infonews.co.nz
INDEX
MEDIA

Hachette New Zealand and the New Zealand Police announce the release of Christchurch 22.2: Beyond the Cordon Commemorative Edition

Thursday 16 February 2012, 4:11PM

By Hachette New Zealand Ltd

560 views

Christchurch 22 and slipcase
Christchurch 22 and slipcase Credit: Hachette NZ

Following the huge success of Christchurch 22.2: Beyond the Cordon, Hachette New Zealand and the New Zealand Police have released a stunning new boxed edition to coincide with the first anniversary of the devastating February 22, 2011 earthquake.

This freshly packaged commemorative edition comes complete with the original book of police photographs, along with a slipcase, 200 new still images from the New Zealand Police photographers, a 15-minute DVD containing New Zealand Police video footage and readings by Gary McCormick of his two original poems which are included in the book.

First released in September 2011, Christchurch 22.2: Beyond the Cordon has been on the New Zealand non-fiction bestsellers list ever since. As with the original publication, all royalties from the commemorative edition are being donated to Christchurch’s Family Help Trust.

The Family Help Trust has already received royalties of $140,000 with more to come.

“A large part of the reason we published this book was the opportunity to assist the work of the Family Help Trust. They do very important work and we are honoured to be able to help them achieve their aims,” says Kevin Chapman, Managing Director of Hachette New Zealand.

For the Family Help Trust, the financial support from the book has meant they can finally provide some much needed resources for their work. Says Libby Robins, Director of the Family Help Trust, “The amount we have received from this publication has far exceeded our wildest expectations”.

Hachette New Zealand was approached by the Canterbury District Police to produce a high-quality book of colour photography taken by police forensic photographers, documenting the response to the earthquake.
Assistant Commissioner Dave Cliff says "New Zealand Police have been astounded at the success of Christchurch 22.2: Beyond the Cordon. The work of our forensic photographers usually goes unseen, but their efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake have clearly struck a chord with readers across New Zealand. It's also been gratifying to see the amount of money raised for The Family Help Trust from sales of the book. We're delighted that something positive has come out of the city's tragedy."

The 208-page book has 256 evocative photographs shot by police photographers throughout the massive rescue and recovery operation. The police photographers were the only photographers allowed to work for extended periods inside the cordoned area of the CBD known as the ‘Red Zone’.