Call for cenotaph relocation

RSA members want Christchurch’s cenotaph moved from Cathedral Square to Cranmer Square.

Since 2012, Christchurch’s dawn service has been held in Cranmer Square, while the cenotaph remains tucked behind fencing in Cathedral Square.

Christchurch Memorial RSA president Pete Dawson said the organisation was disappointed that there had been no effort ‘‘whatsoever’’ to allow access to the cenotaph in the six years since the earthquakes and while the Government and Anglican Church debated the future of the cathedral.

‘‘We want it back in public hands. The cenotaph is probably one of the most iconic cenotaphs in the southern hemisphere. It’s widely renowned for its design and the story it tells . . . We believe the cenotaph should be removed from Cathedral Square and relocated to Cranmer Square.’’

Dawson said the RSA would like to see the cenotaph relocated to the proposed new site before Armistice Day 2018.

‘‘Let’s have the people be able to get back to that iconic cenotaph so they can carry out their own individual acts of remembrance, without being faced by a fence and a no-go zone,’’ he said.

Christchurch Memorial RSA executive member Jim Lilley said Cranmer Square had become widely associated with Christchurch’s Anzac commemorations and it was better suited to catering to the tens of thousands of people who attended services.

Ahead of the Christchurch city dawn parade and service in Cranmer Square, 3200 white crosses were planted in the reserve by a team of Christchurch firefighters as part of the Fields of Remembrance. The project honoured those who served and fought for New Zealand in World War I.

Christchurch City councillor Vicki Buck said she understood the RSA’s frustrations with the cathedral timeline, but it was not a decision that the council could make without the Historic Places Trust and resource consents, as the cenotaph was a listed heritage item in the City Plan.

‘‘There’s currently budget for repair on the councils budget but not for removal.’’

The cenotaph was owned by the council and sat on land owned by the Church Property Trustees of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch.

PHOTO: GEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ Thousands of white crosses in Christchurch’s Cranmer Square, where the RSA wants the cenoptaph moved.

PHOTO: JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/FAIRFAX NZ The cenotaph is behind fencing in Cathedral Square while the impasse surrounding the future of the Anglican cathedral continues.