Change of luck for earthquake victim

New Brighton homeowner Dianna Donald feels her luck has changed at last, after finding out that she has won $10,000 in a Palliside Weatherboards competition. Ms Donald had entered the competition by requesting a quotation in February from Gray Builders of Christchurch to install the New Zealand-made weatherboards on her new home.

Ms Donald said the win was a complete surprise and she was “very overwhelmed” when Palliside Weatherboards representative Hare Pitama presented her with the $10,000 cheque on Wednesday.

Ms Donald’s home on TC3 land in New Brighton was recently demolished after suffering serious earthquake damage and is to be rebuilt by her insurer, IAG and building company Landmark Homes.

“The past two and a half years have been an absolute nightmare,” said Ms Donald.

“Not only was our house badly damaged by the earthquakes but I was in the central city during the February earthquake and was highly traumatised. I lost my car, which was in a parking building in town, and my job, because my workplace was demolished.”

To make things even worse, the father of Ms Donald’s children also passed away last year.

Ms Donald has not yet decided how she will use the $10,000.
“I’m not sure if it has sunk in yet – maybe I’ll put in a garden,” she said.

“It is just like the icing on the cake - I’m already so excited about getting a new house, and hopefully being able to move in by Christmas.”

Until eight weeks ago Ms Donald and her three teenage daughters had been living in their earthquake-damaged home, awaiting the outcome of negotiations between IAG and EQC.

EQC continues to maintain that the house was repairable, while IAG had assessed it as a rebuild. IAG is now taking EQC to court to obtain a ruling on this matter.

“It has been a pretty miserable situation,” said Ms Donald.

“One whole side of the house was braced up because it was structurally unsound; the roof was leaking; we couldn’t drink the tap water because it had sand in it and we had no flushing toilet.”

Ms Donald had purchased the home, which was her first, only eight days before the September 2010 earthquake.

Mr Pitama said that he could not think of a more deserving winner of the competition than Ms Donald.

“After all that she has been through, it is great to be able to give her something to celebrate,” said Mr Pitama.

ENDS

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