Tomorrow marks ten years on from the devastating 2016 Magnitude 7.8 earthquake that shook and shifted the land and lives of our district.
Our community has faced significant challenges, change and moments that have tested us in ways we could never have imagined. Yet, through it all, we have continued to stand strong, support one another and we have rebuilt, showing just how much strength, determination and resilience anchors the backbone of our community.
So much hard work, dedication and heart has gone into our district's recovery, alongside the very personal journeys of recovery that so many of our community members have undertaken themselves. Every contribution, every act of kindness, every helping hand and every step forward has helped shape the place we are fortunate enough to stand in today.
On Saturday, we come together not just to mark ten years, but to honour the journey we have all travelled. To recognise the challenges we have overcome, celebrate how far we have come and, most importantly, acknowledge every individual who has played a part in our recovery.
Our community's resilience isn't just measured by what has been rebuilt, but by the people, connections, compassion and collective spirit that have carried us forward making us resilient by nature.
We honour our past, celebrate our present with gratitude and look towards the future with hope, strength and confidence.
Together, we have come so far. Together, we have built resilience. And together, we will continue to shape the journeys that lie ahead from a place of great strength.
