Selwyn Times: September 02, 2020

• By Devon Bolger
WALLY MURDOCH says the
broken nose he got as a result of
the 2010 earthquake could have
been much worse.
The Darfield Motel owner
remembers diving out of bed and
not knowing what was going on.
“It was at that moment I think
that the ground shifted. I was
picked up and face planted
straight into the wall,” he said.
“Luckily for me, I was four
inches to the left otherwise I
would have gone right through
some double pane windows.”
Murdoch was left with a broken
nose and a gash to go with it.
He said there was not much
time to stop and think about it as
his two young daughters, eight
and 12, were in their rooms.
“My wife and I managed to
pull one of my daughters out
of bed but my other daughter, I
couldn’t get into her room.”
The bed had shifted so far
across the room that it had
blocked the doorway.
“We were busy kicking and
pushing on her door and she was
curled up in a foetal position on
the bed not knowing what was
going on.
“She was a bit young. It was
really scary.”
Murdoch said the house had
taken a fairly good hit in the
quake.
REMEMBERING THE SEPTEMBER 4, 2010 QUAKE 11
Ouch! A broken nose
SCARY: Darfield Motel owner Wally Murdoch suffered a
broken nose in the earthquake as he was trying to get to his
daughter.
PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN ​
“It sustained a lot of fascial
damage. All the mortars shifted,
it wasn’t till about a week later I
realised the impact it had had.
“All of the lead nails on the
roof were sticking up about an
inch and half. I think that’s
from where the house took a real
hit underneath.”
Further inspection found a
large amount of the external
bricks on the house were all
broken through the middle,
Murdoch said.
“It was crazy times, I wouldn’t
want to do it again.”
St Patricks church
grateful for kindness
of other churches
THE ST Patricks Catholic
Church in Lincoln suffered
extensive damage during the
earthquake in 2010.
The original church, which
was built in 1957, had to be
demolished.
The rebuild process began in
June 2018 and the new church,
which cost about $3 million, was
opened 10 months later.
The new building seats 200
people and features an internal
timber structure and exterior
cedar timber cladding.
“The Catholic community
has been truly grateful to the
Wednesday September 2 2020 Selwyn Times
generosity and hospitality of
Rev Mark Barlow and the
Anglican community for
the use of their churches
at Lincoln, Springston and
Rolleston over the past eight
years,” St Patrick’s Parish Pastoral
Council chairwoman Patricia
Smith said.
The demolition of the church
took place in 2008, eight years
before the new building opened
its doors.
In the interim, Catholic
church-goers in the area
were hosted by the Anglican
community.
NEW: St
Patrick’s Parish
Pastoral Council
chairwoman
Patricia Smith
and parish
priest Father Job
Thyikalamuriyil
outside the new
church.