Editorial

WRITTEN IN STONE Retrieving the lost art of stonecraft PRESERVED IN AMBER Behind the myths of Kiwi beer brewing BEAUTY SPOT A remarkable little goldmining cottage

Heritage Issue 156 Ngahuru • Autumn 2020 ISSN 1175-9615 (Print) ISSN 2253-5330 (Online)

Cover image: Through the mill by Amanda Trayes

Editor Caitlin Sykes, Sugar Bag Publishing

Sub-editor Trish Heketa, Sugar Bag Publishing

Art director Amanda Trayes, Sugar Bag Publishing

Publisher Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Heritage New Zealand magazine is published quarterly by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. The magazine has an audited circulation of 11,512 as at 30 September 2018. The views expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

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Back to the future

Late last year Heritage New Zealand magazine art director Amanda Trayes and I had the opportunity to meet some of the wonderful volunteers who have, over the course of many years, helped bring the Clarks Mill complex at Maheno in North Otago back to life.

It was the first visit to this site for both of us, and it was an eye opener on many fronts. The sheer scale of what the group has achieved is staggering. The milling machinery, which they have painstakingly got up and running again, is spread over four storeys and made up of a mind-boggling conglomeration of parts – none of which you’d find an easy replacement for at your local hardware store today.

Then there are the myriad projects the group has undertaken across the complex to show the public the intricacy and diversity of the Clarks’ business; currently, for example, one of their projects involves restoring a crane to help tell the story of the quarrying business the Clarks also ran.

The volunteers’ enthusiasm for and connection to the Category 1 property, which is managed by Heritage New Zealand, is still going strong after more than 15 years. While ours was a fleeting visit, we could appreciate the volunteers’ deep knowledge of the place immediately – and their willingness to share it with visitors.

The visit got me thinking more widely about ideas of innovation and progress. In particular, a comment from volunteer Roger Blackburn really resonated.

As we drank coffee in the volunteers’ ‘office’ at the complex, he told us: “People think we’re only really clever and innovative today, but when you’re involved with something like this you understand that’s not the case at all. You gain a real appreciation of the quality of the engineering.”

In this digital age, the pace of innovation only appears to be accelerating and advances in science and technology are playing a major part in combatting some of the huge challenges that society is now facing.

But it’s clear that re-examining the past also has a role in taking us forward. Grow your own produce, eat seasonally, buy less (but invest in quality when you do), jump on a bike for short trips – these are all messages we’re hearing as ways to meet modern challenges, such as swelling waste streams and, of course, climate change.

Yet these were everyday habits that my grandparents embraced, and were part of a way of life that was in many ways much more resourceful and less wasteful than how we live today.

In my own family, we’re always trying to do better, but with many of the little ways in which we’re pushing forward – composting our food scraps, carrying our own shopping bags, buying in bulk to reduce packaging – we seem to be going back to old habits. Individually they’re small steps, but together we hope they add up. And I’m sure Nana and Grandad would be chuffed to have provided the examples.

Ngā mihi nui Caitlin Sykes Editor

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