Work to demolish the Barbadoes St frontage of the earthquake-damaged Catholic cathedral in Christchurch started on Wednesday.
The $1.8 million demolition project began in September.
Bishop Paul Martin announced in August last year that he wanted to demolish the cathedral, which was completed in 1905.
He said the building was too expensive to restore and chose to build a new one for about $40m on a site closer to the city centre.
Heritage campaigners were unable to mount a legal challenge to the demolition. Read more