Recent pictures of Parker and Hulme's houses in modern Christchurch

Hello all,

I have been a huge fan of Heavenly Creatures since I first saw it about 10 years ago. Ever since, and coupled with an obsession with LOTR, I have wanted to visit New Zealand and seek out some of the historical locations and filming locations.

I was lucky enough to have the chance to go to NZ this month and managed to schedule in two stops which are very important to the Parker-Humle case. (Unfortunately I was not able to plan the holiday myself or I would have fit in more!)

Firstly, I need to say that I was devastated by the state that Christchurch is in; last year’s earthquake has scarred the beautiful city so much it brought tears to my eyes. There was a ‘red zone’ in the centre which was fenced off and was very haunting and sad to wander around. I made a point of donating all the money in my wallet at the time to one of their donation points as I was so staggered and upset by the damage that has been done.

During my time in NZ I tracked down the new book on the case, called ‘So Brilliantly Clever’ by Peter Graham. It is a great book, full of insight and information that wasn’t in the film but that adds such depth. I recommend it to anyone, although I believe it is hard to get outside of NZ and Aus. This book gave me more information on the two locations I visited.

Pictures: http://s131.photobucket.com/albums/p314/sparkle_motion87/

My first stop was to Gloucester Road, where Pauline, Honora and the rest of the family lived at number 31. I knew that the house had been demolished some time ago, but you can see in the pictures it has been replaced by a very modern build. However, the house next door, number 33, stands as it did in 1954 and was very eerie indeed. In fact, for some reason the front door was wide open, as were the windows. First I thought it was abandoned until a very old woman pulled up and went inside. According to ‘So Brilliantly Clever’, number 33 was the boarding house (that features in the film?) and they have a satellite picture in the book which seems to confirm that it is the same house as in the pictures I took.

My second stop was to Ilam, which was very exciting indeed as it was the actually filming location as well as historical location. The house looks almost exactly as it did in the film, with the very sad addition of fencing and big signs keeping people out – as with everything else, it is closed due to the earthquake. It also appeared to be completely empty inside, so they must have taken everything away last year. The gardens, however, looked pristine. You can see on the picture the exact bridge where Juliet’s entrance was filmed. It was such a beautiful place to be! I also took a photo of the lawn where I believe the ‘hand holding’ shot was done.

Please let me know your thoughts, and naturally, share any other images you may have.

I hope you enjoy. And please, donate to Christchurch’s relief fund if you can.

What do you hear? Nothin' but the rain.