Christchurch — A City Rebuilding, A Sister Surprised and a Memorial That Will Break Your Heart

My sister had been living in Christchurch for ten months and had not seen me since she left. She did not know I was coming to New Zealand. She did not know I was on a plane. She had no idea.

When I turned up at her door that evening it took her a very long time to process what was happening. There was a lot of silence. Then a lot of noise. Then a lot of both of us trying to explain how I had managed to keep this secret for the entire duration of planning a four-week solo trip to New Zealand while regularly talking to her on the phone. It remains one of my favourite travel moments of all time.

The next morning we walked around Christchurch together and even with the construction that was still very much ongoing — cranes on the skyline, fenced off blocks in the city centre, buildings mid-rebuild — it was beautiful. The bones of what Christchurch had been were still visible, and the determination of what it was becoming was impossible to miss.

On 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Christchurch at 12:51pm — lunchtime, when the city centre was full of people. 185 people were killed. Thousands were injured. The Canterbury Television building collapsed. The city’s historic cathedral was devastated. Entire suburbs were rendered uninhabitable by liquefaction. It remains New Zealand’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

When I arrived in 2016, five years on, the scale of what had happened was hard to grasp from the outside. I could see the construction, the empty lots, the fenced-off sections where buildings used to be. But it took visiting Quake City to truly understand what February 22nd 2011 actually meant for the people who lived through it.

Quake City

Quake City was built specifically to explain the earthquakes to visitors and to honour the experience of the people who lived through them. The exhibition covers the geological history of the Canterbury earthquake sequence, the events of February 22nd in detail and the extraordinary rescue and recovery operation that followed.

And then there is the film.

An hour of survivors recounting their stories of that day. Where they were. What they heard. What they did. What they lost. I sat alone in the dark and I did not make it through without crying. I do not think anyone does. The stories are intense and completely human and they make everything abstract about earthquake statistics suddenly and permanently concrete.

It was one of the most affecting things I did in four weeks of New Zealand travel. Do not skip it.

The 185 Chairs Memorial

Just behind the Cardboard Cathedral is the 185 Chairs memorial — 185 white-painted chairs, each one different, representing each individual life lost in the February earthquake. Bar stools, office chairs, wheelchairs, school desk chairs, armchairs, garden furniture. Each one different because each person was different.

You are welcome to sit in any chair that draws you to it. I walked over and the first thing I saw was the baby seat. I could not bring myself to sit in anyone’s chair. I stood and looked for a long time. I had tissues. I needed them.

If you visit one thing in Christchurch that puts the earthquake in human terms, it is this. The memorial is simple, quiet and completely devastating in the most necessary way.

The Cardboard Cathedral — officially Transitional Cathedral — was built as a temporary replacement for the earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral using cardboard tubes as the main structural element. It sounds improbable and it looks extraordinary. The building seats 700 people, the stained glass is beautiful and the triangular shape gives it a striking presence against the Christchurch skyline.

I went expecting to tick a box and came out genuinely impressed. The interior is warm and well-lit, the stained glass at the front is spectacular and the whole building is a remarkable piece of architecture that turned a disaster response into something genuinely beautiful. Worth every minute.

Beyond the earthquake memorials Christchurch is a genuinely lovely city — green, walkable and with a creative scene that has flourished in the rebuilt spaces. Here is what else is worth your time:

• Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens. 165 hectares of parkland right in the heart of the city — the Avon River runs through it and the Botanic Gardens within the park are among the finest in New Zealand. Free to enter, beautiful in any season and the perfect antidote to an intense morning at Quake City.
• Punting on the Avon. Flat-bottomed boats punted along the Avon River through Hagley Park — a gentle, unhurried way to see the city from the water. Very Christchurch, very lovely.
• The Arts Centre. A beautifully restored Gothic Revival precinct that survived the earthquake and has been painstakingly rebuilt. Markets, galleries, cafés and artisan studios in a setting that makes you understand what was at stake for this city’s heritage.
• New Regent Street. A pedestrianised strip of pastel-coloured Spanish Mission architecture — one of the most photographed streets in New Zealand and a good spot for coffee and lunch.
• Canterbury Museum. Free museum covering Canterbury’s natural and human history with excellent Māori and Antarctic collections. The Antarctic section is particularly good given Christchurch’s role as a gateway to the ice.
• The Gap Filler Projects. In the years after the earthquake, artists and community groups filled empty sections across the city with creative projects — dance floors, mini golf, performance spaces. Many have since been replaced by permanent buildings but the spirit of creative resilience they represented is still part of the city’s character.
• Lyttelton. The port town 12km from the city centre through a tunnel in the Port Hills — small, characterful and with excellent cafés and a Saturday market. Worth the short drive for a completely different atmosphere from the CBD.
• Port Hills. The volcanic hills south of the city with walking and mountain biking trails and panoramic views over Christchurch, the Canterbury Plains and on a clear day all the way to the Southern Alps. The gondola to the top is the easiest option; the walking tracks are more rewarding.