In the third part of a four piece series exploring places around Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Beck Eleven finds hidden treasures and clear water, and Simon Day falls in love with Banks Peninsula. Read part one, on the great Auckland summer road trip, here. Read part two, on the where to go on a good … Read more
As Christchurch approaches the seventh anniversary of the big quake, the challenge confronting the incoming minister is daunting, argues James Dann. At 2pm on Wednesday, in one of the dusty gravel carparks that plague the centre of Christchurch, Megan Woods, MP for Wigram, and the Greater Christchurch regeneration minister in the new Labour-led government, made … Read more
Teresa Soper, the Christchurch mother dubbed ‘Momma Doof’, has been charged in connection with underage parties she organised at her semi-rural property. She tells Luke Oldfield why she did it. This is an edited version of an article that first appeared on cradletogravy.co.nz. Carefree teenagers vs censorious adults is a battle as old as time, … Read more
Lara Strongman declares that Fiona Farrell’s novel about post-quake Christchurch is a work of art. When everything collapses, some people behave with dignity and kindness, while others steal the gates. Fiona Farrell has an elderly Italian woman say this, or at least think it to herself, one night in bed in a sleepout crammed with … Read more
When Jacinda Ardern and Bill English meet again at the Stuff Leaders Debate tonight at La Vida Conference Centre, it will represent an increasingly rare opportunity for Christchurch issues to be aired on a national stage. Barnaby Bennett explains what’s at stake. Tonight the leaders meet in Christchurch for their third big debate of this … Read more
James Dann goes to a candidates meeting in a tightly fought seat. And the event’s biggest star, Gerry Brownlee, isn’t even standing there. Meet the candidate sessions are a wonderful opportunity for us to come together for two hours, ask our representatives and potential representatives important and meaningful questions, listen patiently to their responses, then … Read more
Charles Arthur Allen Aberhart was 37 when he died in 1964, the victim of a gay hate crime that would later inspire the New Zealand homosexual law reform movement. His relative Nicole Skews-Poole tells his story. Content note: This article includes a description of homophobic violence. Under layers of Holden memorabilia and orange-toned photos of … Read more
The Water Drop Café in Christchurch has had a bad week after they told a breastfeeding mother to feed her baby in the toilets. Here Mary Sea writes them a letter reflecting on the ups and downs of a public scandal. Dear The Water Drop Café, Imagine if we had to pay forever for our … Read more
With Christchurch’s first Techweek over and done, Jonathan Cotton takes a moment to look back and ask the question seemingly on every tech-conscious Cantabrian’s lips: Could Christchurch become the centre of New Zealand’s burgeoning tech boom? ‘The Next Silicon Valley’ seems to be a term that describes everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The … Read more
Jonathan Cotton hears how technology can help literally save the world at Techweek’17’s Disrupting Climate Change event in Christchurch. Big-brained idealistic-types made up the crowd at Wednesday night’s Disrupting Climate Change event at the EPIC (Enterprise Precinct and Innovation Campus), part of Christchurch’s Techweek’17 offering. There’s was lots to hear and lots to learn. The … Read more
Racist abuse is not welcome in our game. By launching We All Bleed Red, Canterbury has courageously become the first union to tackle discrimination head on in this way, writes the race relations commissioner, Dame Susan Devoy Until you’ve run out onto a sports field and had someone call you a “black c—” or an “ape” then you’ll … Read more
Plans for post-quake Christchurch promised a focus on transport alternatives and a compact, pedestrian-friendly core. But media generated hysteria over car parking – and the meddling of Gerry Brownlee – is threatening to send the city back to the 60s, writes James Dann. Since his appointment as the head of CERA, Gerry Brownlee has often been called the … Read more
As wildfire continues to ravage the Port Hills above Christchurch, questions are being raised about the scale and efficiency of the official response. When it comes to communicating with the public following a major emergency, why are the lessons of Christchurch and Kaikōura still unlearned, asks James Dann. Christchurch is flat and largely featureless, one- … Read more
Christchurch is operating under a state of emergency as wildfires rage on the Port Hills. The Spinoff intern Alice Webb-Liddall writes a personal account of watching smoke wreath the city. Update, 8.45am: The fires that took hold in the Port Hills on Monday continue to burn this morning. Overnight the flames jumped Dyers Pass Road … Read more
On a bus in Colombo Street five years ago, I experienced first-hand the hazards of sacrificing safety in the cause of an urgent return to normal service in the city, writes Ann Brower On February 22 2011, everyone around me died when a red-stickered building collapsed on to a bus I was riding. I was … Read more
This Labour Weekend, Christchurch welcomes back the Festival of Transitional Architecture, a biennial examination and celebration of the post-earthquake rebuild. Summer Hess talks city-making with the FESTA team. Most people wouldn’t plan an event in central city Christchurch while the army still controlled the Red Zone. But Jessica Halliday, an architectural historian and the co-founder … Read more
Under the Unitary Plan at least 400,000 new homes will be built to meet the growth of Auckland over the next 30 years. But while we wait for the Plan to take effect, let’s take a look at how many dwellings are being built right now. News that 35 Auckland apartment development projects have collapsed … Read more
While council politics are in the spotlight in much of the country, Christchurch has barely even registered there’s an election coming up. James Dann goes in search of some political passion in the Garden City. On a dark and stormy night, I find shelter in an upmarket European car showroom. Assembled are three councillors and … Read more
CERA, the acronym that has presided over Christchurch since the 2011 earthquakes, will close its doors on April 18th, 2016. James Dann Power Ranks each and every one of the “anchor projects” that have been completed in the quake city under CERA’s reign – a task slightly less Herculean than it should have been. CERA … Read more
Five years on from the catastrophic earthquake, some of Canterbury’s finest reveal how they’re planning to mark the occasion, and how optimistic they feel about the recovery. At 12:51pm on February 22, 2011, Canterbury was changed forever, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck. One hundred and eighty five people would lose their lives, with vast … Read more
Days before the five year anniversary of the destructive 6.3 earthquake, Christchurch has been struck by another tremor, wreaking damage far beyond a few broken mugs. Valentine’s Day started so well. I was watching Sunderland’s win over Manchester United*, with lovingly hand-crafted cinnamon brioche that my partner had made for me. Now, I’m sitting on … Read more