Editorial

ritage new zeala n d e h • pouhere taonga •

Issue 149 Winter 2018 NZ $9.95 incl.GST

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Site mapping unlocks battle stories

HIGH FIDELITY

A Nelson music institution restored

MOTORCYCLE MECCA

Revving up Invercargill’s main drag

CROSSING OVER

New Zealand’s beautiful bridges

Heritage

Issue 149 Winter 2018 ISSN 1175-9615 (Print) ISSN 2253-5330 (Online) Cover image: Hungahungatoroa Pā by Brennan Thomas

Editorial Director Bette Flagler, Sugar Bag Publishing Editor Caitlin Sykes, Sugar Bag Publishing Subeditor Trish Heketa, Sugar Bag Publishing Designer Amanda Trayes, Sugar Bag Publishing Publisher Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

Heritage New Zealand magazine is published quarterly by Heritage New Zealand. The magazine has an audited circulation of 11,669 as at 30 September 2016. The views expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Heritage New Zealand.

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At Heritage New Zealand magazine we enjoy feedback about any of the articles in this issue or heritage-related matters.

Email: The Editor at heritagenz@gmail.com Post: The Editor, c/- Heritage New Zealand National Office, PO Box 2629, Wellington 6140

Feature articles: Note that articles are usually commissioned, so please contact the Editor for guidance regarding a story proposal before proceeding. All manuscripts accepted for publication in Heritage New Zealand magazine are subject to editing at the discretion of the Editor and Heritage New Zealand.

Online: Subscription and advertising details can be found under the Resources section on the Heritage New Zealand website www.heritage.org.nz.

The little things

One of my favourite tasks as we prepare each issue of Heritage New Zealand magazine is pulling together our Noticeboard stories. When we introduced this section just over a year ago, there were a number of things we wanted to achieve, but primarily we envisaged it as a way to put the Heritage New Zealand community front and centre in the magazine.

One way we’ve tried to shine a light on the many connections members have to our heritage places in this part of the publication is through our regular ‘Three quick questions’ piece – a short interview with a passionate heritage supporter.

For this issue I spoke with Wilf Wright who, alongside wife Jan, has been a longtime parishioner at St Andrew’s Anglican church in Reikorangi, just outside Waikanae on the Kāpiti Coast. As we chatted, Wilf recounted the many ways the community has rallied around this place over the years: relocating a Category 1 historic church to the site to be used as a hall, restoring the church itself, and developing its gardens. He also described how, on the day he and Jan were married at the church 55 years ago, their friends laid a hāngi for them; when a scan of a photo taken of the beautiful couple on their wedding day subsequently landed in my inbox, I could indeed see the smoke pluming in the background.

Another highlight while doing my Noticeboard rounds this issue was chatting to Ken Gillespie for our ‘From the collections’ piece. We thought highlighting a pair of much-loved ice skates from the collections housed at the Category 1 Heritage New Zealand property Hayes Engineering Works, in Central Otago’s Oturehua, would be appropriate for our Winter issue, and Ken, a long-time Hayes volunteer, was a fount of knowledge about skating on the nearby Idaburn Dam.

There was the time in 1969, for example, when the newly formed Oturehua Ice Hockey Club won the prestigious Erewhon Cup in the face of competition from six other teams. In those days players “played the puck, not the man”, Ken explained, and took to the ice without wearing pads or helmets (although the goalie did wear a face guard, he noted, fashioned from quarter-inch [six-millimetre] rod welded at the local garage).

Another aim we had for the Noticeboard section was to keep the stories short and punchy, as a foil to the longer feature pieces that are the foundation of the magazine. As a writer, I can find it a challenge to fit the wonderful details, such as those shared by Wilf and Ken, into a shorter format. But I also remind myself that this allows us to tell more stories in the magazine – adding, I hope, to the overall richness of the publication.

Personally, I find it a privilege to share these moments, however brief, with some of the many members of our community who wrap their arms around New Zealand’s precious heritage places. I hope in reading the stories you’ll likewise feel that good things can come in small packages.

Caitlin Sykes

Editor