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Dusty and disheveled, the rows of chairs remain exactly where they were nearly a decade ago.
Drone footage from inside Christ Church Cathedral shows the abandoned building as it was left on February 22, 2011, the day the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck.
The building has been off limits for almost a decade. In that time it has become home to pigeons and rats and there have even been rumors of wild cats living among the remains.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
Images taken last year revealed that the cathedral floor was littered with piles of rubble, with foliage climbing up some of its walls.
The images were taken by engineering firm Beca, which inspected the site prior to the two-year project to stabilize the damaged building.
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The footage was shot in 2019 and shows the extent of the devastation that remains to this day.
Piles of masonry and debris litter the floor, along with rows of broken and overturned chairs covered in dirt.
STACY SQUIRES / THINGS / Things
Christ Church Cathedral has been closed to the public since it was severely damaged in the February 2011 earthquake.
The bird droppings lie thick on the ground, the religious that adorn the walls are damaged or missing, while the organ is choked with dust.
Weeds have grown in some areas, small trees in others, while green foliage has seeped into the walls.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
The masonry stands next to rows of empty and overturned chairs.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
Many of the surfaces inside are covered in bird droppings from the pigeons that rest within the ruins of the cathedral.
The images, from the Christ Church Cathedral Restoration Project (CCCRP), have been invaluable for architects, heritage professionals, engineers and contractors to view the interior and assess the damage.
“The footage gives everyone a common understanding of the condition within the cathedral,” said project communications and engagement manager Annemarie Mora.
“It shows that there is significant contamination from feral pigeons and gives us an indication of where the structural damage is most severe.”
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
The images have allowed experts to better understand the interior of the building to help stabilize it.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
The cathedral organ appears largely unscathed, although it is covered in dust.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
Hundreds of birds have made the cathedral beams their home.
It has also enabled the project team to identify the remaining heritage material that it needs to recover for repair and reinstallation.
The cathedral, which dates back to 1850, has been in ruins since the devastating earthquake, but after years of debate, Anglicans voted in September 2017 to restore it.
Supplied
A computer-generated flight of what Christ Church’s restored cathedral would look like in 2028.
The renovation of the historic site will include tearing down the walls stone by stone and installing large steel supports.
Consent for the resources was granted in March, and work began in May. The entire project is expected to cost more than $ 100 million and take about ten years.
The footage will be released publicly on Tuesday at www.reinstate.org.nz.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
Bird manure is found in deep piles on the floor of the main cathedral.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
The interior masonry of the building was damaged by the earthquake.
Scholarship and CCCRP / Stuff
Much of the woodwork remains in place, although it is marked by dirt and the ravages of time.
