Christchurch earthquake: Jeweller happy valuables now safely in bank

Roger Kelso leaves Westende Jewellers carrying the last of the valuables retrieved from his shop with the help of Urban Search and Rescue. Photo / Sarah Ivey

When he stood in front of his ruined jeweller's shop on Saturday morning, Roger Kelso didn't ever expect he'd be able to get his stock out intact.

"I didn't think we had any chance at all of getting anything out but we've got our most expensive jewellery out. We couldn't get our really good fittings out, but they're replaceable."

The restaurant above his store, Westende Jewellers, on the corner of Worcester St and Manchester St in central Christchurch, crumbled on to the footpath, blocking access and raising fears about what state the store, and its expensive stock, would be in.

But when he and his supporters managed to get in, after an Urban Search and Rescue team made sure the second floor was secure, they found remarkably little damage and had no trouble opening the safe.

"There's no damage in the shop from above, not a piece of damage. The floor was still intact between us and the second floor."

He told the Herald he didn't have time to worry about the threat posed by aftershocks and didn't have to convince anyone to help him. "In Christchurch everyone mucks in and you only have to make a phone call. I could have had another dozen if I wanted them."

When he first saw the site on Saturday he was devastated but said, "It would have been worse if they had pulled someone from under that rubble."

Westende Jewellers had been open for more than 30 years and Mr Kelso said he hoped to open again one day. But the first step was securing the stock which he estimated as worth more than half a million dollars. "We're putting it into safe deposit in the bank and from there we'll have to sort out what we're going to do."