EDITORIAL

Glorious opportunities in domestic tourism

ANDREW COLEMAN

Recently, a group of individuals were planning a trip to Northland and I was asked what I could recommend to them. My first response was “Tohu Whenua”, quickly followed by “heritage properties and stories”. My third comment was “it’s all about New Zealand’s history and heritage – exploring and learning”. This line of thinking took me back to Tohu Whenua, a fantastic programme all about heritage, history, stories, properties, exploring and learning.

I really enjoy having these conversations with heritage and history supporters for a number of reasons. It is pleasing that a strong feature of this edition of Heritage Quarterly is the promotion of heritage properties, programmes and the stories they represent. It is a must read for anyone who has the same question as the group I spoke to.

It is a pleasure for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga to be tasked with the acquisition of the Hokitika Government Building. It will be a challenge to strengthen and adaptively reuse it, but a challenge we readily accept. This is a building with an important history. It also has important links to other heritage stories across the country due to the connection and influence of Richard Seddon. Born in Eccleston near St Helens, Lancashire, England, Seddon arrived in New Zealand in 1866. He was a resident of Kumara, with locals electing him as their parliamentary representative in 1881. In 1893, he became leader of the Liberal Party and for the next 13 years as Premier was widely regarded as dominating politics. Seddon was credited with social and economic change, significant public works and inherited a Bill for women’s suffrage. The statues in Hokitika and on the forecourt at Parliament are reminders of his legacy.

Connecting and celebrating places with our history and heritage is what Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is about. We do this through the 44 properties we care for on behalf of the country, and will continue to do with additional properties such as the Hokitika Government Building.

Programmes such as Tohu Whenua provide us with many opportunities to encourage and invite New Zealanders to explore and visit their country. The summer campaign for Tohu Whenua to ‘Discover the places that tell our stories’is an inviting catchphrase. The good thing is that in behind the catchphrase there are many glorious heritage opportunities.

Exploring one, some or all of the 24 Tohu Whenua in the three current regions the programme features should be a goal of every New Zealander.

It is impressive that each current Tohu Whenua region has its unique story:

Northland highlights the birth of a bicultural nation and the interweaving journeys that tell the stories of our beginnings. These are the places where our Māori and European ancestors arrived, centuries apart, and where their identities were defined.

Otago showcases examples of a pioneering nation with places that tell the stories of our collective ingenuity, creativity and spirit – some of the cornerstones of our economic and entrepreneurial livelihood.

Te Tai Poutini West Coast represents the rise of a resourceful nation that tells the stories of the hardships endured for our country’s most prized resources. A region known for its incredible beauty and rich bounty, these are places where limits were tested and rewarded.

So, there are many opportunities to visit Tohu Whenua and heritage properties around the country. Many are privately owned and others are owned by you – New Zealanders – and managed on your behalf by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. You will find that you are spoilt for heritage choice!

The challenge is there for us all – so be a domestic tourist. Go and explore and discover the places that tell our stories.

You might like to also explore other heritage gems that feature in this issue. Try Tamatea/Dusky Sound in Fiordland, the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin, Pūtiki Church in Whanganui, Whangaroa, the Forgotten World Highway in Taranaki, the Carter Fountain in Wellington and archaeological sites. This edition of Heritage Quarterly certainly offers up many options for you.

Enjoy your heritage.n

ANDREW COLEMAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE

When heritage is a perfect fit

Heritage and history are passions Christine Whybrew has nurtured from a young age and continues to explore in her working career. Based in Christchurch, the Manager Heritage Assets for the Southern Region says there are exciting times ahead and plenty to celebrate. She talks with John O’Hare.

Q: Tell us about your role at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga? I work for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPT) as Manager Heritage Assets for the Southern Region. I oversee the work of our team of brilliant Property Leads in the South Island and look after our unstaffed properties in the region.

I started at HNZPT in 2008 as a part-time researcher while I was finishing my PhD on the Burton Brothers’ photographic studio. Twelve years later I’m still here! In that time I’ve undertaken a number of additional fixed-term roles and in 2017 was made Area Manager Canterbury/West Coast. Heritage has been good to me. Q: What made you decide to take on the new role? My early career was in museums and art galleries and I’ve always enjoyed caring for objects and sharing the stories that they carry. HNZPT’s properties are like one huge museum, so shifting back into a role to look after ‘things’ was an exciting and logical move for me. In my work as Area Manager I recognised the opportunity we have with our property portfolio to put ‘our money where our mouth is’ in terms of heritage management. We not only celebrate these places as visitor attractions, but can also demonstrate best practice in the physical maintenance of these places and develop commercial opportunities in adaptive reuse

and partnerships. Through our properties we can inspire and influence other property owners and developers to appreciate and celebrate heritage assets. Q: Is there a particular property or place that is really special to you, and why? In my younger days, I undertook my OE in Aotearoa and got to know the country outside Canterbury where I was born and brought up. I was fortunate to spend a couple of years working in New Plymouth as a curator at Puke Ariki Museum and Library. My friend and former boss, Kelvin Day, introduced my partner and I to the archaeological landscape of Taranaki. Kelvin took us on road trips around the maunga and the coast, visiting pre-European Māori and Land Wars sites where the marks of occupation and conflict can be seen in the land. This experience of the layers of stories in the landscape influenced my deep appreciation for the importance of place, particularly for tangata whenua.

In terms of built heritage, I’m a sucker for Brutalist Modernism, particularly anything designed by Sir Miles Warren. If I had to pick one, Christchurch Town Hall is a favourite for Warren and Mahoney’s total design philosophy and the sheer beauty of the spaces, materials and architectural details. The complex also holds some very special memories for me from my childhood in Christchurch. I was proud to see that my final act as Area Manager was to see Christchurch Town Hall entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero as a Category 1 historic place. Q: How important is it that we celebrate and visit our heritage places? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata – it is people, it is people, it is people. Understanding the stories of historic places acknowledges the connections people have to places, and informs decisions on how to care for the land and built heritage. At our Southern Region properties we are looking at the layered stories we can tell at these places to engage with a broader audience. As a mum, I’m also eager to attract younger audiences and make our properties appealing and accessible for families. Our children will inherit these places, so it is important they understand and appreciate them too. Q: Are there any exciting projects on the radar at the properties you oversee? HNZPT’s recent acquisition of the Hokitika Government Building is a large, and slightly daunting, project on the radar! On the day we took ownership, I walked through with our Project Co-ordinator, Jackie Breen. I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the building with almost no signs of vandalism – which is usually the death knell for unoccupied buildings. It’s clear that the people of Hokitika have been watchful guardians of this building which is a significant landmark in the town. It is fitting that HNZPT takes the lead in strengthening and restoring this building and returning it to the use for which it was designed: as an office for central government workers in Te Tai o Poutini. Q: How special is it to have Kate Sheppard House in Christchurch under HNZPT management? This summer we’re looking forward to opening Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House to the people of Aotearoa New Zealand. Property Lead Helen Osborne and I have spent this year getting to know the property a lot better and have worked closely with our exhibition developers to produce a visitor experience that we know people will enjoy. Opening the doors is just the beginning of the adventure though. We are sure people will continue to bring their own stories of the place and the house, and their connection to Kate Sheppard and the suffrage movement. Our partnership with the University of Canterbury will give Kate Sheppard House its special character as a place where people can come together to learn and talk and to reflect on the legacy of the suffrage movement in ongoing moments of social change. n

LEFT: Christine Whybrew at the Christchurch office in Gloucester Street. CREDIT: JONNY KNOPP

RIGHT: Christchurch Town Hall.

Very special celebration at St Paul’s Memorial Church Pūtiki

After months of planning between Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff and the trustees of St Paul’s Memorial Church and community at Pūtiki, Whanganui, it was a joyous occasion for over 100 invited guests on 16 October celebrating the listing of the church as a Category 1 historic place and the wonderful conservation work programme carried out.

Archdeacon Bernard Broughton was especially proud of the conservation work, a real community effort with key organisers Margaret Tauri and Huia Kirk and staff from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga over a considerable period of time.

“This is a wonderful day for us and the whole community of Whanganui – something we have looked forward to for a long time.”

St Paul’s Pūtiki Church is one of the most beautifully decorated churches in New Zealand. Its tukutuku designs speak to the history and heritage of the church, iwi and area. It is also described as a “wonder to behold” and “historic treasure”. St Paul’s Memorial Church Pūtiki shares an important history with other Māori churches and marae built under the leadership of Tā Apirana Ngata from the 1920s. It followed a style of church development that had its beginnings in the construction of St Mary’s Church at Tikitiki on the East Coast in 1926. In this period, Tā Apirana was particularly interested in developing a model to revitalise the arts of carving, kōwhaiwhai and weaving through the building of meeting houses, dining halls and churches.

Community leaders, staff, Board and Māori Heritage Council members from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga were proud to join the celebration at the church on 16 October. Tā John Clarke, Chair of the Māori Heritage Council, spoke of his strong connections with Whanganui through race relations and human rights over the years and of the priviledge to witness progress and achievement in a significant way. He said the celebration of the conservation project was “another one of those very, very special events”.

“I am proud to carry the Māori Heritage Council’s visionary document for Māori heritage of Tapuwae. It articulates a clear

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vision for how our organisation engages positively with iwi, hapū and whānau. The work undertaken here at Pūtiki is a wonderful example of the principles of Tapuwae in action,” said Tā John.

Tā John further emphasised the historic place where the people of Pūtiki-wharenui were introduced to Christianity in the midto-late 1830s by Wiremu Eruera te Tauri, a rangatira of Ngāti Tūwharetoa hapū, Ngai te Rangi Ita, who married the daughter of Pūtiki chief Te Māwae. He said the church embodied the influences that Christianity and Māori culture have had on each other.

“The listing of this truly beautiful church has been a process conducted by you, the tangata whenua and members of our Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga team. It’s a cooperative result best summed up by this saying: Whakapūpūngia ō mānuka kia kore ai e whati. It means ‘bundle up your mānuka twigs so they won’t snap’,” said Tā John.

Dean Whiting, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Director Kaiwhakahaere Tautiaki Taonga and Kaupapa Māori, who provided advice and assisted the conservation work on the interior of St Paul’s Memorial Church along with colleague Jim Schuster, Pouarahi Traditional Arts, was also a keynote speaker at the celebration. Dean said he was especially pleased to be a part of the project team carrying out the extensive conservation and preservation of the taonga in the church interior. He spoke of the legacy that the community had retained through the work of Tā Apirana Ngata in the 1930s and in later decades for their request to enlist Pine Taiapa, in the 1970s, to revitalise the traditional arts practices their grandparents had experienced.

“It was from this and the involvement of my late father, Dr Cliff Whiting, that new generation work was created in the parish hall adjoining the church,” said Dean.

He said the community’s deep connection to the church is a part of what makes it so special.

“People’s ties to the Pūtiki church are intergenerational and enduring.”

A church trustee, Huia Kirk, who has worked closely with Dean along with fellow planner

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of the celebration, Margaret Tauri, spoke of the timeline of changes to the Pūtiki Mission Station, including replacements from its original siting close to the river where earlier church buildings were seriously affected by flooding and other impacts. Huia expressed the pride all other speakers had given to the meeting.

Fittingly, it was a proud moment for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor, Blyss Wagstaff, to hand over to Kaumātua John Maihi a special plaque and bound listing report to the church on behalf of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. n

Writer: David Watt

1: St Paul’s Memorial Church community members and invited guests following the ceremony. 2: A blue sky day at Putiki’s church. 3: Community members and invited guests inside the stunning church. 4: Tā John and Lady Kathy Clarke enjoying the day.