Firefighters Reserve, Christchurch, New Zealand - 9/11 Memorial Sites on Waymarking.com

The Firefighters Reserve in Christchurch has been established in memory of those who perished in the September 11th tragedy.

The reserve features a dramatic sculpture fashioned from 5 tonnes of structural steel salvaged from the site of the World Trade Centre following their collapse on Sept 11, 2001 in terrorist attacks on New York City, New York, USA. The reserve commemorates the sacrifice of the 343 Fire Department of New York firefighters who lost their lives when the towers collapsed, as well as the sacrifices of firefighters worldwide in service of their communities. The reserve was commissioned during the opening ceremonies of the World Firefighter's Games VII (dubbed the Memorial Games) held in Christchurch 26 October to 2 November 2002.

Date of Dedication: 10/26/2002 Name of organization that built the memorial: Christchurch City Council Private or Public Monument?: Government Text on the memorial: A TRIBUTE TO FIREFIGHTERS This sculpture within the Firefighters Reserve stands as a silent tribute to firefighters worldwide who risk their lives daily in the pursuit of their duty. Firefighters are always in the front line and never more so than on September 11, 2001, when international terrorists hijacked four domestic American Jet airliners and flew two of them, along with their passengers, into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. The two towers imploded and collapsed, and among the more than 2,800 dead 343 New York firefighters. All that remained of the twin towers, and the lives lost within, was a mountainous pile of twisted steel and smoking rubble. In May 2002, five steel girders, weighing 5.5 tons were salvaged from the site of the World Trade Center and gifted to the City of Christchurch by the City of New York for use in a public art work to honour all firefighters worldwide. The suspended component or "spear", in its red hot state, fell from the 102nd floor of the World Trade Center Tower Two, piercing the subway below. ------ The sculpture stands within a dedicated reserve opposite the Central Fire Station on the banks of the Avon River, near the historic site of the former Tautahi Pa. There were important Maori cultural and spiritual issues to be considered in placing a sculpture made from a site of death near this significant life-giving site. Consultation with representatives of the Runaka of Otautahi and Tuahuriri took place to ensure that processes and procedures were enacted to appropriately acknowledge and address the cultural considerations. The opening of the reserve and unveiling of the sculpture on October 26, marked the beginning or the 2002 Seventh World Firefighters Games in Christchurch. This Sculpture 'Tribute to Firefighters' was created by Christchurch artist Graham Bennett. A work of stark simplicity, the composition was derived from observations of firefighting skills, notions of overhead dangers and recovery. Physical address of memorial: Oxford Tce between Madras St & Kilmore St. Christchurch, New Zealand Additional coordinates: Not Listed Website for more information: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/22/2024 hennes1389 visited it 11/28/2022 bucketeer visited it 01/01/2020 NH82 visited it 01/09/2018 Riktinos visited it 03/12/2016 Geovortex visited it 10/25/2015 ParisLaura visited it 10/24/2015 HockeyHiker19 visited it 07/04/2015 waiiti20 visited it 02/02/2015 VE2YWS visited it 11/11/2014 siff visited it 03/28/2013 Geopellet visited it 05/19/2010 WazzaAndWenches visited it 08/17/2009 searchwise015 visited it 02/27/2009 Norfolk12 visited it 12/28/2007 atc visited it 01/08/2004 The Spindoctors visited it 10/26/2002 firesafe visited it

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