Five years ago an earthquake devastated New Zealand’s second largest city. But there’s something it didn’t destroy: the fighting character of its residents.

Photo: MJ Prototype / Shutterstock.com
Restaurants have reopened to customers, although they need generators to produce electricity. Some of them have even opted to reinvent themselves with black humour. This is the case of the former bar Goodbye Blue Monday. After the earthquake it was renamed Smash Palace. In an old recycled and colourfully painted bus they prepare a wide range of burgers, although their speciality is local beer. People flock there to raise a glass and dance beneath its strings of coloured light bulbs. What was once a shopping mecca is now Re:START. From the outside it’s a shopping centre built with shipping containers placed on top of each other. Inside it’s the living image of new opportunities. Bakers is a leading menswear brand in New Zealand. The front of their container reads “Don’t be afraid of looking good. Be afraid of not”. It’s more than just a slogan; it’s the Christchurch philosophy. Lululemon is a sportswear store, but it also holds workshops and yoga sessions. Greek food stall Dimitris is bursting at the seams at lunchtime. The aroma of sophisticated Hummingbird coffee permeates everything. There are bookshops, gift shops, even a hairdresser if you want to change your image. They’re experts at that in Christchurch.

Photo: christchurchnz.com
Hapa is a gift and craft shop. Owner Maureen Taane says she plans to stay at Re:START for as long as possible: “It’s a symbol of the city’s rebirth. It would be so sad for customers if it disappeared”. But it does have an expiry date: January 2017. It’s hoped that by then, most of the new buildings in the city centre will have been rebuilt. It will be a fresh start for Christchurch. A fresh chance to do what it does best: reinvent itself.

Photo: christchurchnz.com
Good to know:
Tribute to courage
The residents of Christchurch are making huge efforts to recover their city’s splendour, but they don’t want to forget the catastrophe that changed their lives. Canterbury Museum has designed Quakecity in a Re:START container. It’s a multisensory space about the earthquake for New Zealanders and tourists alike.