World Firefighters Games

Uh, or you may drive past, um, a, a structure which is on the banks of the Avon River, and it's at a place called the Firefighters' Reserve, where fire and emergency personnel gathered in remembrance today.

The park was opened back in 2002, and it was just ahead of the city hosting the World Firefighters Games.

And when the community was still reeling from the attacks just a year prior, the focal point of the space was this sculpture, which is called A Tribute to Firefighters.

It was created by artist Graham Bennett.

Gary Moore, our, our mayor at the time, was in New York on, on some sort of business, and with him was the arts pers- person for the council, Marlene McCreen.

And they were visiting or had an invitation to Ground Zero.

And whilst they were there, they were talking to some of the administrators, and they were lamenting the fact that the Firefighters Games had just been canceled that were going to be in Brisbane.

And Gary Moore, being the lively person that he is, said, "We can do that in Christchurch." And, uh, and the people, uh, on site said, "That would be amazing, and if you do, we will gift you some of the steel from the World Trade Center that you can, uh, uh, assemble in some way, um-