OUR HERITAGE

FEATURE

What is our heritage? Is it just a complex plethora of stories, echoes, and memories? Is it the hushed pain we hold when we remember the fallen or the pride we feel when we honour our ancestors? It’s more than a building; it’s more than an outdated history book. It’s the imprint of our lives on the world and how it shapes the world as we grow.

Turn the page to find three heritage-themed stories that are filled with memories, celebrations, and so much more.

OLD PASTIME SET TO SAIL AGAIN

WORDS Kim Newth PHOTOS Supplied

In the early years of yachting and sailboat racing, Banks Peninsula Cruising Club yacht Pastime was a top competitor in cup events and regattas on Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō. The swift kauri contender, built in 1886, has been out of the water for several decades but will soon be race-ready again following an extensive restoration.

Funding the project are cousins John Erkkila and Chris Kendrick, both direct descendants of the boat’s first owner Malcolm Miller. Pastime is currently in a boatshed out the back of John and wife Christine’s home in Tamahere, where painting and varnishing is in full swing ahead of a planned spring sailing. The restoration is in the hands of expert boat builder Craig Wild, who himself comes from a long line of shipwrights.

“I’m an eighth-generation boat builder! I feel very lucky because it’s only once in a lifetime you get a chance to restore a classic club yacht like this. The boat itself is 45ft in length, but she’s closer to 60ft from bowsprit to boom out the back, so she’s quite substantial. Pastime has beautiful flowing lines - you can see why she was so fast. I read an article on the early days of the America’s Cup, and apparently, this yacht looks like a replica of America’s Cup boats of that time.”

Restoring Pastime to her original racing spec has involved replacing the boat’s stem, but as much as possible has been saved by carefully splicing old with new parts. One of the yacht’s previous owners, publisher and Pegasus Press founder Albion Wright, found out Pastime was originally registered as a British vessel; the historic yacht’s carved registration details have been saved and retained.

However, there is one last detail missing – the boat’s original sail number. Craig has queried the Naval Point Club Archives in Lyttelton and checked National Library records with no success. He hopes someone may have an old photo or family record that could help provide a definitive answer.

“Ruth Kendall, the boat’s former owner, has been immensely helpful with information but can only get back to 1890. In two pictures that look to be the oldest, the number is ‘1’, but in another old photo, the number is ‘3’. We’re not sure which is right. The New Zealand Yachting Association was not established until 1891, and before then, the South Island had its own numbering system.”

Doyle Sails in Auckland, together with a sail loft in Melbourne, is making new sails for Pastime from synthetic fabric that closely resembles the old cotton/canvas used on classic yachts. The boat will be rigged and tuned in Tauranga, where the sails will be fitted.

“She will then be sailed from there to Auckland where she has a berth at the Maritime Museum. These berths are in chronological order, and hers will be number one.”

The Pastime will be held as a working yacht and raced again at select events. All those involved with the restoration would love to find an opportunity for Pastime to fill her sails on Lyttelton Harbour again. They hope to bring her down to Christchurch at some point. “She will always be a Banks Peninsula Cruising Club boat.”

Craig would welcome any info on the Pastime’s original sail no. – email boatshed@gamesail.co.nz

LIVING HISTORY

WORDS Francesca Logan PHOTOS Supplied

Nostalgia is a heavy feeling: it lives in innocuous things. I grew up running about in the bones of an old warehouse building from the 1900s, the now called NG Building. When I was young, the NG Building lived sandwiched in a row of Edwardian and Victorian era warehouses. Ours was the biggest and, in my opinion, the best. It had a basement filled with old things; bins of unmarked silver trophies, old wooden fruit boxes, and so many signs that promised me that there were “Toys Upstairs”. But try as I might, I could never find the “upstairs toys” probably because I was 50 years too late.

Throughout a large part of the 20th Century, what was then called the Bains Building was a department store, boasting fine china downstairs and a plethora of toys upstairs. Although not as famous as the iconic Ballantynes, it was still a popular shopping destination. People would (and still do) come into the building to reminisce about their time here.

In 1905, 212 Madras Street was known as Marriner’s Buildings, home to Cotton Brothers Ltd Importers. They imported everything from bicycles, rubber, and seeds, to phonographs, films, and Thomas Edison™ home kinetoscopes. It’s funny to think that the photo to the left, taken in 1913, is only a year away from the start of World War One, and next year, all the wondrous things from overseas would come to a halt.

Madras Street used to be at the edge of the city; it was once lined with rows upon rows of warehouses. Even at the most basic level, the lofty ambitions of the city were evident as warehouses were designed in Italian Renaissance and Neo Georgian styles. The level of care and craftsmanship built into the most utilitarian buildings really demonstrate the priorities of Christchurch’s earliest citizens.

Of course, the Christchurch that they aspired to disappeared after the earthquakes. 140 Heritage buildings were demolished. It’s harder to feel nostalgic in our new and somewhat empty city. With every passing year, we forget what it used to look like; old pictures of Cathedral Square and the city streets may as well be another country for me.

Without history, without the physical reminders from our history, it’s easy to feel disconnected. As heritage buildings disappear from our landscape, so too does the evidence that our ancestors lived here. It is easy to view older things as unimportant as they can be impractical for our modern ways of living and require adaptation to fit; it is much easier to throw it away and replace it with something new and custom-built. But then you end up in a society without an identity. The less you know of your own past, the harder it is to recognise its echoes in your present, and the more likely you are to destroy the physical connections you have left. The only way forward is to protect what we have left of the past and use what we learn from it to improve our future.

ngspace.co.nz

CHAMPIONING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PAST

WORDS Joshua Brosnahan PHOTOS Supplied

Box 112’s impact on our city is farreaching, and the business has taken the lead in the restoration of many of the key buildings in the centre of the city.

This slow but steady revival is cheered on by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and Dame Anna Crighton, current chair of the Canterbury Heritage Awards.

Dame Anna has been involved in the Heritage Awards since 2010 but initiated the creation of the Christchurch Heritage Trust in the mid-1990s. This was largely due to her ‘increasing displeasure in witnessing the demolition of heritage within our city in the name of progress’, viewing heritage being replaced with “concrete boxes” as a backward step.

Dame Anna believes there is a real significance of heritage retention and honouring such work.

“It enriches so many lives. These awards involve so many people, from the owners, builders, architects, to suppliers. The awards also elevate this history to the forefront of everybody – it makes the wider community think about our heritage.”

The awards night was a sold-out ceremony, held at the Christ’s College Dining Hall on 11 June. It’s clear that our nation is watching – with representatives from Timaru, Ashburton, Napier, Hurunui, Dunedin, and Wellington attending the awards. The celebration of heritage throughout our country through regional awards seems to be on the horizon.

Dame Anna says the occasion was to applaud, acclaim, and celebrate the work from the talented group of entrants.

“The benchmark of the entries was set really high – even to make the final is a major achievement this year against stiff competition. The judges had a difficult dilemma in making their decisions. If left to me, everyone would be a winner!”

Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House took home the Supreme Award on the night but was not the only project acclaimed that evening, with a total of nine winners across the six categories.

The Moveable Feasts Heritage Tourism Award went to the Awaroa/Godley Head Coastal Defence Site (Department of Conservation). And a Certificate of Special Recognition went to Riverside Market Mural (Riverside Ltd). The Ceres NZ Public Realm – Saved and Restored Award had joint winners: School of Art, The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora (The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora), and the Balmoral Fire Lookout (Hawarden Waikari Lions Club).

The Maiden Group Domestic Saved and Restored Award also shared joint winners: Montrose Station Homestead (Wilson & Hill Architects) and Isabella and Tim Weston for The Britten Stables, to name a few.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the awards, and the trustees made a special award to The Pumphouse in celebration. All winners were presented with a trophy designed by Neil Dawson. During the Awards Ceremony, 16 of the 62 entrants were awarded Highly Commended placings, with a further six receiving Commended.

The success and the sustainability of the Heritage Awards are built on a committed network of partnerships and sponsors who share a vision for the importance of salvaging cultural heritage.

All involved in the ceremony are extremely valuable to our region, for individually and collectively, they have contributed to New Zealand’s cultural future by championing the importance of the past.