The Case for Restoring Rather than Deconstructing the Christchurch Cathedral

Following the High Court (Justice Chisholm J) ruling that no further deconstruction of the Christchurch Cathedral should take place until further consideration and consultation between the Church Property Trustees (CPT), the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT) and the Court, has taken place, the GCBT is endeavouring to work with the CPT and the Bishop, to reach an agreement on how the Cathedral can be restored.

The strong stand that the GCBT has taken towards saving and restoring the Cathedral is not being done because of some vague sense of nostalgia for past glories, but a fierce commitment towards the history and heritage of Christchurch, which, as a result of a natural catastrophe, lies in ruins all around us.

We have lost so many of our iconic heritage buildings that it is critical that we strenuously defend those few that are left, and the Cathedral stands as a stark and almost lone reminder of what was, and what could still be, an exceptional part of this city's, and indeed New Zealand's, cultural, religious and historic heritage. Its constant presence throws doubt on the quality of the opinion of those who said that the Cathedral was in imminent danger of collapse and shows that taking time over some demolition decisions can lead to more constructive alternatives being available.

The people of Christchurch have shown the world what resilient, courageous and caring citizens they are. The social, economic and community needs in our city are enormous and we must all ensure that essential services such as housing, education, health and infrastructure are available and maintained.

But future generations of Cantabrians will not thank us if we do not make every attempt possible to preserve the legacy of architectural, religious and cultural heritage that the Christchurch Cathedral so strongly represents.

We acknowledge the desire of church leaders to meet the spiritual needs of their Anglican community and their wider mission objectives. However, we also believe these can be met through a restored Cathedral which contains and embodies much of our history and heritage which fits it uniquely to be the 'spiritual home' of the city and province.

Independent reports from internationally reputable engineers, supported by the Church's own engineering advisers, show clearly that from an engineering point of view, the Cathedral can be restored. We therefore fervently hope that the Bishop and the CPT will agree to join with us to restore rather than replace the Cathedral.

Around the world there are many resources available to us to achieve the restoration of this unique heritage icon. All we have to do is to make the decision to restore it and the help will come. There could be no more fitting memorial to those who have died in this terrible tragedy than for the restoration of such a symbol of faith and hope as is represented by this proud Cathedral.

We will only get one chance to honour both the history of those who have gone before us and future generations of our city's citizens.

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