Compared to many buildings, the Canterbury Club has held up remarkably well to seismic activity
(NZHPT)
The enthusiasm in Canterbury Club Secretary Manager David Cartwright’s voice is infectious – making the future of the club established in 1872 look very positive indeed.
The Category II-registered Colonial Italianate building on Cambridge Terrace overlooking the Avon River has stood up remarkably well, all things considered, to the earthquakes of last year and this. So much so that plans are underway to celebrate the club’s 140th anniversary on site next August.
David says key decisions made by Canterbury Club members in 2005 have kept the club in good stead for many years to come – and made the jobs of Holmes Consulting (engineers) and Wilkie+Bruce (architects) that much easier considering the extensive damage to many other buildings in Canterbury.
“Our members decided in 2005 to fix the club,” David says.
“We sold some land to get money to help fund the repair of the building. In 2008 we embarked on earthquake strengthening the original part of the building. We always thought our biggest fear was fire, but we earthquake strengthened and it paid off.
“The earthquake strengthening work makes our likelihood of getting re-insurance that much better.”
About 35 tonnes of chimney material has been removed from the Canterbury Club before they will be rebuilt. The original building will need re-levelling and some walls repaired, but the scale of the work is extremely manageable, David says.
“The club is going to invest to bring the building up to the new code – to 100 percent or as near to it. And that’s money that our members (650 currently) have to find.
“Essentially we are making it new in behind (the original structure) but keeping the visual appearance as it was when first built. We are trying to salvage what materials we can, and if we can’t we will try and mimic it to a high standard.
"The club was built on tradition and that’s the aim of the restoration.”
The Canterbury Club hopes to complete the repairs to the new extension before Christmas while work continues on the original two-storey part of the building. That work includes tidying the four upstairs accommodation rooms for members and overseas reciprocal club members.
“It is a unique heritage building, having been on this site since day one,” David says.
The main entrance to the two-storey wooden building faces the Avon River and forms an intriguing character building when approached over the Worcester Street bridge from Cathedral Square. While internal alterations have been made over the past 30 years to meet the needs of the club’s members, it remains in relatively original condition.
To read more about the Canterbury Club’s history and heritage, visit the Register Online. Find out more about the Canterbury Club gaslight (the first public street light in Christchurch) and its hitching post - both registered as Category II historic places.