21 Sep 2018

A request to move the Citizens War Memorial from its current site in Cathedral Square will be considered by Christchurch City Council next Thursday.

The request has come from the Christchurch Memorial Returned and Services Association (RSA).

The Citizens War Memorial.

The Citizens War Memorial was dedicated in 1937.

Church Property Trustees (CPT), owners of the land on which the memorial sits, supports the RSA's request to move the memorial, subject to broad agreement from stakeholders.

Heritage New Zealand also supports the proposal to relocate the memorial to a suitable, accessible place.

CPT has, at the Council's request, provided advice as to the issues for the memorial and the Cathedral reinstatement project should the memorial remain on site during and after the reinstatement.

The Citizens War Memorial was initially built to commemorate all those who died in World War I but  a further inscription was added after World War II.  

Until 2010 the memorial was regularly used as the site for ANZAC Day dawn services. The memorial’s close proximity to the earthquake-damaged Cathedral has made public access to it impossible since then, forcing the dawn ANZAC Day service to shift to Cranmer Square.

Due to the significant risks and issues associated with the memorial’s current location, the Christchurch Memorial RSA have formally written to Mayor Lianne Dalziel asking for it to be moved, preferably to Cranmer Square.

Two other alternative sites - Latimer Square or elsewhere in Cathedral Square – have also been mooted.

Next Thursday, the Council will consider a report which recommends that if the Council agrees to relocate the memorial, either permanently or until work on the Cathedral is completed, it should seek community views on which of the three sites the public would prefer the memorial to move to.

Read the report.