Image by: Tim Veling

Image by: Tim Veling

CHRIS WALKER

Darryl and I got married in Elizabeth House, which has already been pulled down, I’m struggling with this! I’m also struggling with all the old landmarks that have gone. I’ve done a lot of my family history and I’d even made a list, a ‘To Do’ list, to go around to all of the churches where my ancestors got married. Well, I never did it, and of course, I really regret that now. Two or three of them, more, have already gone, so that’s a regret I’ll live with for quite a while.

The fact that it’s important to me is another reason why I don’t think I could ever leave Christchurch. This place is our place and it has too much of a hold on our family to ever leave. I have a real sense of that. We’ve all worked really hard over the generations to make a life here, from living in a little cottage on the side of the river, to building a city. My family has helped to make it what it is–what it was. And if that’s what it takes again, to help make it a city worth living in once more, then we will play our part. Don’t know how… I’m not sure amongst all this mess, what exactly we might do? Perhaps just to stay? Yeah. Maybe just by staying… maybe that’s the one thing we can all do, is to stay. Stay not leave.