ABSTRACT
A major earthquake sequence between 2010 and 2011 caused extensive damage to the built environment in the city of Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. Founded in 1850, Christchurch possessed an impressive collection of Victorian and Edwardian heritage buildings as well as nationally important modernist buildings dating from the 1950s to the 1970s. Much of this heritage was demolished in the years immediately following the earthquakes. This case study examines the way in which emergency legislation was used to override existing heritage protection in order to accelerate a recovery programme predicated upon the creation of a tabula rasa, considered necessary to stimulate new commercial developments. It examines the reasons for heritage losses as well as the strategies used by heritage advocates and the wider public to ensure the survival of key heritage buildings, including Christ Church Anglican Cathedral (1864–1904) and the Christchurch Town Hall (1966–1972). It also explores the efforts of owners who strengthened and restored heritage buildings in the face of official opposition or indifference. A decade after the earthquakes, the urban fabric of central Christchurch has been radically transformed, although important examples of the city's architectural heritage have been restored or are in the process of being strengthened and repaired. Christchurch's recovery provides a salutary lesson in the importance of public advocacy since, in the wake of disasters resulting from natural hazards, governments cannot necessarily be relied on to value the architectural heritage that belongs to all citizens.
