, in inclement weather, the bicycle presented its own challenges.

The store pictured above is not identified and could be one of several selling the popular BSA brand cycles displayed. Advertising on the walls include items such as Taylor Tyres, Palmer Tyres for Motor Cars, and one for National Cash Register behind the sales counter.

Nairn & Sons, Florists & Nurserymen, Christchurch, circa 1900s

 Nairn & Sons, Plant Catalogue cover, 1901-02.

Alexander Turnbull Library

The firm of Nairn & Sons, located in Lincoln Road, Christchurch provided nursey plants and seeds not only to the Christchurch area but also nationally through its plant catalogue advertising in the early 1900s.

As early as the 1870s Mr D Nairn was an active member of the Christchurch Horticultural Society and a competitor in the Societ's floral competitions in which he and his teenage son, Robert were frequent prize winners. 

During the Jubilee Exhibition of 1900  Nairn and Sons provided large exhibition displays, a practice they continued at Horticultural Society shows during the subsequent decade.

 

Nairn & Sons, Plant Catalogue cover, 1904-05. 

Alexander Turnbull Library

 

Nairn & Sons, Plant Catalogue, page advertising Clematis varieties, 1906 Catalogue

Alexander Turnbull Library

 

Nairn & Sons, Plant Catalogue, page advertising Lilium odorum Japonicum. Syn. Browni, 1906 Catalogue

Alexander Turnbull Library

 

Nairn & Sons, Plant Catalogue, page advertising Romneyia tricocalyx, 1906 Catalogue

Alexander Turnbull Library

The City Boot Palace, Shoe Store, Christchurch, circa 1900

The City Boot Palace, 1910. Photo Steffano Webb. Alexander Turnbull Library

You can almost smell the leather in this store interior of the City Boot Palace located at 111 Colombo Street at the corner of Lichfield St.

A cut-price seller of boots and shoes, the City Boot Palace pitched its sales to the buyer of Half Guinea boots during the first decade of the twentieth century.

Christchurch Star ad, 11 September 1907.

An identically named City Boot Palace was trading in Dunedin at 75 George Street - at the corner of George & St Andrew Streets - from 1883. In the early 1900s, that store was owned by Joseph McKay while the City Palace in Christchurch was operated by a Mr Stock as seen in the above ad. Whether the stores operated as part of a chain under common ownership or were independently owned is yet to be established.

Somewhat disturbingly, Kuaka recalls an uncle working in the mid 1960s at a similar-looking shoe store located, from memory, in Cashel Street that had similar furnishings down to the detail of the footstools. The merchandise, however, had turned over thanks to demand and the dictates of fashion.

The Universal Boot Depot, High Street, Christchurch Store, circa 1900s

The Universal Boot Depot, 221 High Street, Christchurch, circa 1900.

(click images for larger view) 

D. Smith & Sons' Universal Boot Depot  was located opposite Strange's Department store on the corner of High and Lichfield Streets in Christchurch. The company offered cut-rate prices on its footwear, frequently advertising sales liquidating large shipments of inventory from the United Kingdom and from business liquidations around New Zealand.

In the street frontage view above, pairs of boots and shoes can be seen hanging in strings along the store front.

Announcement of the Universal's Opening, 1891.

An 1887 sale

E Reece & Sons, Hardware Store, Colombo St, Christchurch early 1900s

Ground floor Retail Showroom of E Reece & Sons, circa 1900.
click images for larger image view.

Established in 1856 by Edward Reece, who had arrived in Christchurch the previous year, the firm of E Reece & Sons as it became served the residents of the city for many decades. Edward sent his son William to England for his education and upon his return in 1879, William was given management of the firm by his father. Upon Edward's death in 1887, ownership was shared by William and his brother C S Reece. William took sole ownership of the firm in 1892 upon his brother's retirement. He served as the Mayor of Christchurch in 1900, the city's Jubilee year.

The original premises, an old wooden building with three foot gables was demolished in 1870 to be replaced on the same site on Colombo Street by a three storey brick building designed to house both the wholesale and retail operations of the business.

Reece & Sons frontage on Colombo St, Christchurch in the 1890s
Cyclopedia of New Zealand

In the early 1900s, the ground floor was occupied by the retail showroom, extending some 150 feet back from the entrance, where a wide range of items were on display, including sterling silver and electro plated ware, fancy goods, cutlery, toilet and general brushware, lamps, filters, general furnishing ironmongery of all descriptions, cricket, tennis, and croquet tools, Milner's safes, brass foundry, bicycles and bicycle sundries, all kinds of fencing material, lawnmowers, farm and garden tools.

Reece's also took pride in offering a comprehensive line of guns and ammunition:

Reece & Sons ad
The Star, 10 June 1905

On the second floor, a further showroom held register fire-grates, hearths, mantels, and overmantels for all price ranges, while the third floor held reserve stocks of lamps and tinware. In the basement, Reece's stock of lubricating oils was stored.

Wholesale operations were housed in an adjoining three storey building located on Lichfield Street.