Frimpong in South Island (New Zealand) - by Kerry Mitchell
I'm here, invited by KERRY MITCHELL
Who will be my gentle hostess during all my stay and will take all the pictures to report my experiences and adventures in her beautiful country.
Kerry lives in Christchurch, so this is the place where I'm now...
Christchurch is the regional capital of Canterbury, New Zealand. It is the largest city in the South Island, as well as the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand. A coastal city, it is situated just north of Banks Peninsula, midway down the South Island's eastern coast.
The city is named after the Christ Church cathedral, which is itself named after Christ Church, a college at the University of Oxford, and the Cathedral of Oxford. The city was originally known as Christ Church, the written form consolidating by the 1880s.
The usual Mâori name Ôtautahi is a shortened form of Te Whenua o Te Potiki-Tautahi - named for the seasonal dwelling of Ngai Tahu chief Tautahi of Port Levy on a bank of the Avon River near to where the Barbadoes Street bridge now stands.
If you feel like enjoying more photos on beautiful New Zealand,
please, visit KERRY's personal galleries
I don't know why I feel downunder....
Oh, what a lovely hostess! Nice to meet you, Kerry!
A little surreal to study the pictures above, since our earthquake in Christchurch on Feb 22 2011. The Art Gallery was used taken over by the Civil Defence department to cor-ordinate all earthquake recovery, police etc. Here we are 8 months after February and building still is not used as an Art Gallery. The Christchurch Cathedral was severely damaged and the main spire fell, along with some walls. Fortunately, no lives were lost in this cathedral despite it being a main tourist attraction in the middle of the city square. The wonderful buildings at the Arts Centre have been very badly damaged, and it is unknown if we can afford to rebuild them. Over half the buildings you see down Worcester Street will be demolished because of earthquake damage. The trams don't run anymore and the city centre is shut down completely whilst many demolitions are taking place. The statue of Robert Scott... well, he fell right off his perch and toppled to the ground.
The Bridge of Remembrance memorial has been damaged, though still standing. Council are only now deciding to spend money to retain it. After our Feb 22 earthquake I evacuated from our work building and stood beside there amongst other workers and visitors, stunned looking at the cracks in the roads and keeping a watchful eye on the arch in case if fell on us.
The shops Frimpong was in to have his photo taken with the sheep and kiwis will be gone now. Demolished. The street is still closed to the public. Our central business area is still closed to the public. The multi storey building I worked in beside the Bridge of Remembrance has gone now. The photos of Frimpong in the historical scenes were in the museum, a building of similar substance as the Arts Centre. It has survived, but is still closed. 5000 homes have been written off, and will be demolished.
Our first big earthquake was 7.1 in September 2010, 4.36 am Saturday morning. February 2011 6.3 quake was an "aftershock" but it happened at 12.51 pm on a Tuesday, during lunch time and took about 200 lives.
We still live with aftershocks and will rebuild, but obviously the city is changed now and won't look the same again.