We Too Are Custodians Of History

Phil Braithwaite, New Zealand - November 2011

Following the severe 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch and across the Canterbury province, many historic buildings either collapsed or were demolished for safety reasons.

Being an amateur photographer interested in old buildings, I visited the area with trusty camera, recording buildings that took my fancy.

One such building in the town of Kaiapoi was regarded as “the finest example of art deco in the district’’. Built in 1935 as the Rialto Movie Theatre, it had been used since 1997 to house the Riverside Christian Fellowship Church.

After the September 2010 earthquake, it was hoped the historic building could be repaired, but further damage in the February and June quakes this year made that impossible. Last week (15 November 2011), demolition crews moved in and leveled the site.

It suddenly struck me that, as we roam our country taking snaps, we’re recording sights that could suddenly disappear tomorrow...

Just as I’ve personally benefited from an unknown photographer taking pictures of my ancestor’s headstone, or a photographer back in 1900 recording old sights from my family’s past that no longer exist, we modern-day photographers should be aware that 20, 50, 100 years from now, someone may gain some insight into our current lives, by looking at our humble photographs too.