Cracroft Caverns | |
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Cashmere | |
Coordinates | 43°34′28″S172°37′23″E / 43.57444°S 172.62306°E |
Site information | |
Controlled by | Christchurch City Council |
Open to the public | No |
Site history | |
Built | 1942 |
Cracroft Caverns, also known as the Cashmere Caverns, are a series of large chambers in the hill of the Cashmere suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Constructed secretly during the Second World War in response to the Japanese threat, they were intended to house operational headquarters in the event of attack. The military commandeered the Cracroft Wilson estate, founded by Sir John Cracroft Wilson in 1854, for their Southern Group headquarters, and work on the tunnels began in 1942. [1] [2]
Railways were built for access and for the removal of waste soil. The largest cavern was 7 metres high, 10 metres wide and 30 metres long. Prestressed concrete was used to line the caverns. Officers based in the estate house would come down stairs into the tunnels, while others were to enter through the access tunnels. Construction came to a sudden halt in 1944 as the threat of invasion receded, even though work on the bunkers was nearly complete. The weekend before the military left the estate, fire broke out and the Cracroft Wilson House was burnt to the ground.
The entrances to the underground complex were sealed after the war, and the existence of the caverns was largely forgotten until 1987 when TVNZ reporter Jeff Field was told of the caverns during a chance conversation with a gardener at Cashmere Hospital. Using the archives at the Ministry of Defence, Field discovered references to the caverns in newspaper articles dating from January 1945. The investigation was assigned to another reporter, Bill Cockram, who contacted the owner of Cashmere House which has been rebuilt following the fire. With the permission of the owner, excavations were carried out and the caverns were entered for the first time since the end of the Second World War. [3]
The caverns now became the home of a series of ring laser experiments set up by the University of Canterbury's physics department, taking advantage of the extremely stable temperature in the caves. [4]
There is now an associated small public park behind the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Parts of the caverns have periodically been opened to the public in the past, but due to damage from the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes there is currently no access. [4]
The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park located along its banks. The city's territorial authority population is 392,100 people, and includes a number of smaller urban areas as well as rural areas. The population of the urban area is 380,600 people. Christchurch is the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland. Christchurch is the major urban area of an emerging sub-region known informally as Greater Christchurch. Notable smaller urban areas within this sub-region include Rangiora and Kaiapoi in Waimakariri District, north of the Waimakariri River, and Rolleston and Lincoln in Selwyn District to the south.
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
The Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River lies within the city boundaries of Christchurch, New Zealand, and is fed from springs near Templeton Road, with a catchment area in wet weather extending as far west as Yaldhurst and Pound Road. It meanders around the base of the Port Hills from west to south-east.
Cashmere is a suburb which rises above the southern end of the city of Christchurch in New Zealand's South Island.
Cashmere High School is a state coeducational secondary school, located in southern Christchurch, New Zealand. It was opened in 1956 in response to population growth in southern Christchurch during the 1950s.
Princess Margaret Hospital is a public hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is run by the Canterbury District Health Board.
Sir John Cracroft Wilson, also known as Nabob Wilson, was a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand.
The Lyttelton road tunnel runs through the Port Hills to connect the New Zealand city of Christchurch and its seaport, Lyttelton. It opened in 1964 and carries just over 10,000 vehicles per day as part of State Highway 74.
Christchurch City Libraries is operated by the Christchurch City Council and is a network of 21 libraries and a mobile book bus. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake the previous Christchurch Central Library building was demolished, and was replaced by a new central library building in Cathedral Square, Tūranga, which opened in 2018.
The 2010 Canterbury earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1 at 4:35 am local time on 4 September, and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Some damaging aftershocks followed the main event, the strongest of which was a magnitude 6.3 shock known as the Christchurch earthquake that occurred nearly six months later on 22 February 2011. Because this aftershock was centred very close to Christchurch, it was much more destructive and resulted in the deaths of 185 people.
Colombo Street is a main road of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs south-north through the centre of Christchurch with a break at Cathedral Square. As with many other central Christchurch streets, it is named for a colonial Anglican bishopric, Colombo, Sri Lanka in what at the time was known as Ceylon. Parts of the street which run through Sydenham were known as Addison Street during the 1880s, and some parts were known as Colombo Road.
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time. The Mw6.2 earthquake struck the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi) south-east of the centre of Christchurch, the country's second-most populous city. It caused widespread damage across Christchurch, killing 185 people, in the nation's fifth-deadliest disaster.
The Durham Street Methodist Church in Christchurch was the earliest stone church constructed in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by Heritage New Zealand.
Ōhinetahi is a valley, historic homestead, and formal garden on Teddington Road, Governors Bay, Christchurch, Canterbury region, New Zealand. Ōhinetahi valley is situated at the head of Lyttelton Harbour while the Port Hills rise above Ōhinetahi. While the Ōhinetahi Homestead is considered to be a significant historic building in the small settlement of Governors Bay, the formal garden of Ōhinetahi is considered to be one of New Zealand's finest. Amongst the early owners of Ōhinetahi were Canterbury pioneer William Sefton Moorhouse and Thomas Potts, New Zealand's first conservationist. Sir Miles Warren, architect of the Christchurch Town Hall, was the last private owner, and gifted it to New Zealand.
The implosion of Radio Network House in 2012 was the first implosion used in New Zealand to demolish a building, and was a "test case" for the potential to use such a demolition method on similar buildings in Christchurch Central City that had been damaged in the 2011 earthquake. Like most other large buildings in central Christchurch, Radio Network House was damaged beyond repair in the 2011 earthquake, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) added it to the demolition list in August 2011. In July 2012, it was announced that the building was going to be imploded, involving a specialist company from the United States with considerable experience in this type of work.
The Central City Red Zone, also known as the CBD Red Zone, was a public exclusion zone in the Christchurch Central City implemented after the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. After February 2013, it was officially renamed the CBD Rebuild Zone by government agencies, but remained known as the Red Zone. It gradually shrank in size and the last cordons were removed on 30 June 2013, 859 days after the earthquake.
Cracroft Reserve is a 3.2 hectare public reserve on Cracroft Hill in the Cashmere suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated next to the Sign of the Takahe. Cracroft Reserve is a popular stop for tourists, and residents, with its viewing platform at 200 metres (660 ft) elevation providing panoramic views of Christchurch city, the Canterbury Plains, and the Southern Alps. The main entrance to the reserve is from the southern end of Hackthorne Road.
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