Lyttelton Is A Mess

Every second building in the historic town where Robert Scott based his Antarctic expedition:

Lyttelton, the pretty port village that proudly proclaims itself as the gateway to Christchurch, has been devastated by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck New Zealand's second largest city just before 1pm on Tuesday.

Every second building on the town's main street has been severely damaged, with cordons closing off one block considered uninhabitable.

...The on-the-ground assessment is the first one since a windy road into the seafarers' settlement was re-opened early on Wednesday morning. Main access through a road tunnel under the Port Hills was cut off after the quake and remains closed.

...The town had also lost two men, one elderly and another young. Dawson said they were walking on a mountain track when they were hit by falling rocks.

..."We'll rebuild. Of course, we will. We're resilient people, we're Cantabrians, you know. And we've got a World Cup to look forward to," he said with a laugh.

and then there's this:

The port of Lyttelton, which has many old buildings, was one of the worst-affected areas. "Lyttelton has been badly hit," writer Joe Bennett said.

"It just came on like a bastard but it didn't last too long.

"The Empire Hotel was tottering after the first quake and they propped it up brilliantly with big girders – but now the two end walls have fallen down.

"The Volcano restaurant at first glance looks doomed, and the delicatessen opposite.

"Our little theatre, The Loons, which has been going great guns for three years, has one side wall severely damaged.

"It's like a post-war scene. People, women in particular, are walking around like ghost figures, like zombies. There's a lot of people for whom this is the last straw. You couldn't help but stop to give them a hug and cigarettes.

...Diamond Harbour Store owner Gay Edwards said historic Godley House in Diamond Harbour, opposite Lyttelton across the harbour, had fallen to pieces. "I would say it's finished this time," she said. "It's dreadful."