Quake tapestry harks back to famous battle
Nearly 1000 years ago a group of women in Canterbury, England, embroidered the feats of William the Conqueror as they waited for the Bayeux Cathedral in France to be built in his honour.
Today, a group of Christchurch women are stitching a long tapestry depicting the invasion of another kind - Mother Nature - as they too wait for a cathedral to be rebuilt.
Every Wednesday morning in a workroom at the Parklands Baptist Church, a group gather to embroider their earthquake memories.
And like the women 1000 years ago, the group will not stop until the Christ Church Cathedral is whole once again.
The tapestry, which is currently 6.4m and growing, was initiated by Jenny Carr of North New Brighton.
She credits her knowledge of the original Bayeux Tapestry to her friend and historian in England, Marilyn Roberts, whom she used to travel with before she moved to New Zealand.
"She writes history books and I would go with her and hold her handbag while she took photos _ she told me about the story years ago.''
"I had a eureka moment - I was watching the Parklands group doing some tapestry and then I remembered the story: Women in Canterbury doing a tapestry,'' she said.
Remaining true to the original method, the group use a combination of back-stitch, chain-stitch and couching-stitch to bring to life their experiences on pieces of linen.
Depicted are stories synonymous with Christchurch earthquakes - a car tumbling into a sink hole, rock falls at Mt Pleasant, rescue helicopters, tarps and tyres on Westminster St and poppies growing in a backyard.
"The poppies are especially symbolic - the woman who made that couldn't get poppies to grow in her garden. After the earthquakes and in amongst the liquefaction, two poppies popped up in the middle of her lawn,'' said Mrs Carr.
There is some historical debate over the origins of the Bayeux Tapestry but it is thought to have been commissioned in the 1070s.
King William's half-brother Bishop Odo of Bayeux sought to immortalise his brother's victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 over King Harold.
With more than 70 scenes representing the Norman conquest, the tapestry is most famous for it depiction of Harold with an arrow in his eye.
The hope is to equal the size of the Bayeux Tapestry at 70m but to do this Mrs Carr needs more people.
"Each week different people join the table and once they have finished their panel they leave. We need a lot more people to come along and tell their stories,'' she said.
For more information phone the Parklands Baptist Church, 383 1356.
History: The feats of William the Conqueror were embroidered in tapestry nearly 1000 years ago as women waited for the Bayeux Cathedral, France, to be built in his honour.
The Bayeux Cathedral
