From Celebration to Devastation

Cathedral Square, Christchurch, 31st December 1998. That's when I was last here - amid the revelry and life, the partying and celebrating, on that particular New Year's Eve. Cathedral Square, Christchurch this evening - 1st April, 2015 - a desolate and sad place. It's really heartbreaking to see what has become of this city's 'downtown' area, following the earthquake of 2011, and it will have been even more heartbreaking for the residents of this great southern city.

This image shows the devastation of the cathedral itself, the shoring-up of its structure, and some of the many safety barriers and hoardings that now, temporarily, abound here - and this is only a small part of the whole.

However, Christchurch will 'rise from the ashes", just as did the northern city of Napier following its 1931 devastation. It will just have a different character, that's all. No better, no worse - just different.