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.

The Train Into Town - The Christchurch - Lyttelton Railway Line, early 1900s

Train About to Depart Lyttelton Railway Station for Christchurch, circa 1916.

Before Annie could do any shopping (see previous post), she had to catch a train to Christchurch. In the early 1900s, the quickest, most direct means available was the railway.

The early founders had realised that development of Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains required fast, easy, and economic transport between Christchurch and the Port of Lyttelton. Unfortunately, volcanic activity millions of years before had imposed the Port Hills in between. In a feat of geologic survey and engineering success, the Lyttelton railway tunnel was opened to passenger traffic on 9 December 1867, just some 17 or so years since first European settlement.

Steam locomotive at entrance to Lyttelton tunnel running under the Port Hills, connecting the port with Christchurch. Photo : Albert Percy Godber. Alexander Turnbull Library

In the early 1900s, the alternative to rail was a long, uncomfortable journey over the Port Hills by horse & wagon by the Sumner Road thence in to Christchurch, subject to the elements - dusty & windy in the summer; cold, wet and muddy in the winter.

The car had barely made an entry in the early 1900s, was temperamental, exacerbated by hill work, and still exposed one to the elements. The Lyttelton road tunnel would not open until 27 February 1964 at which time it superceded the rail journey as fastest & most comfortable route.

In the age of steam, however, the rail trip through the tunnel brought with it the "delights" of coal smoke from the smoke stack if unwary passengers had failed to close windows before the train entered the tunnel. Electrification of the line in 1929 eliminated this unpleasant and hazardous experience.

Arrival at Christchurch Railway Station, circa 1910. Alexander Turnbull Library

The Christchurch Railway Station, seen from Moorhouse Ave, early 1900s.

From the Christchurch Railway Station, Annie and her fellow passengers could set out on foot via Manchester or Colombo Street towards Cashel & High Streets, the shopping precinct of Christchurch in the early 1900s. For now, they could also get there by horse-drawn tram, soon to be replaced by electric ones. For the well-heeled or those in a hurry, a Hansom cab (as pictured above) could get them there at a trot.

The city's streets were not yet paved so dust in a Canterbury nor'wester or mud and puddles on a wet day were part of the challenge in navigating the city streets.

Approaching Lyttelton tunnel at Heathcote on the homeward journey, circa 1910.

Home on the afternoon train, Annie's mind no doubt turned to preparing tea and putting her feet up later in the evening, as brown paper parcels tied with string sat in the overhead rack and a tired child or two fidgeted or grizzled beside her.

Richard Haydon: Shipboard Diary to New Zealand, 1883 - #19

Landing Emigrants at Lyttelton, Illustrated Australian News 1870s

20 October

Still very calm ship sailing very slow the white hills still in sight.

21 October

We arrived off port Lyttelton about 1 Oclock this morning where we had to lay too until daylight when we signaled for a pilot to come on board then we droped the Anchors and waited for the tug to take us up to Lyttleton where we arrived about 12 Oclock. - R. A. Haydon

Lest We Forget - Lyttelton - Those Who Also Served, ANZAC Day

Their final resting place, one lasting look over the port that was their life.
Lyttelton, 2007.

In memoriam to those whose lives were shortened or traumatized by their wartime service in the years of peace that followed and to those who died while serving in the merchant marine in wartime.

And to those who dealt with the anguish and pain of never seeing sons, fathers, husbands, brothers, and chums ever again. And to those who lost daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, and friends.

Lest We Forget - The Lyttelton Anzacs, Anzac Day

The War Memorial, Lyttelton, New Zealand, 2007

To this memorial we might add those whose lives were shortened or traumatized by their wartime service in the years of peace that followed and those who died while serving in the merchant marine in wartime.

The Inter Island Ferry - The Maori

The Maori at the Ferry Wharf, Lyttelton

The SS Maori joined the Union Steamship Co. fleet in 1907 as the first ship in the fleet to be specifically designed and built for the Lyttelton - Wellington interisland overnight 20 knot ferry service.

SS Maori in Lyttelton Harbour

Her carrying capacity was a significant advance on that of the smaller Rotomahana, with normal accommodation for 423 1st class passengers and 130 in 2nd class. A crew of 1oo was her usual complement, with an particular role for stewards and stewardesses to attend to the needs of passengers. The after hold could be converted to carry an extra 50 2nd class passengers in the peak season. History seems to be silent on what they thought of that.

The Maori had a chequered beginning to her career. When launched from the Dennys Bros. shipyards in Dunbarton, Scotland, her anchors failed to brake her and she mounted the far bank of the River Leven, requiring use of the Yard's steel plate rollers to haul her off. Several months later being towed out for trials, two accompanying tugs grounded and the Maori became high and dry on Dumbarton Rocks but was floated off. A couple of days later she hit & sank the Kintyre, a later inquiry ruling the Kintyre had been at fault. Eleven days later, leaving the shipyard she grounded on a sandbar but was refloated 15 minutes later.

Fortunately, the Maori's working career was less chequered and she provided sterling service as an express steamer on the interisland run. In 1913 she was joined by her sister ship, the Wahine, the first of two ill-fated vessels of that name, both shipwrecked, the second most notoriously resulting in loss of 51 lives at the entrance to Wellington Harbour on 10 April 1968.

SS Maori reversing into her ferry berth at Lyttelton, perhaps with the help of her bow rudder.

Converted to oil-burning in 1923, the Maori continued her entire career on the interisland run. In 1946 she was sold to a Chinese shipping company, initially for use on the Shanghai - Australia run and then in the Chinese coastal trade. During a hurricane in 1951 she dragged her anchors, ran aground, and sank.

The Interisland Ferry - The Rotomahana

Postcard view of the Rotomahana at anchor in Wellington Harbour

Built in 1879 by the Dennys Shipyard, the Rotomahana was the first mild steel ocean-going merchant steamer in the world. On its voyage out to New Zealand it broke records for sailing times for various ports. Capable of carrying 195 first class (saloon) passengers and 105 2nd class passengers, its crew complement numbered 53.

Upon arrival in New Zealand, the Rotomahana entered the intercolonial service - the trans-Tasman trade in today's parlance - until it was transferred to the interisland service between Wellington and Lyttelton.

Its speed & reduced sailing times combined with the rakish style of its funnel, sail yards, and its bow figurehead quickly made the Rotomahana a popular vessel with passengers and within the Union Steamship Company. While expensive compared to slower, iron ships it turned in strong profits immediately.

The Rotomahana entered the interisland ferry service between Wellington and Lyttelton in 1899 and stayed on the run until 1910. Subsequently it entered the Union Company's Tasmanian coastal service running to Launceston. It was scrapped in 1926.

According to the electoral rolls, in 1905, Joseph McLean was third engineer on the Rotomahana and was based in Lyttelton. Within a year or two he was promoted by the Union Company to chief engineer on its vessels operating in the New Zealand coastal trade such as the Kini and the Hawea.

In 1908 his skills as a marine engineer were tested to the limit by the Hawea's drifting dead-in-the-water for more than a month in the Tasman Sea before effecting sufficient repairs to the stern shaft to get the Hawea under power to return to port. This was followed barely two months later with the Hawea striking the bar at Greymouth and being dashed on North Head by breakers, eventually breaking apart.

Ports of Lyttelton and Otago in Early Merger Talks

Port Lyttelton from the cemetery, 2007

The Ports of Lyttelton and Otago (Port Chalmers) in the South Island have announced they are in the early stage of merger talks.

Between them the two ports handled 22.5 percent of New Zealand's total exports in the June year ending 2007 (Otago, 13.6 percent; Lyttelton, 8.7 percent).

Combined they handled 9.4 percent of New Zealand's imports in 2007 (Otago 1.1 percent, Lyttelton 8.3 percent).

These export and import flows reflect the relative importance of the ports as shippers of South Island exports as well as the lower population density in the South Island hence the lower share of imports moving through the two ports.

The two ports are local government trading enterprises: Lyttelton Port of Christchurch, LPC, is majority-owned by the Christchurch City Council's investment arm, Christchurch City Holdings. Port Otago is owned by the Otago regional council.

New Zealand ports are under pressure from shipping lines to rationalize by reducing the number of ports handling international trade to boost productivity in order to reduce freight rates. See earlier post here on merger talks between Ports of Auckland and Tauranga in the North Island.

The two port companies were at loggerheads two years ago when Lyttelton attempted a deal with a Hong Kong-based ports operator but Otago moved to block the deal by buying a strategic bloc of shares in Lyttelton Port to stall the deal.

These were seen as defensive moves to counter the perceived intent the Maersk shipping line, which handles 60 percent of New Zealand's container trade, to force a re-organization of New Zealand ports into a hub-spokes system in which hub ports in the two or three major ports would carry the bulk of the international shipping trade.

In the South Island this would translate into either Lyttelton or Otago becoming the hub port, but not both. One would be relegated to a feeder port status, serving as a feeder port to the hub ports or lose significant traffic.

Now it seems the ports have patched up their differences to try a new attempt to secure a merger between the two main southern ports, perhaps as a strategic defensive move to countervail pressures from shipping companies to force the elimination of one or the other port from hub status.

The benefits claimed from integration of the two ports operations are reduced duplication of capital - and one would assume labour, a touchy subject on the waterfront, environmental benefits from better road and rail transport to and from the ports, increased productivity, and the joint development of new services.

One Big Port?

Auckland Container Terminal

The Ports of Auckland Company has revived the idea of a merger between itself and the Port of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. It’s opening gambit came in a comment by Jens Madsen, its managing director, that a takeover by Auckland of Tauranga’s container business would improve New Zealand’s supply chain, permitting ports to engage in new investment in port infrastructure.

About half of New Zealand’s exports by value are shipped through the two ports authorities, with Tauranga gaining a slight edge in 2007 (24.9 percent). On the import side, Auckland handles almost 50 percent of merchandise entering New Zealand. Together, based on 2007 data, a combined Auckland-Tauranga ports company would handle almost 57 percent of all international trade.

Port consolidation is being driven by pressure on port companies from large shipping lines such as Maersk, to counter rising costs with increased productivity generated by operating hub ports in the two or three major ports. Maersk carries about 60 per cent of New Zealand's container trade. Fonterra, New Zealand’s dairy cooperative multinational, which exports the bulk of dairy produce is one of Maersk’s top ten global customers. Maersk has been rumoured to be seeking an ownership stake in New Zealand ports in recent years.

In the South Island, the Ports of Lyttelton and Otago have held negotiations in recent years on possible takeover or merger deals. These were seen as defensive moves to counter Maersk’s perceived intent to select either one or the other port as its South Island hub. Smaller ports in both major islands would either serve as feeder ports to the hub ports, or lose significant traffic.

While concerns are being raised in New Zealand over the impact of an Auckland-Tauranga ports merger or takeover on competition, there seems to be little discussion of the role of a foreign-owned shipping conglomerate pressuring New Zealand port companies to engage in anti-competitive practices with consequences for both exporters, importers, and ultimately the average citizen. This is unremarkable, perhaps, given the historical context in which the shipping conference lines that carried the bulk of New Zealand’s exports in the past century acted as a cartel in setting shipping rates. More of the same (cosy deal), you might say.

Lyttelton - Container Cranes in far distance, inter-island coastal shipping,
Pacifica's Spirit of Competition roll-on, roll-off vessel in foreground.