Movers and shakers WOMEN’S STORIES FROM THE CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKES Liz Gordon, Judith Sutherland Rosemary Du Plessis and Helen Gibson Movers and Shakers Women’s stories from the Christchurch earthquakes Women’s Voices Project - Ngā Reo O Ngā Wahine NCWNZ Christchurch Branch April 2014 Copyright © National Council of Women of New Zealand, Christchurch Branch ISBN 978-0-473-28563-0 Front cover photo taken by Ross Becker for the National Library https://natlib.govt.nz/blog/posts/photographs-after-the-canterbury- earthquakes and licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence. Acknowledgements This project was undertaken in two parts. Our thanks go to the women who told their stories and the volunteer researchers in 2011-12 who attended training sessions and interviewed women about their earthquake experiences. We also wish to thank the University of Canterbury (UC CEISMIC Contestable Fund, UC Summer Research Scholarship, College of Arts internship programme, and other forms of support), Christchurch City Council (grant of $15,000) and Z energy (petrol vouchers for interviewers and participants) MDS Law and Altrusa International. The first stage of the project was also partly funded from the proceeds of the NCWNZ Christchurch Branch 2011 Suffrage Celebration. Thanks to Amanda England, UC Summer Research Scholarship Student 2011-2012 for her work on the project and, especially, to Rosemary Baird, who contributed her excellent skills as an oral historian in 2012. Many thanks also to Roberta Hill who enhanced our research committee during the first stage of the project. The Women’s Unheard Voices project was the second stage of the project. Our thanks go to everyone who assisted and participated - especially the women who told their stories and the considerable work that was once again undertaken by volunteer interviewers. We want to acknowledge the Christchurch Branch of the National Council of Women, the Ōtautahi Māori Women’s Welfare League and the Christchurch Branch of PACIFICA. These organisations participated in planning the research and collecting stories. The NCWNZ Christchurch was the co- ordinating organisation for the project, and we are grateful to its members for their support and to the National Office of NCWNZ for their administrative assistance. We wish to thank the Lottery Community Sector Research Grants Committee. Without your financial support we would not have been able to record the compelling stories of the women who were interviewed during the second stage of this project. We have been true to your goals – we have both enhanced the research capacity of our organisation and provided an enduring and inspiring account of women’s responses to the challenges posed by Christchurch earthquakes. An experienced social researcher, Brigid Buckenham, made a major contribution to the second stage of the project, identifying potential participants, liaising with community organisations, and conducting a significant number of interviews. Elizabeth Ashby, University of Canterbury Summer Research Scholarship student 2013-14, processed interview records, assisted with administration and conducted interviews. Rosemary Baird edited audio recordings and converted audio files for uploading on the UC CEISMIC website during 2013- 14. We want to thank them for the expertise and commitment they brought to the project. The UC CEISMIC team have ensured that most of the interview records are publicly available through the QuakeStudies digital archive. We are particularly grateful for the input of Lucy-Jane Walsh. We wish to once again thank all the women who agreed to tell their stories. You inspired us, made us happy/sad and made us cry. The resilience shown by the women of Christchurch in the face of thousands of earthquakes is remarkable.1 We would like to acknowledge our families, friends and supporters, without whom this research would not have proceeded so smoothly. Special thanks to Bruce Sutherland, who waited patiently as our Research Committee meetings stretched into the evenings, and who was endlessly supportive. Rosemary Du Plessis, Helen Gibson, Liz Gordon, Judith Sutherland. Women’s Voices Research Committee 1 Some research participants chose to use pseudonyms. Others chose to use only their given name. The full names of participants are only used with their consent. Contents Blame the earthquakes! 1 September 2010 3 Is it a monster? 4 A whole lotta shaking… 5 Is it a plane? Is it a train? 7 Legally Blind 8 “I prayed, I prayed, I cried, I cried” 10 Where is the earthquake located? 11 The flight response 15 Staying in bed 16 Standing in doorways 18 Saving the children 19 Shaking houses 22 September shaking 24 Earthquakes – “interesting and enjoyable!”. 25 A dark night 26 Radio waves 26 “All our neighbours began to come out in to the street” 28 After the earthquake 32 Communication 33 Surveying the damage 35 Evacuation 38 Further outcomes 45 Aftermath 46 The end of the beginning 55 The February quake: around the city 56 Premonitions 56 At work 59 Police, Fire, Civil Defence 62 Funeral Services 63 Panic in the City – Panic in the Suburbs 64 Christchurch Women’s prison (Templeton) 65 Spreydon/Latimer Square 71 Eastern Christchurch 72 The university 72 Waimairi Beach 74 The teachers and a stopwork meeting 75 Home and away 78 Out and about 91 Several people were in cars 95 At school 97 The February quake: counting the cost 99 Family 120 Loss and grief 123 Déjà vu all over again 127 June – the midwinter quakes 127 At work 131 Town and home 133 Anxiety 136 December 2011 138 Damage 141 Getting back home 141 Moving out, ready or not 144 Staying (with damage) 148 Damage in the community 151 Community responses 158 “Everyone just mucked in!” 159 Support from ‘On High’ 172 Communities pulling together 173 At Work 178 Organised Community Responses 180 ‘This huge jigsaw came together and it was perfect’ 180 “Flying stuff into the city” - the Rangiora Earthquake Express 182 The power of digital technology 183 The Farmy Army 184 People’s plight 185 Offers of help – “Everybody had something to bring to the table” 188 Meeting the needs 192 Housing and repairs 193 The Garden City? 198 Youth Contributions “Learning as you go” 201 SVA - “the whole thing just happened organically” 201 “Everyman and his dog would ring me” - the Student Volunteer Army 203 UNESCO Youth forums - “the youth vision for the city” 204 White elephant 206 The children - “Is there going to be anything for the kids?” 207 Changing communities - will the support keep coming? 211 Abandoned communities and looting 212 Leaving Christchurch and coming back 213 The state of the east ...it was so shocking! 215 Fragmented communities 217 Relentless uncertainty 218 Mixed blessings - frustrations and some surprising benefits 223 Grief - Spiritual support – “grieving for the community has been one of the hardest things” 232 Psychosocial support 234 Impressions and Expectations 235 Better communities 238 The powers that be: insurance woes 241 Under attack: Rana’s story 260 “Being strong for the children” 263 Immediate responses 263 Family life after the quake 264 Family difficulties 267 Effects on children 271 Family futures 277 Pets 278 Life, stress and families 279 “There was no blueprint to work from” - schools and churches 280 Schools, preschools and disruptions to education 280 Teachers’ stories 280 Early Childhood Education 286 Mothers’ stories 286 Parents’ involvement in their children’s schools 289 Students’ experiences of high school education 290 Changing schools – Ella’s story 292 The churches 294 Hubs 297 “It was a real nightmare” - the health impacts of the quakes 298 “Rocking and shaking” - Christchurch Public Hospital 298 “It is hard to make patients feel safe when you are petrified” - Princess Margaret Hospital 301 Health clinics and the quakes 303 Challenges for carers/health professionals 307 Damaged bodies – quake injuries 308 Layers of challenge – health issues in a quake context 311 Struggling to be normal – depression, anxiety and mental health issues 312 The many faces of health 318 “It’s such a strange time” - the effects of the quakes 319 East and West - two cities 319 Life-changing experiences – the good and the bad 323 Embracing the positive 323 The bad times 325 Feeling unsafe 327 Recovering 328 Feelings about others 329 Others are worse off 331 Financial impacts of the quakes 331 Others are worse off… or are they? 333 “A phoenix from the ashes” - Rebuilding Christchurch 335 A disorientating city 337 What we have lost - heritage buildings 339 Christ Church Cathedral and the Basilica 343 ReStart Mall and other CBD initiatives 346 What we have gained – the bright spots 348 A slow process 350 Not just the CBD – rebuilding homes 352 Businesses, jobs and the Christchurch economy 354 Optimism – looking forward 355 The city and its people 358 Conclusion 363 The final, final word 366 Appendix 1 367 Recording women’s experiences of the Christchurch earthquakes 367 Glossary 385 References 388 Movers and shakers Blame the earthquakes! How did this project come to be? Well, without the earthquakes there would be no project, so we might blame the earth-moving gods. On the 22nd April 2014, the Canterbury Quake Live website noted that there had been 14,083 felt earthquakes since the first ‘big’ one occurred early in the morning of 4 September 2010. Everyone in Christchurch has been affected in some way since that first major quake. At the National Council of Women’s first Christchurch meeting after the devastating 22 February 2011 earthquake, members raised questions about the need to record women’s experiences of the quakes and their aftermath. At the time, the media was full of recovery, demolition and rebuilding stories, but there was not much about looking after ageing parents, getting children to relocated schools across crumbling roads, or trying to juggle increased family and work responsibilities.