Australian rescue teams have presented the people of Christchurch with a wooden cross and bench fashioned from material salvaged from ChristChurch Cathedral.

At a ceremony in Latimer Square, where the international urban search and rescue teams have been based, the items were formally presented to the Dean of the Cathedral, the Very Rev Peter Beck.

He had given the Australians permission to use wood from the ruined cathedral.

After a Maori greeting, ferns were placed on the bench, amid a backdrop of emergency vehicles and diggers driving through the badly hit city.

''My heart is full of tears, tears of grief and sadness. And also tears of thanksgiving for you guys and many others who have come to our city to help us," Dean Beck said. "You are amazing and thank you."'

He said the the bench and cross symbolised a new beginning and ''rebirth of the city.''

Top fire officials from Australia were also present, including Queensland Fire Commissioner Lee Johnson, who said: ''I don't know what it is about 2011 but I'm waiting for it to end, I assure you.''

Superintendent Paul McGuiggan of the New South Wales Fire Rescue team said the teams worked on the bench and cross after they ''downed tools for the day''.

''There was no television. There was no Foxtel getting beamed in here so that was how they were keeping themselves active.''

He said rescue workers also wanted to give something to the people of the quake-hit city and commemorate their own efforts.

A local timber mill prepared the wood, and the bench was placed in the ground in Latimer Square yesterday.

The cross would be stored in Christ's College for the time being, Superintendent McGuiggan said.

The Australian team fly home tomorrow and Thursday.

After the ceremony, Dean Beck said: ''They [the items] are a sign of hope, a sense of we can get through this. We will actually be able to rebuild and regrow again. It's a symbol and sign of our togetherness as brothers and sisters across the ditch.

''So see that very beautiful bench as a sign of the beauty of the building we're going to rebuild and also of the commitment and love of our mates across the Tasman.''