They stood in silence, many still struggling to believe what happened at 12.51pm a week earlier.
''It's so incredibly sad,'' University of Otago student Luke Maclean-McMahon (23), of Wellington, said. ''This time last week, I was at uni and I felt it [the earthquake], but I didn't realise the significance of it.''
The Rev Fr Geoff Hughes stood with his dog, Toby, at the top of the St Paul's Cathedral steps.
''It's a very tragic occasion, I'm afraid I have a little service here on Tuesdays and there were quite a few more people in attendance today than usual.''
In the Octagon carriageway, Min Panier sobbed on the shoulder of Luc Tesseur. The Belgian tourists were in Christchurch on their dream campervan holiday of New Zealand when the earthquake happened.
''It's so, so sad to see Christchurch. We were lucky. We'd just left the centre and were five minutes from there shopping in a supermarket. Everything started moving and shaking and falling,'' Mr Tesseur said.
''It's so shocking ... it's very emotional and special to be here.''
Some in the crowd had raw memories of the horror.
Negiste Tegegene (20), of Ethiopia, was near the centre of Christchurch when the 6.3 earthquake struck.
''I was in Salisbury St when it happened. I saw the cathedral collapse,'' she said, wiping away tears with a headscarf.
''The roads ... the cars ... I thought it was the end of the world. The place was like a war zone ... ''
Ms Tegegene helped organise a candlelight tribute at the service.
''New Zealand does a lot for Africa and I wanted to represent Africa here,'' she said. ''The world is not in a good place at the moment ... There's too much war and greed and materialism.
''We need peace and love and hope.''
Even before yesterday's memorial rally began, Heather Patterson was wiping away the tears.
''It's all the memories,'' the Christchurch finance industry worker said, referring to lost and missing friends.
Ms Patterson believes she survived the earthquake by ''disappearing under the table'' she was sitting at in the central city Gravity cafe, on the corner of Salisbury and Montreal Sts.
''We had been doing earthquake practices at work since September - diving under our desks. I don't remember getting under the table. I just remember being there when the shaking stopped.''
The cafe was ''trashed'' inside and out, she said, but customers and staff got out safely.
Ms Patterson was called to Dunedin on Friday when her 91-year-old mother became ill. She said she wanted to attend the rally, even though she knew it would upset her.
''I'm crying, but I've been hanging on. I need a bloody good cry.''
Malcolm and Joanne Wright travelled to Dunedin to spend a few days with their daughter Alyssa, a student.
Their house at Kaiapoi, damaged in September's quake, sustained further cracks last week, although Mr Wright thought the damage was fixable.
The family attended the rally to support Christchurch, he said.
''It's hard thinking of the poor people who have passed away.''
Mr and Mrs Wright were returning home yesterday afternoon. Mr Wright's Hornby workplace was undamaged and he had to return to work.
Tearfully hugging her daughter after the rally ended, Mrs Wright said they had to go back.
''If we don't go now, we will never go back.''
