Milestone reached in Christchurch Cathedral rebuild

The completion of the first phase in the Christchurch Cathedral rebuild is being described as a huge milestone.

More than a decade since the Canterbury earthquakes caused extensive damage to the building, community leaders and project managers gathered inside the cathedral building on Tuesday for the first time since the 2011 calamity.

With the completion of the building stabilisation phase, the moment was acknowledged at an event inside the historic building.

For many of the city’s leaders, proceedings, and the project as a whole, held significant reverence.

Interiors of the cathedral.
Photo: Adam Burns / RNZ

Deputy Mayor Pauline Cotter admitted she was taken aback by how affecting the moment was.

“The end’s in sight so it’s incredibly exciting,” she said.

“It’s actually quite emotional when you come in, it’s been locked off for so long and to actually come inside, it took me by surprise by how I felt.”

Project director Keith Paterson said the cathedral’s interior was beginning to resemble its former self, but with additional structural support.

“We spent over a year planning and preparing for the work to commence and have been onsite in construction mode almost three years,” he said.

“We’re very focused and keen to complete this project for the city.”

Paterson said the rebuild now moves into a second phase – strengthening and reinstatement of the cathedral’s main building and tower.

“The reinstated cathedral has been designed to meet the latest structural standards for a new public building.

“Once completed the cathedral, tower, cathedral centre and visitors centre will seamlessly integrate with Cathedral Square.”

Some dignitaries spoke about their fond memories of the cathedral prior the quakes.

Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project chair Mark Stewart said the project is a “once-in-a-lifetime commitment”.

“I’ve personally had a lot of time in this cathedral over the years,” he said.

“I’ve sung inside this building when I was young, we’ve had family celebrations in here, my father’s funeral was in this building, we’ve had christenings.

“Not only as a Christchurch resident do I feel that it is important, it’s important to us as a family.”

Stewart said it was a huge milestone.

“We’re four years in and have four years to go, so it was important for us to pause today and acknowledge how far we have come, to celebrate the team which has got us here, what they have achieved and how we’re playing our part to reinstate the heart of Christchurch.”

Cabinet Minister Megan Woods, who previously held the Christchurch regeneration portfolio, said it was a “day of celebration” for residents.

“It has become so symbolic of Christchurch and what happened in the quakes,” she said.

Megan Woods inside the Christchurch Cathedral in March 2023.
Photo: Adam Burns / RNZ

“We know the devastation that happened to people’s houses, we know that everything happened outside of the CBD, but it’s that broken heart in the centre of our city that’s being brought back to life.”

The reinstatement of the cathedral has reached the second phase following the completion of building stabilising.
Photo: Adam Burns / RNZ

Woods paid tribute to the late former deputy prime minister Jim Anderton, who campaigned for the Cathedral rebuild.

Anderton died in 2018.

The final phase of the project includes the construction of a new cathedral centre and visitors centre, beginning in 2025.

The cathedral is due to be completed by 2027.