By Jenny Suo
For many Cantabrians the region’s ongoing earthquakes were too much, and thousands have left Christchurch in the past year to resettle in Australia or other parts of New Zealand.
For 20 years the Arnesons had a shoe repair business on Christchurch’s Manchester Street, but they now call Hamilton home.
Merv Arneson, who was at work during the February quake, says it was “like thunder coming down”.
He says it was stepped back into the shop to pull son James away from tumbling boxes that saved him.
“I stepped back to grab his hand… and the whole front of the shop came down in front of my nose,” he says.
“One more step and I would have been dead – James being there saved my life.”
Just outside the shop, Mr Arneson helped to drag a man out of the car. Unfortunately, the man did not survive.
The family’s Linwood home was still standing following the quakes, but the family no longer felt safe living in the city.
The Arnesens chose Hamilton because they heard the people were friendly, and the city was similar to Christchurch.
Mr Arneson has now invested in a shoe repair shop in Glenview Mall, and wife Toni does the accounts.
She says while the move has been “everything everyone said it would be”, she has one warning for the city of Hamilton: if it shakes while she lives there, she’s going to sue.
The children have also adjusted well to the move, but Rochelle Arneson says their hearts still belong to the South Island – especially during rugby season.
“We’re always going to be Cantabrians,” she says.
“The only time we support Waikato is when they're not playing Cantabs.”
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