A remote-operated digger has started work on Christ Church Cathedral today removing rubble from the historic building, which project managers are describing as a world first.
Christchurch Cathedral interior through the lens of a drone. Photo:
Work is ongoing to restore the historic building after it was significantly damaged during the Canterbury earthquakes in 2011.
Project manager Farran Inglis said it was an important step for the ongoing clean up.
"It's a really exciting day for us because we are actually inside the building and our operator is completely remote inside the middle of the building, pulling out the rubble which has been in there for a number of years."
The digger and digger driver are supplied by earthmoving firm Protranz.
Remote operated digger clears debris in the Christchurch Cathedral Photo: Supplied
Protranz commercial manager Simon Gaynor said the firm had used remote-operated diggers in other spots around Christchurch, including when demolishing homes on earthquake damaged cliff faces.
It was the first time they were aware of of a remote digger being used in a heritage building, he said.
"We're clearing out all the debris that collapsed during the earthquakes that has been sitting for 10-plus years.
"Since then there's been a lot of pigeons, and a lot of pigeon guano that's in there, and obviously the structure is still unsafe.
"We worked with CCRL (Christchurch Cathedral Rebuild Limited) to come up with a solution to limit people's exposure (to) guano."
View of the Christ Church Cathedral interior through the lens of a drone. Photo: Supplied
Protranz excavator operator Vaughan Breen operates the remote digger from a small operations office near the Cathedral site.
He is tasked with both the removal of the rubble, but also heritage items of note, including bibles and significant masonry.
Inglis said access to the interior was significant and could unearth items of note.
"There could still be a couple of discoveries in there," he said.
"There's an unknown element of the interior which we need to get in there and have a look at.
"We've flown drones through, we've assessed the building and assessed the structure but we do need to get inside."
A view of the Christchurch Cathedral exterior as the heritage site is under restoration. Photo: Supplied
The remote digger has been developed by Protranz Earthmoving, in collaboration with engineering outfit Aurecon.
Aurecon digital solution developer Simon Yorke said the firms had worked together using excavators on cliff faces and using drone technology.
The work is expected to run for the next six weeks and is the final stage of stabilising the cathedral.
Restoration of the cathedral building is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.