‘Caring for each other’ theme at Christchurch earthquake service

Today’s civic service has marked the eighth anniversary of the February 2011 earthquake with the theme “caring for each other”.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel says when reflecting on the experience of the earthquake, there “was an extraordinary sense of coming together – reaching out – caring for each other”.

“Forged in tragedy, the bonds that were formed that day and in the days, weeks, months and years that have followed will never be broken,” the Mayor has told the crowd gathered for the service at the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial Oi Manawa in central Christchurch.

Christchurch has remembered those lost in the 2011 earthquake.

“And so it is that eight years on from that fateful day we come together at this time, in this place, to remember, to share our sorrow, to record our gratitude to those who came to our aid and to care for each other once more.

“This is the place where we gather to remember those whose lives were lost, to ensure that they live on, not only in the memories of those who loved and knew them well, but also in our collective memory as a city.

“We also remember all those who were seriously injured, all those who were affected and who carry the scars of the trauma they have experienced. And we remember all those who came to help us in so many ways,” the Mayor says.

The 45-minute service was held at 12.30pm on the North Bank of the memorial on the corner of Montreal Street and Cambridge Terrace.

A minute’s silence at 12.51pm marked the time the quake struck. During the service, the names of the 185 people who lost their lives were read out from the Memorial Wall.

The Council-organised gathering was hosted in partnership with the Quake Families Trust.

The Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Dr Megan Woods, and Japan’s Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Norikazu Suzuki, joined the Mayor at the service.

Earlier, the Mayor attended a family service at the earthquake interment site at Avonhead Park Cemetery.

She also opened a new community exhibition, Thx 4 the Memories, in Retreat Reserve on the corner of Patten Street and Retreat Road in Avonside.

The exhibition of photographs and stories from Avonside communities – created by the University of Canterbury Fine Arts Department with support from Avonside Blog – features 24 panels that will be rotated on 12 display boards along the fence line.

Signage also acknowledges the reserve as a post-earthquake neighbourhood gathering place.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel pays her respects at the Memorial Wall.