Darfield memorial lit up in green for quake anniversary

The Darfield War Memorial will be lit up on Thursday and Friday. Photo: Selwyn District Council
The Darfield War Memorial will be lit up on Thursday and Friday. Photo: Selwyn District Council
The Darfield War Memorial will be lit up on Thursday and Friday nights to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 4 earthquake that struck near the township.

The Selwyn District Council is joining Christchurch City Council in lighting up landmarks in green, signifying growth and renewal, as part of its commemorations of the earthquake and the events that followed.

The Darfield War Memorial is the nearest main landmark to the Greendale epicentre of the earthquake.

A ceremony was also planned to be held in Darfield to mark this 10-year milestone, but this was unable to go ahead because of level 2 restrictions.

In its place, a commemorative video featuring Mayor Sam Broughton, The New Zealand Army Brass Band and a Darfield High School student, will be released tomorrow (Friday 4 September) on the Council website, Facebook and YouTube Channel.

The council is committed to supporting residents in reflecting on this huge event in our District’s history, Broughton says

“While much has changed and the visible signs of what happened on that day are gone, the impact remains, he says.

“You only need to scratch the surface in conversation with Selwyn residents and others across Canterbury to realise that damage done in those 40 seconds has etched itself in to the memories of all those that were jolted awake that morning.

“While nobody died many thousands of us faced a massive clean-up and the job of rebuilding our homes and businesses, and for some an even longer process of psychological recovery - all the while being hit by multiple aftershocks, and living in constant fear of a follow on large shake.”

Commemoration is an important part of healing and growing, but also of learning lessons, some of which are especially relevant today, he says.

“I remember how communities came together in the days, weeks and months following the earthquake. New support and connections were made as we rebuilt our lives together.

“While Covid-19 is different I can draw many parallels with how it affects us and how we are responding – with a coming together of the community once again in the face of adversity. It should give us hope to remember that we made it through then and we can do it together again.”