Remembering Christchurch | A GU Cast Special

GU Cast

This, our 100th episode, is a very special GU Cast, in which we remember the devastating 2011 Christchurch earthquake, which hit just as the Urological Society of Australia & New Zealand (USANZ) Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) was kicking off in the city. 185 people lost their lives with many thousands injured, and with huge devastation across the region. Declan returned to Christchurch recently to put together this special episode, which includes some of his original footage from the time of the earthquake.
The highlight of this episode is a full replay of this year's Harry Harris Oration, delivered in February 2023 at the USANZ ASM in Melbourne. Dr Samuel "Harry" Harris, was one of the founding fathers of USANZ, and this annual oration in his name at the opening ceremony of our ASM is the most prestigious in the USANZ calendar. We invited the four inaugural recipients of the Christchurch Medal,
Urologists Dr Stephen Mark (Christchurch), Dr Lydia Johns-Putra (Ballarat), Dr Stuart Phillip (Brisbane), and Dr Julian Shah (London), to deliver the Harry Harris Oration by remembering Christchurch. These four individuals were recognised for acts of extraordinary bravery in the rubble of Christchurch, risking their own lives to help victims in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. In this Harry Harris Oration, the Christchurch Medallists transport us back to the events of that fateful day, and reflect on what it means today. For those of us who were there, this was a very emotional and sombre occasion; for those who were not, this will be a chance to understand why the Christchurch Earthquake is such an important event in the history of our community.
We are very proud of this special GU Cast. We do hope that it means something to our audience around the world.
This episode best appreciated on YouTube