What remains when a city vanishes? Remembering Christchurch captures the human heritage that survives the devastation of the Canterbury earthquakes. In evocative interviews, older citizens share their precious memories, bringing Christchurch back to life – from familiar streets, shops and churches to pubs, tearooms and dance halls; from movie theatres and pie carts in the Square to milkshakes at the Dainty Inn on High Street. There are tales of cherished homes in red-zoned suburbs such as Dallington, and of earlier trips through the tunnel to the port of Lyttelton. Woven through these stories, a social history of Christchurch emerges, exposing shifting attitudes to class, race, religion, sex and the place of women. Vivid and revealing, these rich memories create a lasting legacy for a much-loved city.

Alison Parr is Senior Oral Historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Wellington, New Zealand. A former award-winning broadcasting journalist and interviewer, she worked for more than 25 years in radio and television. Alison has spent most of the past decade recording the memories of war veterans and other New Zealanders, and is the author of five books based on oral history, including Home: Civilian New Zealanders Remember the Second World War, The Occupiers: New Zealand Veterans Remember Post-war Japan and Remembering Christchurch: Voices from Decades Past.