Their names were read aloud by first responders and members of the Christchurch community, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Memorial Wall. Ardern said the anniversary was a chance to remember and celebrate those who lost their lives alongside their families. She also acknowledged those foreign nationals prevented from attending the service by Covid; the survivors left with “unseen scars” from the disaster; and the children who grew up in its aftermath – known as the “generation of the rebuild”. “Ten years on, there will be people still living their daily lives in the long shadow of that day,” she said. “… It’s the Kiwi way to be stoic, and sometimes the pressure to be OK or to have moved on with the passage of time can be very pronounced – but healing takes time, and even as time passes, none of us will forget.”