By Alison Parr, with the Ministry for Culture & Heritage
What remains when a city vanishes?
When the quakes hit Canterbury in September 2010 and later in February 2011, Christchurch was devastated. With so much of the cityscape destroyed, it was essential to capture a snapshot of what has been lost; to gather memories from generations past.
Remembering Christchurch is an evocative social history that preserves the human heritage of the city. Residents share their personal stories – of homes and livelihoods, of experiences lived in a place now changed forever.
In order to preserve these precious memories, oral historian Alison Parr and her colleague Rosemary Baird interviewed 19 Cantabrians from diverse walks of life. Their stories paint a vivid picture of the city as it was.
Parr writes, ‘In the five years since the first earthquakes, a sense of profound dislocation has continued for many Christchurch people. So much built heritage has disappeared. So much that was taken for granted is no more, both in the broken city and also in those suburbs where entire streets are now uninhabited. What is left is human heritage, retained in the memories of thousands.’
The interviewees are older citizens – people born in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s – and their rich memories bring Christchurch back to life. Woven through their stories are the familiar streets, shops and churches, pubs, tearooms and dancehalls of a much-loved city.
Most of those interviewed will not see the new Christchurch completed in their lifetime. But Parr hopes their memories will ensure what stood before will never be forgotten – that their legacy will safeguard Christchurch’s past for future generations.
‘Others, too, have their hopes for the future, as well as continuing sadness for what has been lost. All those whose voices fill these pages share a deep connection with their once familiar home. Their memories are a legacy – the human heritage of Christchurch as it was for them.’ —Alison Parr, Remembering Christchurch
About the author
Alison Parr is Senior Oral Historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Wellington, New Zealand. A former award-winning broadcasting journalist and interviewer, she worked for more than 25 years in radio and television. Alison is the author of four previous books based on oral history, including HOME: Civilian New Zealanders Remember the Second World War and The Occupiers: New Zealand Veterans Remember Post-war Japan
Remembering Christchurch by Alison Parr
1 September 2015 | RRP $45.00 | Penguin
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Belladonna - 9 years ago
My first job on leaving high school was with the Lands & survey dept in the old State insurance building in Worcester st.
Many years later I did three years at art school in that same lovely Art deco building.
I saw it the other day & like most of us its a bit battle scarred but still standing there in its place regardless.