The 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake damaged the shop at Sign of the Kiwi , but it took some time to recognise the seriousness of the situation and the building remained open for some time . It was stabilised to prevent further damage . A detailed engineering assessment found that it had an estimated seismic strength of just 9.5 % of the building code , while the legal lower limit is 33 % of code . The repair and structural upgrade , which started in October 2015 , cost NZ$ 760,000 , and the Sign of the Kiwi reopened on 23 January 2017 . Whilst ( just ) located within the area that burned in the 2017 Port Hills fires , the building was undamaged by this event
2017 Port Hills fires
2017 Port Hills fires
Sign of the Kiwi