Nation stands in silence to remember its dead

From the smallest towns to the steps of the nation's parliament, New Zealand fell silent and wept for its lost

From the smallest towns to the steps of the nation's parliament, New Zealand fell silent and wept for its lost.

At 12.51pm yesterday, precisely one week since the catastrophic earthquake brought down much of historic Christchurch and buried up to 240 people, the nation stood silent for two minutes.

In Lyttelton, the port town 10km south of Christchurch that was at the quake's epicentre, about 300 people gathered in the main thoroughfare of the small village to remember the dead.

For many, the moment of reflection was overwhelming.

Neil Struthers, the vicar of the Lyttelton's Holy Trinity Anglican Church, which was destroyed in the earthquake, choked back tears as he spoke of the two local residents who had perished in the disaster.

He urged the townsfolk to continue to draw strength from each other. "Our human spirit is what will get us through," Reverend Struthers said.

Susan O'Meagher, 38, wept while gently rocking her two daughters, three-year-old Eliza and five-month-old Ivy, as they sat in their pram.

Ms O'Meagher and her husband are recent arrivals to Lyttelton, having moved from Auckland just three weeks before the earthquake. "We moved here because of the wonderful sense of community. And with the way the people here have responded to each other over the past week, we know we've made the right decision," Ms O'Meagher said.

In the central business district of Christchurch, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and his wife, Bronagh, were surrounded by emergency workers who have barely rested for a week.

There was no grand speech from Mr Key to express the grief of a nation. Instead, he let the silence speak for itself and quietly wiped away a tear.

Simultaneous ceremonies, some formal and some simple gatherings, were conducted across the South and North islands.

Catholic cathedrals in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin tolled their bells before the two-minute silence, while about 5000 people gathered in the grounds of federal parliament in Wellington with many wearing the black-and-red colours of the Christchurch-based Canterbury Crusaders rugby club in a show of support.

The Australian parliament also observed two minutes' silence.

It was also confirmed that a second Australian had died in the earthquake, a woman who had been living in the city for some years with her family.