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05:00, Jun 05 2021 Supplied The Sacred Heart Basilica in Timaru is a finalist in the Seismic category of this year’s heritage awards The Covid-delayed 2020 Canterbury Heritage Awards will take place on June 11. In this second focus on the finalists, Fiona Wykes , of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, and historian Anna Crighton highlight five more contenders. Following the widespread damage caused by the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the Christchurch Heritage Awards Charitable Trust broadened the awards to encompass all of Canterbury. This geographical spread meant that for the 2021 awards, such entries as the Sacred Heart Basilica in Timaru, together with the Balmoral Forest Fire Lookout in Hurunui, and the Rakaia Gorge No 1 Bridge in Selwyn were eligible. ....
The judging this year was extremely difficult,’’ Crighton said. “The jurors had to select finalists in six categories from over 60 entries. The standard of entries was higher than ever before and the variety, too, was indicative of just how heritage is so important to so many people in so many ways. Now that almost half of our built heritage has been demolished, appreciation of what remains is evident. The jurors agreed, without exception, that every entry was worthy in contributing to the character and streetscapes of our city and province. Judges were Andrew Coleman – Chief Executive of Heritage New Zealand; Ivan Thomson – an urban and regional planner and Fellow Member of the New Zealand Planning Institute; Clare Kelly – an architect specialising in Heritage Conservation; and Andrew Marriott – a structural and civil engineer and director at Batchelar McDougall Consulting. ....
But two bronze angels – in round panels set at each end of the altar in the Holy Souls Chapel and dating back to when the cathedral was first opened in 1905 – were found to have gone missing from the site when the altar was removed last month. “Obviously at some point over the 10 years someone thought that they’d pop in and take the bronze angels,” said Doocey. She intends to publicise the loss on social media: “I’m hoping someone will go ‘So-and-so has those in their room’.” The decision was made to demolish the heritage-listed Basilica in 2019, with the then bishop Paul Martin citing the multi-million-dollar expense and danger of restoration. Demolition finally got under way in October last year, with an archaeologist on site to support in the retrieval of sacred or surprising objects. ....