by Metropol | February 18, 2026 8:33 am
A public civic memorial service will be held at Oi Manawa, the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial, on Sunday 22 February to mark the anniversary of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
The ceremony will take place beside the Ōtākaro/Avon River and will include a minute of silence at 12.51pm, the exact time the magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the city. During the service, the names of the 185 people who lost their lives will be read aloud, with the HMNZS Canterbury bell tolled for each name.
Deputy Mayor Victoria Henstock will lay a wreath at the Memorial Wall on behalf of the people of Christchurch. Members of the public will be invited to lay floral tributes following the conclusion of the ceremony at about 1.15pm.
Oi Manawa, meaning ‘tremor’ or ‘quivering of the heart’, was opened to the public on 22 February 2017 and serves as the national memorial to the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. The names of those who died in the 2011 earthquake are inscribed on marble panels stretching 40 metres along the memorial wall. The site provides a place for acknowledgement of the shared community trauma.
The 2011 earthquake struck without warning on a summer afternoon, killing 185 people and injuring thousands more. Those who died were in Christchurch as part of their everyday lives – working, studying, shopping or visiting the city – and ranged in age from infants to the elderly. Almost half were from overseas.
The memorial, located downstream from the Montreal Street bridge, was chosen for its central, accessible setting, allowing both large commemorative events and quiet personal reflection.
Source URL: https://metropol.co.nz/honouring-the-lost/
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