Canterbury local Helen Heddell is not a usual hero, but her volunteer role which she took up in the aftermath of the Christchurch February 22 earthquake was vital. Hedell coordinated the catering for the Farmy Army which assisted the clean up of Christchurch after the February 22 earthquake.
“We had anything from 200 to 1200 volunteers a day which we provided food for.
“The volunteers turned up from 7 am to 11 am and go out to help with the clean up. We provided them with sandwiches and a meal in the evening. We never knew each day how many people we would be catering for.”
The Farmy Army was set up by Federated Farmers New Zealand to deal with the crisis in Canterbury.
“Initially, the idea was that we could help out with a lot of the machinery we had, but there was a three tonne limit on the roads and so we had to curtail our plans.”
Instead, the Farmy Army spent weeks shovelling silt and sewage off Christchurch streets.
“The main effort lasted about four weeks and then subsequent clean up work was necessary following the June 13 and December 23 earthquakes.”
In addition to supplying food for the volunteers Heddell’s heroes provided welfare aid, giving food to people in the eastern suburbs.
“I never thought I would see scenes like that in New Zealand. We would pull up in the four-wheel drive and a
Christchurch Anglican Cathedral was severely damaged in the earthquake. Its fate is being disputed in court.
queue of about 80 people would quietly form to wait for their meals. These people just weren’t prepared for it. They didn’t have emergency food,
they didn’t have tins of baked beans and they didn’t have access to anything. When we got home at the end of the day we could wash the smell of sewage off us. They went to sleep and woke up with it. They had to paddle in it to the port-a-loo down the road because their shoes were already destroyed by the silt. The greyness and stink, they couldn’t get away from it.”
By the second week, the catering wing of the Farmy Army was producing 500-700 meals a day to help people on the east side of Christchurch.
“In some cases it was the first hot meal people had in nine days.”
For Heddell the day started at 5.30 am when she would leave her farm to go to Couplands supermarket for 20 crates of bread (200 loaves). Getting enough protein for the heavy work involved in the clean up was a big task.
“We went through 5.5 tonnes of meat,” said Heddell.
The day ended at 8.30 pm to 10.30 pm.
The relief effort was supported by the Federated Farmers relief fund and numerous companies and individuals throughout New Zealand.
“We had three boys from Waimate turn up in a ute with a tonne a potatoes and helped out for a few days.”
Christchurch restaurants and cafes also did their bit providing food or staff to help with the catering.
“A lot of these places had lost their premises and just loaned us their chefs.”
Heddell says that her connections with the catering industry enabled her to manage the task of producing so much food in such a short amount of time but it came down to capable people working well as a team.
The Council Chambers were built in the 19th century. Located next to the Avon River they collapsed during the 12.51 pm earthquake.
“We were just flying by the seats of our pants. We had no concept of the magnitude of the work. All people were perfectly capable of going forward on fast decision.”
Despite the heartbreak, the long hours and exhaustion which came with the earthquake, Heddell sees it as a positive experience.
“We just met so many wonderful people and made great friends,” said Heddell.
Be sure to like Intrepid Adventure on Facebook and check out Peter Campbell’s latest books on Amazon.com.
Copyright © Peter Campbell 2014, www.intrepid-adventure.com
