Heritage New Zealand magazine, Hōtoke Winter 2020 issue by heritagenz

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Issue 157 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

NZ $9.95 incl.GST

BEHIND BARS

Opening the doors to Dunedin Gaol

GOOD FOLK Musicians find home in former fortification

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Heritage detective work reveals one of our oldest buildings

Community CARE

Stunning Pūtiki church restored Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 i

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NGĀ KŌRERO O ROTO • CONTENTS

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 Features

Explore the List

12 Hidden beauty

8 Heart of glass

Dunedin heritage building owner Ted Daniels sees beauty where others might bulldoze

Every day is a blooming marvel at the Domain Wintergardens

16 Play on

A Nelson church is a rare example of a building designed by a woman in 19th-century New Zealand

For 50 years a former fortification has been the unlikely home of the Devonport Folk Music Club

20 Hiding in plain sight Heritage detective work has shed new light on a humble Northland farm building

10 Woman’s work

Journeys into the past 42 Walk on by

24 Unlocking potential Dunedin’s former prison is being transformed into a place that people want to enter, rather than leave

30 Art and minds Ambitious projects and volunteer effort have helped secure the future of a central Auckland church

36 In safe hands A Whanganui community has taken a hands-on approach to conserving its stunning place of worship

Taking a journey down heritage-rich Elizabeth Street in Waikanae, on the Kāpiti Coast

48 Across the water Archaeologist Brigid Gallagher explores marae in the Society Islands

Columns

3 Editorial 4 Noticeboard 52 Books Using words and illustrations to convey the emotional power of historical events

54 Our heritage, my vision Critical and ethical thinking is crucial to preserve an inclusive heritage, says Damon Salesa

Heritage New Zealand magazine is printed with mineral oil-free, soy-based vegetable inks on New Silk paper. This paper is Forestry Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified, manufactured from pulp from responsible sources under the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. Please recycle.

Heritage New Zealand

16 Hōtoke • Winter 2020 1

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING YOUR SUPPORT! Properties like Totara Estate (pictured here) are waiting for you to enjoy again as a member. (Credit: Grant Sheehan/Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga)

The world has changed so much – even since the last edition of Heritage New Zealand. Many of the things we took for granted are now beyond our grasp or simply not possible. As this magazine goes to print, there is uncertainty about domestic and international travel and tourism. We understand the impact this has on your membership and the benefits it offers.

Your membership represents more than just the wonderful benefits it provides to you however - importantly, it helps promote and protect heritage. You, our members, represent the voice for New Zealand’s unique historic places. Now, more than ever, your valuable support is needed as we all navigate the uncharted waters ahead. So, from all the team here at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga...

THANK YOU. We are very grateful to all those supporters who have recently made donations. While many are kindly acknowledged below, more have chosen to give anonymously.

Dr Vicki Carpenter Mrs Margaret Palmer & Sir Geoffrey Palmer Dr Charles Sullivan Wyatt Creech & Danny Creech

Ms Diane Imus Mr Ian & Mrs Jenny Willans Mr William & Mrs Lorna Davies Mrs Joan King Mrs Gloria Jenkins

2 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Mr Warren & Mrs Helen Allen William MacManus & Sally Riches Dr Colin Patrick & Mr Bryan Gibbison Mrs Jean Henderson

Dr John Packer Mr Darryl & Mrs Katrina King Mrs Sue & Mr John Harvey Mr T F Clements & Mrs S Muir

Mrs A M Ricketts Mr Garth England Mrs Gillian Clarke Mr David & Mrs Val Dittmer Dr Thomas & Mrs Lorraine Marshall

Milton Hollard & John Hoskins Mr Wayne & Mrs Diana Hann Dr & Mrs J G Blackman Mrs M A Dawson

Mr A C & Mrs W E Porter Mr Michael Hundleby & Ms Jan Etwell Ms Rebecca Entwistle

Mrs C H Baker Mr Mike & Mrs Rosalind Robertson Mr & Mrs A M Bloomer Ms Denise Almao Mrs M M Heald

Heritage New Zealand

new z

r e ta o

e and

her it a

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Issue 157 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

NZ $9.95 incl.GST

BEHIND BARS

Opening the doors to Dunedin Gaol

GOOD FOLK

Musicians find home in former fortification

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

Heritage detective work reveals one of our oldest buildings

Community CARE

Stunning Pūtiki church restored

Heritage

Anchor me

Issue 157 Hōtoke • Winter 2020 ISSN 1175-9615 (Print) ISSN 2253-5330 (Online) Cover image: St Paul’s Memorial Church, Pūtiki by Mark Brimblecombe

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. Advertising For advertising enquiries, please contact the Manager Publications. Phone: (04) 470 8054 Email: advertising@heritage.org.nz Subscriptions/Membership Heritage New Zealand magazine is sent to all members of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Call 0800 802 010 to find out more.

Tell us your views 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 Pouhere Taonga. Online: Subscription and advertising details can be found under the Resources section on the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga website www.heritage.org.nz.

Heritage New Zealand

‘At the time of writing’ is one of those handy phrases that we journalists use to hedge our bets, covering us when things may change between the time of writing and the time of reading. I’ve found it a particularly handy device for everyday life in this publication, as each issue must be planned, and writers commissioned, months in advance – mainly due to the often slow-moving and complex nature of heritage projects, but also to the fact that we publish just four times a year so the stories need to be relatively timeless. ‘Everyday life’, however, seems very far away at this time of writing. Autumn has drawn in and we’re in lockdown, tightly enclosed in a bubble at home, the confines of which we leave only for essential food runs and neighbourhood walks. Covid-19 has changed how we do so much in our daily lives, but I feel extremely fortunate that so far our whānau are happy and well. As we do our bit and stay home, the media shows us every day the terrible reality that many, many others here and around the world have not been so lucky. It certainly feels strange to be writing this regular feature against such an irregular backdrop. With everything so unsettled and uncertain, we’re considering, for example, what practical mechanisms we might use to get the content we’ve created for this issue to readers. At the time of reading, of course, you’ll have the answer in your hands. Thankfully, our long lead times meant that all our stories and photography were completed in the nick of time, prior to the country going into lockdown. Looking back

now at the pieces we worked on just a few short weeks earlier, it seems like a lifetime ago. For this issue, for example, I was able to sit down for a coffee with a handful of the members of The Friends of St David’s Trust in a heaving cafe in Grafton, Auckland, to chat about how the group came together and ultimately gained heritage protection for the church through Auckland Council. Such a simple act in the life of a journalist, yet completely undoable today. Many of our heritage places, however, have seen events of this magnitude before. They hold the stories of people who have faced previous pandemics, wars, recessions and other major crises and so provide a tangible way for us to remember, understand and make sense of those stories – particularly when reflecting on our current situation. In a swirling sea of uncertainty, they can provide an anchor. And they endure. Thanks to heritage preservation efforts, and the communities that continue to gather around them today, these special places stand as powerful reminders of our resilience. And if we need to be reminded of anything right now, I reckon it’s just that. Ngā mihi nui Caitlin Sykes Editor Given the uncertainty due to Covid-19, please be aware some information in our stories related to the timing of events and public accessibility of sites may have changed from the time of writing. If in doubt, and where possible, please contact the site directly for further information. RETURN TO CONTENTS

Join the online story ... Follow us every day and find news, opportunities, special offers, important celebrations – and share your stories, too! @HeritageNewZealand

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Hōtoke • Winter 2020 3

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

Letters to the editor

‘clockwise from left’ and so on, I made the suggestion that they be numbered instead. This was promptly done and since then I, and I hope many others, have no problem at all! You and your team are doing a great job. Thank you. Juliet Pearson

COMMUNITY On a cold Monday morning in early August, Whitianga ferry captain Eric Mair lifts three buckets of paint from the Whitianga wharf and places them neatly under the seating in his ferry. A local tradesman hands him a roll of electrical tape and he tucks it alongside. Eric says the paint is not the most unusual cargo he’s transported in his 16 years of driving the vessel (he’s now retired but returns to do the occasional shift). There have been coffins (occupied) on their way to the cemetery at Ferry Landing, and raucous participants of hens’ parties or stag do’s. He also used to take a farm worker from Whitianga across the estuary to Ferry Landing every day for work. “That guy once brought back a wild pig he’d stuck. It had come down onto the farm he was working on. It left a right mess on the boat,” says Eric.

Black-and-white photos surrounding the ferry’s helm hint at the area’s history, but, says Eric, many who make the estuary crossing every year would have no idea of the importance of the old stone wharf on the other side. The ferry’s new owners, former America’s Cup yachtie Jeremy Lomas and his wife Louise, only realised the wharf’s history after they bought the ferry business in 2018. It turned out that Louise’s great-great-greatgrandfather Captain Ranulph Dacre established the original wharf at Ferry Landing in the 1830s. Back then it was the seat of the Coromandel’s kauri trade and gave rise to one of the earliest European settlements outside New Zealand’s Far North. “The wharf was in a pretty bad state a few years ago,” says Eric. “It was literally falling into the sea. It’s great they’ve saved it.”

Whitianga’s old stone wharf has been revived thanks to a wide-ranging community effort

1 2

The stone wharf at Ferry Landing in Whitianga is the oldest civil engineering project in New Zealand that is still working and serving its original purpose.

2 Retired ferry captain Eric

Mair fills in the odd shift for the service, which provides a vital link between the Whitianga and Ferry Landing communities.

SAFE LANDING WORDS: NICOLA MARTIN • IMAGERY: VAUGHAN GRIGSBY

16 Summer 2019

Heritage New Zealand

The ‘Safe landing’ story of the old stone wharf at Ferry Landing, Whitianga, by Nicola Martin (Summer 2019) made interesting reading. Nicola captured well the many levels of willing community and local government involvement that saw the restoration of this Category 1 historic place completed. While this remarkably successful project was, indeed, a local effort involving Ngāti Hei, the wider community and the council, there are other essential roles that must also be recognised: archaeologist Louise Furey of CFG Heritage, Robin Byron of Heritage New Zealand (then known as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) and Geometria, which provided the 3D scan of the structure that clearly identified the deterioration of the mortar. Louise’s Ferry Landing Stone Wharf Conservation Plan prepared for ThamesCoromandel District Council in 2011 provided a comprehensive history of the wharf and the developing timber industry in pre-treaty times. Her report was the professional base that underpinned the restoration work. The Category 1 status of the wharf required Heritage

4 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Heritage New Zealand

It was the wharf’s history that captured retired engineer and Ferry Landing resident Bob Nicholls and spurred him on to create a local group to restore it. Bob was four when his father, John, bought some of the first sections on offer at Ferry Landing in the late 1940s. Bob retired there in 2008 and now lives just up on the hill from where he used watch the ferry coming and going before the pōhutukawa trees grew too tall. “It’s the oldest civil engineering project in New Zealand that’s still there and still serving its original purpose,” he says. “I’d always admired its history, but things were falling off it and it was degrading. I knew we had to save it.” Bob rallied a group of like-minded locals, including Toby Morcom and Alison Henry, to drive the project, and together they approached the ThamesCoromandel District Council (TCDC) and Engineering New Zealand. “Everyone agreed it needed to be saved, but projects like this cost money and getting funding was challenging at first,” says Bob. In December 2014 a $187,845 grant from the Lottery Environment and Heritage Fund enabled work to begin. As support for the restoration grew, the group managed to raise a total of $660,000 – the lion’s share coming from TCDC. “At the time there were some who questioned why we should spend the money, but you see people come over to Ferry Landing now and they engage with the space,” says Bob.

“They see the signs and the artwork, and it helps unveil the uniqueness and importance of this area and our place in the world.” Heritage New Zealand Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor Martin Jones says the Category 1 wharf is an important demonstration of the arrival of globalised trade in pre-colonial New Zealand. Built in about 1836, the wharf was designed by Sydney timber merchant Gordon Davies Browne on behalf of Captain Dacre, who had established a timber milling and ship building business in Mercury Bay, exporting kauri products to overseas markets and trading imported goods with local iwi Ngāti Hei. The original structure was built with the help of Ngāti Hei. While parts of the original 1830s stone wharf remain, it has also been added to over the years. In 1864 it was expanded to include the timber mill, which eventually outgrew the site and was moved to Whitianga. Over time a raised loading platform, goods shed, cattle race, stone steps for ferry access and timber derrick for lifting cargo from ships were all added. “It is believed to be the earliest stone wharf in New Zealand, so has high technological value in relation to that. But from a bigger picture perspective, it is a remnant of very early international commerce in New Zealand,” says Martin. He says the wharf is also significant as it was operating well before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. “The activity of this wharf was operating in a Māori world. Often these stories are told from a Pākehā

Summer 2019 17

New Zealand to be involved at all stages and the support provided by them was invaluable. Today the restored old wharf is a community asset that is used and enjoyed by thousands of locals and visitors every year. Alison Henry Whitianga Just a few lines to tell you how much I enjoy reading your high-quality magazine. The articles are well written (rare these days!) and illustrated and there is always something of interest for everyone. I read it from cover to cover and try to pass my copy on to an outlet where it will be seen by a wider audience, such as in a doctor’s waiting room. I particularly appreciate the mini-dictionaries reminding us of the translation of words from the Māori language. It’s so important that we don't gloss over these in ignorance, since they form an important part of our heritage. As a long-time member and supporter of Heritage New Zealand, I want to point out that some years ago, when I was having great difficulty in identifying the illustrations as they were being presented as

I am a keen reader of Heritage New Zealand magazine but was upset to see the massive stump of what was a healthy, mature, historic tree of Auckland in ‘Climb every mountain’ in the Autumn 2020 edition. It is surprising that Heritage New Zealand magazine would publish a photograph of such destruction. An added insult to intelligence is the tag ‘Heritage for Kids’, when our children depend on us to protect the planet and its life-giving force of trees, particularly now with climate change. Today the huge stump is now suffering the added disrespect of graffiti and my own children have witnessed the magnificent tree reduced to this sorry state. This stump was one of 153 mature healthy trees felled in March (this time last year) on Māngere Mountain, to the distress of residents who love and live with the maunga. Not only were trees lost but also their inhabitants, such as ruru, were no longer heard. Some cried at the destruction of the trees, and I found it too painful to visit the maunga afterwards. A year on, sedges and grasses were placed in bottomless plastic pots where trees were. The new plants needed the shade and root systems of mature trees to support their growth, rather than trying to survive on their own. They died in the heat. The introduction states “with the harsh heat of summer”. Precious shade has been lost, so does this imply we are less likely to walk on the maunga in the increasing heat of climate change? It is known that trees are more essential

than ever before for the health and wellbeing of our planet and people. It would be worthwhile for Heritage New Zealand magazine to visit Te Pane o Mataoho and other maunga of Auckland that are due to be cleared of exotic trees that have considerable heritage; some 70 to 100-plus years old. I hope you can provide an article on the magnificence of mature heritage trees that are increasingly under threat of destruction. Evie Mahoney Māngere Bridge Editor: Evie’s letter was one of a number we received relating to the picture that ran with our Heritage for Kids piece in the Autumn 2020 issue. We apologise for any upset – it is never our intention to offend as we carry out our kaupapa of sharing stories relating to New Zealand’s historic heritage. Please be assured we will continue to highlight stories of heritage trees and gardens where they are appropriate and relate to the important built heritage sites and places of sacred and ancestral significance we profile.

HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND POUHERE TAONGA DIRECTORY National Office PO Box 2629, Wellington 6140 Antrim House 63 Boulcott Street Wellington 6011 (04) 472 4341 (04) 499 0669 information@heritage.org.nz Go to www.heritage.org.nz for details of offices and historic places around New Zealand that are cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

Heritage New Zealand

MEMBER AND SUPPORTER UPDATE

... WITH BRENDON VEALE Wow, how much can change in just a few weeks! The Covid-19 crisis has affected us all in so many ways, and my thoughts are especially with those whose health has been adversely affected by the pandemic. The situation has, of course, affected many aspects of our operations here at Heritage New Zealand. The properties we manage, along with our offices around the country, have had to close during the highest levels of the national Covid-19 Alert System – one exception being the Ophir Post Office in Central Otago, which has continued to operate its essential postal services. During lockdown in March and April, Heritage New Zealand staff

kept working, albeit remotely. For me and others in the team, this work included contacting many of you by phone, rather than by the usual postal or email channels, to discuss your memberships. We much appreciate your understanding and forbearance as we amended our processes to best meet your needs during an unsettling time. Above all, we can’t emphasise enough how important it is to continue to renew your memberships when they are due and thereby support the work of Heritage New Zealand. Now more than ever we need to hold close and protect what is precious to us as a nation, and draw strength from the enduring resilience inherent in our heritage places. For further information and updates on how Covid-19 is affecting our operations and activities, please visit www.heritage.org.nz.

Places we visit Takarunga/Mt Victoria, Devonport, p16

Pākaraka, p20

Tongariro, p7

Grafton, p8, p30 Waikanae, p42

Wakefield, Nelson, p10

Pūtiki, Whanganui, p36

Brendon Veale Manager Asset Funding 0800 HERITAGE (0800 437482) bveale@heritage.org.nz

Dunedin, p24

SINCE WE WERE THERE

Paper cups WINTER 2019 ISSUE There’s more than meets the eye in this cool reusable coffee cup. Its beautiful ‘bloom’ print is actually based on a wallpaper that’s part of a Heritage New Zealand collection of more than 2000 early wallpapers. Supereagle-eyed readers might even recognise this specific print – based on a wallpaper produced by Sanderson in England from 1923 – from a feature story we ran on heritage wallpapers on page 20 of our Winter issue last year. The reusable coffee cup is one of a number of products Heritage New Zealand is launching that feature a range of stunning designs from its wallpaper collection. Other products include cards, notepads, candles, scarves, water bottles, custom-size block-mounted art prints and Blunt umbrellas (pre-order only). And Heritage New Zealand members will be the first to be able to snap them up, before they are made available through the Heritage New Zealand online store and then at the organisation’s physical offices around the country.

Heritage This Month – subscribe now Keep up to date by subscribing to our free e-newsletter Heritage This Month. Visit www.heritage.org.nz (‘Resources’ section) or email membership@heritage.org.nz to be included in the email list.

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Hōtoke • Winter 2020 5

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD SOCIAL HERITAGE

... WITH JAMIE DOUGLAS Heritage New Zealand Social Media Manager

International Women’s Day on 8 March was celebrated in style on Heritage New Zealand social media forums, with five posts leading up to the big day. Interest was clearly high following the Suffrage 125 celebrations last year. A 5 March post about Jane Takotowi Clendon (pictured) really stole the limelight with an impressive 15,146 people reached,including 89 people ‘loving’ the post and 35 clicking the ‘wow’ emoji. These figures are understandable when you learn more about Jane Clendon, the woman behind Clendon House – cared for by Heritage New Zealand – in Rāwene. Jane

6 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

THREE QUICK QUESTIONS WITH AMANDA TRAYES

was the daughter of Takotowai (Ann) Te Whata, a rangatira of Mangamuka, and Northland trader Dennis Cochrane. At 17 Jane married James Clendon, a prominent English settler and politician, who was 40 years her senior. Widowed at 34 and with eight children, Jane used her standing in Māori and Pākehā worlds to repay debts, educate her children and remain in their family home. Other posts that ticked the right boxes for heritage supporters included that of 16 February about small, functional buildings constructed by early pioneers. The posts about Oruaiti Chapel, possibly the smallest chapel in Aotearoa New Zealand; the purpose-built, octagonal, brick Glentunnel Library, which still operates today; and the delightfully named Ruru Station – actually more of a railway shelter shed and one of only a few that survive – reached 13,819 people. Rounding out the top three posts was the 9 February post about Te Taero a Kereopa/ Te Tāhuna a Tama-i-ea/ Boulder Bank in Nelson. More than 13,000 people were reached, with 376 reactions, comments and shares.

The heritage world is full of connections, and one of the many joys of working on Heritage New Zealand magazine is when we uncover links between our stories and our own whānau. Such was the case in this issue for art director Amanda Trayes.

While you were working on this issue, you realised you had a connection to the story on The Friends of St David’s Trust. What was the link? Cyril Bassett, who was New Zealand’s only Gallipoli recipient of the Victoria Cross and had links to St David’s, was my greatgreat-uncle on my mother’s side.

Were you already familiar with the story of VC Cyril Bassett? My grandfather was named after Cyril Frederick Bassett but in reverse – Frederick Cyril Bassett. The story goes that Cyril was very short and said he escaped being killed in the war as the bullets flew right over the top of him. We were also told that Cyril was a very modest man – apparently his daughters didn’t find out he had a VC until they were studying Anzac Day in school. He was uncomfortable about being the only New Zealander awarded the VC at Gallipoli; he felt that hundreds should have been given the honour – “All my mates ever got were wooden crosses,” he said.

You’ve been part of the Heritage New Zealand magazine team for nine years now. What’s the most special family link you’ve come across? That one’s from my dad’s side of the family. Via my whānau Facebook page, I recently came across a photo that my niece had posted of my great-great-grandfather Captain David Clark's headstone. It turns out his final resting place is at Māngungu Mission Station, Hōreke. I’m originally from the Far North and for issue 134 (Summer 2014) I took a trip following the Heritage New Zealand Path to Nationhood Northland driving app. In the story, I spoke about how Māngungu was my favourite place on the trip, and also about the large ships built in Hōreke, including the Sir George Murray, which was seized on arrival in Sydney for failing to fly the flag of her country. At that point in history New Zealand didn’t have a flag, and it was this event that led to the recognition of a New Zealand flag in 1834. I thought that was a really cool side-story about the area. Little did I know at the time, it was my great-great-grandfather who built and launched the Sir George Murray and sailed her to Sydney. I’m looking forward to revisiting Northland sometime soon and retracing the tour, paying a lot more attention to my personal connections.

Heritage New Zealand

WORDS: SHILO KINO • IMAGE: ARINI POUTU

STANDING TALL Since being introduced at the age of 13 to whakairo at his kura, Hayz Isherwood (right) has had a love of the art form. “I loved it because it was something traditional and it related back to my culture and heritage,” says the artist, of the Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro hapū of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. “It was an extension of my art and of my culture.” The 29-year-old from Tūrangi is the artist behind a commemorative pou whakairo recently unveiled at Te Pōrere. A wāhi tapu and Category 1 historic place in the central North Island, Te Pōrere was the site of the final major battle of the New Zealand Wars. The pou whakairo was commissioned to commemorate 150 years since that engagement on 4 October 1869. Hayz says the project is significant to him personally; he hopes to educate people with his work through its references to Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki, who defended his position at Te Pōrere against a combined force of more than 500 British troops and their Māori allies. “This is the place of the last battle of the land wars between Māori and British, so that is significant for the whole nation of New Zealand. “It’s a privilege for me to be involved in this kaupapa, to help educate people.” The pou whakairo takes its form from the traditional waka maumahara. “Whenever rangatira passed away, or big battles took place,” he explains, “the tauihu – the front of the waka – was stood upright on the ground and used as a commemoration.” For more about Te Pōrere, visit www.heritage.org.nz/ the-list/details/7652

kaupapa: initiative kura: school maunga: mountain pou whakairo: freestanding carved sculpture rangatira: chiefs wāhi tapu: site of sacred significance waka maumahara: memorial pillar whakairo: carving

RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 7

PAPA PĀNUI Tūhuratia te Rārangi • NOTICEBOARD • EXPLORE THE LIST

WORDS: JAMIE DOUGLAS • IMAGERY: AMANDA TRAYES

Heart of glass Every day is a blooming marvel at the Domain Wintergardens There’s only one feature that causes a stink at the Domain Wintergardens in Auckland – and it’s supposed to. The Amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, had hundreds of visitors to the tropical house in January testing their ability to remain upright while taking in its pungent aroma. The Indonesian native, which can take up to seven years to bloom, is just one attraction of many that make the Wintergardens glasshouses a truly memorable place to visit.

8 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

The Domain has been entertaining Aucklanders since it was declared a place of public recreation in 1844. Work started on the Wintergardens during World War I and by the late 1920s most of what we see today had been built: the nonheated Temperate/Cool House for flowering plants; the Tropical/ Hot House, heated to an average of 28°C; the Fernery; and the connecting landscaped courtyard. Statues and a sunken pond were added by the mid-1950s to

complete the heritage attraction, providing a perfect open-air space in which children could run around – as long as they were aware that any cutting of corners could result in a watery end to the day. Heritage New Zealand Senior Heritage Advisor (Listing) Martin Jones says the Category 1 Wintergardens are considered one of the earliest remaining purposebuilt and planned botanical structures in New Zealand. They were collectively designed by William Gummer (Temperate/Cool House) and the architectural practice of Gummer and Ford (Tropical/Hot House and Fernery) – among the foremost architects in the country at the time. From a technological perspective, the Wintergardens represent an early example of steel and glass construction in New Zealand.

“Also known as ‘plant palaces’, the houses reflect interest in the natural world in early 20thcentury New Zealand society – particularly exotic flora from around the globe – and a growing enthusiasm for New Zealand species in the 1920s,” says Martin. “The Fernery is notable for its display of New Zealand plants, some of which may have originated from a collection that won an award to encourage the appreciation and cultivation of native flora in 1926. “The houses are also significant for their links with the Auckland Industrial, Agricultural and Mining Exhibition in 1913-14, and the role of public parks – such as the Auckland Domain – as places of education and recreation.” The houses and gardens were seen as an important step in gentrifying the Domain,

Heritage New Zealand

LOCATION The Auckland Domain is one of the largest parks in the city and is located in the central suburb of Grafton. which had gained a reputation in some quarters as a haunt for undesirables. Today it is very much a ‘Wintergarden wonderland’ that is open daily all year and offers free entry. Comments are very favourable on travel review websites, with one visitor from California declaring that the tropical garden “was like something out of Jurassic Park” and an Argentinian tourist declaring it “the most beautiful wintergarden that I ever saw”. One local chap commented that “even a bloke who does not like flowers will be chilled out” when visiting. “The Wintergardens are an extraordinary piece of New Zealand’s heritage – an architecturally significant, botanically enriched civic space, symbolic of the emergence of New Zealand’s post-colonial identity,” says Auckland Council Manager Community Parks and Places Martin van Jaarsveld. “The Wintergardens are a real hit with visiting cruise ships, with many of them running charter buses to the Domain to visit the gardens. Tourists from these ships often give staff really positive feedback, commenting on what a wonderful treasure the gardens are.” The Domain and Wintergardens are covered under Auckland Council’s full facilities maintenance contract. This covers work including window cleaning, gutter clearing, building washdowns, boiler and pond maintenance and,

Heritage New Zealand

of course, specialised plant care. Salmond Reed Architects is overseeing conservation work, which is well underway at the Wintergardens, to keep it a valued community asset. In 2018 it was engaged to project manage an earlier review of the seismic issues the Wintergardens faced, provide glazing advice to bring the houses up to new compliance standards, and incorporate heritage fabric repairs into the project. The completed first stage of the conservation project involved masonry, painting and paving repairs below five metres in height. The second stage is likely to start mid-year with seismic strengthening and a glazing upgrade – the feature of which will be the restoring of clear glass in the spectacular curved roofs to bring the buildings closer to their original appearance. The work will be done in phases so that at least one glasshouse remains open to the public at all times. “The project has been challenging and complex, but very rewarding,” says Tracey Hartley, Chartered Building Conservation Surveyor and Associate, Salmond Reed Architects. “With stage one it was particularly rewarding to see the large timber windows restored and urgent leaks eradicated. Working with the helpful staff on site as they deal with thousands of visitors has been a pleasure. “Identifying suitable glass and designing new glazing bars that are appropriate for a heritage building while still meeting the Building Code and the needs of the plants has been one of the most challenging aspects.” The seismic strengthening work brings unique challenges to the glasshouses, as Martin van Jaarsveld explains. “The replacement of the roofing joinery will create the major challenge of retaining heat in the tropical house to preserve some of the specimens growing directly in the ground, like the mango and cacao trees.” RETURN TO CONTENTS

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 9

PAPA PĀNUI Tūhuratia te Rārangi • NOTICEBOARD • EXPLORE THE LIST

Woman's work Wakefield’s St John’s Church is a rare example of a building designed by a woman in 19th-century New Zealand – and probably internationally On a gentle rise overlooking Wakefield, a small town about half an hour’s drive south of Nelson, sits an unassuming little church with a remarkable story. Built in 1846, St John’s is the first known piece of New Zealand architecture designed by a woman, and the oldest church in the South Island. For local resident Caroline Gibbs, it’s a second home. Not only was Caroline baptised, confirmed and married at

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St John’s, she has also been the organist for 55 years and is currently one of the church’s wardens. “I’m part of the furniture!” she laughs. “I’m not the oldest parishioner, but I am the one who has been coming the longest.” While Christ Church in Russell claims the title of oldest church in New Zealand, St John’s is believed to be the oldest parish church in continuous use. On Sunday mornings at 9am, a loyal congregation of about 20 gathers for a traditional communion service. At 10.30am a contemporary family service is held just down the road at the more modern Wakefield Worship Centre, built in 2002. The vicarage sits between the two buildings and has recently been renovated while the congregation waits for a new vicar. The first service at St John’s on 11 October 1846 was led by the Revd Charles Lucas Reay, and it was his wife, Marianne Reay, who designed the simple but picturesque timber structure with gabled nave, chancel and bell tower. Local sawmiller Edward Baigent, one

Heritage New Zealand

IMAGERY: ALISON DANGERFIELD, STEVE BICKNELL

WORDS: CHERIE JACOBSON

LOCATION Wakefield is situated 25km southwest of Nelson, at the top of the South Island.

Heritage New Zealand

of the first European settlers in the district, donated timber and oversaw the church’s construction. When St John’s was first entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero as a Category 1 historic place in 1983, Marianne’s involvement wasn’t noted in the citation. The historian researching St John’s for its entry to the List had doubts as to the truth of this unusual story of a 19th-century reverend’s wife designing a church. However, a short memoir written by Edward Baigent in 1891 and published a century later in a family history recalls the construction of St John’s and records that “Mrs Reay drew a design for the church which was approved”. A history of St John’s published for its 150th anniversary also points to Edward’s invoice for his work, which notes that the church was “designed by Mrs Reay”. Little is known about English-born Marianne, who joined her husband in Nelson in 1843, where he was working as a missionary for the Church Missionary Society (CMS). Charles was transferred from Nelson to Waiapu by the CMS in 1847 and died there in 1848. Marianne does not appear to have been popular

within the CMS community and left New Zealand soon after her husband’s death. It seems certain that having a church built to her design was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for Marianne, but one that has seen her name inscribed in New Zealand’s architectural history and celebrated as part of a 1993 women’s suffrage centenary exhibition about women in architecture. Caroline is rightfully proud of St John’s impressive history and is very knowledgeable about it herself. She is often called upon to give tours of the church for local and visiting groups and likes to point out some of St John’s special features, including the muddy cat paw prints that can be seen along the wooden boards used to construct the chancel’s ceiling. “We had a vicar once, during my lifetime, who wanted to clean them off. We said, ‘Absolutely not!’” The kahikatea interior of the church seems to glow and one of Caroline’s favourite parts of St John’s is the Bullard Memorial Window. This beautiful stained-glass window, in the church’s eastern wall, was designed by Frederick Ellis and depicts St John. It was fabricated by leading stained glass artist Roy Miller in 1952, following a bequest by sisters Elizabeth and Sarah Bullard. Many of the area’s early colonial families are buried on the hillside around the church, including members of the Baigent family and ancestors of Caroline’s husband. Given her lifelong association with St John’s, it’s unsurprising that Caroline feels such a strong connection to the church. However, she’s not the only one to think it’s something special. “Everybody who comes here says they feel there’s a spirit in the place, there’s an atmosphere. I know it sounds fanciful, but there is. Everybody who visits from somewhere else says they can feel it – it’s just a happy place.” Before the towering California redwoods and oak trees that surround St John’s reached their current heights, a lamp was kept lit inside the church to guide passing travellers at night. Today the church acts as a beacon of a different kind, a landmark with which the people of Wakefield identify and a symbol of Wakefield’s rich history as one of the earliest inland European settlements RETURN TO CONTENTS in New Zealand.

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 11

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD WHAKAAHUA • PROFILE

Dunedin heritage building owner Ted Daniels sees beauty where others might bulldoze

HIDDEN BEAUTY WO RDS : CAIT LIN SYK E S • IMAG E RY: ALAN D OVE

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Heritage New Zealand

In 1980, when Ted Daniels travelled halfway around the world from his native Netherlands with his wife Ita to live in New Zealand, it was a sense of familiarity that drew the couple to settle in Dunedin. “We really liked Dunedin because it reminded us of a European city,” recalls the heritage building owner and restorer. “Most cities in Europe have a city centre, which Dunedin has with the Octagon and main street, and with all its old buildings it also felt like home.” But there were also some other, more disconcerting, similarities. Before emigrating to New Zealand, Ted had been living in the heritage-rich Dutch city of Maastricht, developed over centuries from Roman times, where he had observed that a contemporary drive for modernity was leading to the destruction of many of its historic buildings. “Then when I came to Dunedin in 1980 the same type of thing had been happening here, and there was all this talk about the need to modernise the city … people were pulling buildings down left, right and centre to make way for ugly buildings and car parks. “I said, ‘I just came from a city where they’ve done that and they’re now regretting it’,” he says. “It was right from those early days that I wanted to save heritage buildings because I could see they had so much value. At that time people said to me, ‘If you’re so passionate about them, you should buy them’ – but at that time I had no money.” Trained as a gold- and silversmith in Schoonhoven, another heritage-rich city in the Netherlands, Ted is a jeweller by trade. And while he quickly established his own jewellery business in Dunedin in 1981 – which he has run ever since – it took him longer to take up the challenge to invest in heritage property. “It was 20 years before I finally had the courage and some money to make my first purchase of a heritage building,” he says. That first experience turned out to be a trial by fire, quite literally. In 2000 a newspaper advertisement for the sale of a Victorian warehouse building called Bracken Court caught his eye but, just about to go on holiday to the Netherlands, he didn’t have time to pursue the opportunity. But when he returned home six weeks later to find it still on the market and the price reduced by $100,000, he snapped up the commercial property. In 2005, however, while Ted was away in Canada, the building caught fire, sparking one of the city’s biggest blazes. The upper two of the building’s five storeys were destroyed by the fire, while the lower three were extensively water damaged.

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 13

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD “It looked like a shoebox, because there were just the walls standing with nothing inside,” Ted recalls. “At that time people advised me to bulldoze it, but I said there was no way I would pull it down. Then they said, well, leave the façade and pull down the rest of it, but I said there’s no way, because the history is in the four walls of the building. “If you only leave the façade, the building doesn’t mean anything anymore.” An oversight meant he was severely underinsured, but with the aid of the insurance payout and bank finance he proceeded to rebuild. The process took two years, and a further two until the much-upgraded building was fully tenanted. “If I say I’m going to do something, I will do it,” he explains of his perseverance through the adversity. “I’m not the kind of person who will walk away from a project when it becomes too difficult.” About a year after the completion of Bracken Court, Ted bought the Category 1 Bank of New Zealand Building on Princes Street in partnership with a friend, along with two adjacent heritage buildings: the Standard and Stanton Buildings. When the partners decided to go their separate ways, Ted kept the latter two buildings, which have been the main focus of his heritage restoration efforts for the past decade – with at least another two years to go. “The two buildings had major problems with water getting in and had been really badly damaged. Pigeons were living in there, so there was also about half a metre of pigeon poo. It was not very nice.” His restoration of the Standard Building – which included reinstating its original 1874 façade, and uncovering a previously unknown bluestone wall from 1860 – garnered him the supreme award at the Dunedin Heritage Awards in 2017. Dunedin-based Jonathan Howard, a Heritage New Zealand Project Advisor and former Area Manager Otago/Southland, says Ted’s projects are characterised by an incredible level of detail, executed to exacting standards, perhaps reflecting his practice as a jeweller. And given that Ted undertakes a lot of the work himself, says Jonathan, he has an excellent understanding of the practical challenges that heritage projects can present, and generously shares his knowledge with others. “He’s one of those people who are critical to Dunedin. It’s people like him who have shone a light on what’s achievable with heritage projects,” says Jonathan. “And alongside a driven and concerted focus on his own projects, he still has his eyes on wider heritage issues in Dunedin. He cares about heritage outside his own orbit.” Glen Hazelton, former Dunedin City Council Heritage Policy Planner and now Heritage New Zealand Director of Organisational Development, says Ted consistently raises the bar with his heritage projects. “I’m constantly surprised by what he achieves,” he says. “His projects show incredible attention to detail, and he understands how those little things can make a

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“He’s one of those people who are critical to Dunedin. It’s people like him who have shone a light on what’s achievable with heritage projects”

Heritage New Zealand

big difference; for example, in attracting great tenants that will create the right mix in an area. “Often with heritage projects you’re trying to encourage people to think beyond their own immediate needs, but Ted has a longer-term understanding that our heritage should be preserved for future generations.” For Ted, work on the larger Stanton Building, which sits behind the Standard, is ongoing; two major tenants (including Heritage New Zealand’s Otago/Southland Area Office) are now installed, while work continues on the basement and ground floor, and a rooftop apartment in which Ted and Ita will live. While working through the required consent application process for the Stanton Building, Ted also bought an Art Deco property across the road. He has restored the façade and carried out earthquake strengthening as well as cosmetic work. For now, he says, he intends the Stanton Building to be the last major heritage restoration he personally takes on, and his summary of the current status of that project gives further insight into what drives his wider passion for heritage preservation. “At some time I will go forwards [with that project], but at the moment I’m still going backwards. “But at the end of the day there is a beautiful building there that nobody knew existed; it had been hidden,” he says. “I like the idea that nobody cared about the building, or knew about its actual size, and that most people would have just bulldozed it, whereas I saw potential – the opportunity to make something out of it.”

Heritage New Zealand

While I love lots of different buildings, I’m not drawn specifically to one building; it’s more a whole streetscape that I find intriguing. To me that’s what I love about Dunedin – the streetscapes, the combinations of its buildings. You can look up through Moray Place, for example, and see Otago Boys’ High School, St Joseph’s Cathedral and the Priory next door (pictured below), and Otago Girls’ High School – it is beautiful. It almost looks like castles in the background, with this really European flavour. That’s why if you destroy a building and put in a high-rise, it doesn’t just affect that site; it can destroy the whole streetscape, the whole view. I say, in Dunedin, if you take the building away, you take history away that will never come back, because every building here has its own character and history. n RETURN TO CONTENTS

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 15

PAPA TE WĀHI PĀNUI • PLACE • NOTICEBOARD

Play on

For 50 years, a former fortification has been the unlikely home of the Devonport Folk Music Club, long outliving its short history as the Fort Victoria Fire Command Post

WORDS: CELIA WALKER • IMAGERY: JASON DORDAY

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Heritage New Zealand

1 The Bunker, open

and inviting for a club night. 2 Visiting Canadian

guest musician Joël Fafard and audience.

Heritage New Zealand

With its military heritage, hard and unglamorous concrete construction, and rough-around-the-edges finish, you might expect a visit to The Bunker on Takarunga/Mt Victoria to be of only fleeting interest. Step inside this unassuming structure, however, and you’ll discover another world – a living archive of folk music, local social history, vintage clutter and human warmth. The Bunker, home of the Devonport Folk Music Club, is tucked out of sight off the narrow summit road on Takarunga. The road has been closed to general traffic for a year, so it comes as a surprise to hear from musician and club member Micheal Young that the club is “famous”. “People from all over the world want to come here; it is renowned,” he says. These are impressive claims for a tiny venue that, at capacity, can squeeze in 80 people, seated on an assemblage of tiered benches, old office chairs, vintage armchairs and other odds and ends of furniture. But the unusual location of the heritage building isn’t the only drawcard; it’s also the warm atmosphere and web of human connections that have been built up over half a century. A key factor in developing the latter was the personality of Roger Giles. The club’s long-time president, who sadly passed away in March, was a prominent figure in Auckland’s folk music scene.

He came to New Zealand in the 1960s from rural Shropshire on what was supposed to be a temporary visit to learn the Godfrey Bowen sheep-shearing technique. He joined the club by chance, not long after it had formed in 1966, on the urging of a flatmate. “I didn’t associate my origins with folk music,” Roger recalled, when interviewed for Heritage New Zealand magazine earlier this year, telling stories of his exposure to “singers who would come and act the goat” in the pub that was his childhood home in England. He went on to become the club’s front man and played a large role in shaping The Bunker’s eccentric character. Alongside Roger was always his partner Hilary Condon, who still organises the troops behind the scenes and carries out the administration that keeps the group running. The club meets regularly – every Monday and on some other nights – perpetuating a long history of activity at the site. The location on which The Bunker sits is shaped with fortifications that were present long before European alterations started taking place. A significant place for Māori, Takarunga is a tūpuna maunga with a story that stretches back centuries. Although the maunga was uninhabited at the time of the first documented European exploration in 1827, various iwi have associations with the area, including Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Whātua and Te Kawerau a Maki.

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PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

The remains of lengthy Māori occupation are still visible, despite incursions such as a water reservoir and a disappearing gun emplacement. These include terracing on the northern and north-eastern slopes, kumara pits just below The Bunker, and shell middens all over the site, which are occasionally exposed by the various paths and public tracks. Findings from a relatively small excavation carried out in the 1980s included ditches usually associated with defensive palisades, suggestive of a well-established pā. The impetus for the construction of The Bunker itself was fear of an attack by Russia in the 1880s, resulting

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“People from all over the world want to come here; it is renowned”

in many defences being built around the Waitematā Harbour, including a large complex of tunnels and fortifications on neighbouring Maungauika/North Head that were begun in 1885. Built in 1891 as the Fire Command Post, The Bunker was a communications point connecting Fort Victoria to the positions on Maungauika and Fort Takapuna, with a telephone link set up in 1896. The military use of the building was primarily for its strategic position, although the Navy used it briefly as an ammunition store and laboratory between the wars until local pressure saw the ammunition moved out and the

Heritage New Zealand

site returned to the Devonport Borough Council. The last military use was during World War II, when it was requisitioned for use as a workshop and storage facility. Sheep sometimes took up residence when the building was abandoned for a while after World War II, and it was also later used by boy scouts as a den and base for adventures on the mountain. The structure hasn’t entirely shaken off its scout-den past; The Bunker’s current kitchen dates from the 1955 renovations to the building carried out by the Victoria Scout Troop. Despite extensive refurbishment by the scouts, and by the folk music club before it shifted there in 1970, there have been ongoing issues with peeling paint and dampness owing to the building being recessed into the mountainside. The positioning of wall panels along the northern side – with an array of memorabilia, archival posters and snippets about the building’s history – covers up the worst of it. Another current drawback of the location is a lack of water. Despite being sited next to the large reservoir at the top of Takarunga, the water supply has dwindled to a trickle, so Watercare supplies water for each club night to make the ubiquitous cups of tea. Roger’s own care of the building went far beyond keeping up with the damp inside. For years during his daily walks with dog Jess, he cleared the detritus left by those sliding down the slopes on cardboard, and gradually weeded out invasive pest plants. He recalled how in the club’s early days on the site, cows sheltered from the prevailing northwest winds in

Heritage New Zealand

The Bunker’s doorway until he pressured the council to end the grazing lease. He also coordinated the removal of truckloads of the Sodom apple weed using a labour force of local schoolchildren. Stringed instrument player Micheal Young sees the club’s unusual venue as a means of enticing a new generation of musicians to the group. Micheal is a tall Texan who arrived in Devonport during a round-theworld yacht voyage in the late 1990s; as with Roger, the lure of the suburb, and the club, meant he never really left. Micheal says the club’s inclusive attitude helped him launch his own music career, which he now pursues full-time. The club is “a place for people to grow, where they are able to make mistakes – and have the freedom to be themselves”, he says. Micheal credits much of the enduring success to the work of Roger and Hilary. “They have dedicated their entire lives to the club,” he says. His own passion for the venue is driving him to try to attract younger members to help alter the club’s aging demographic profile and keep its membership viable. He invites younger singer/songwriters – who he says move in a different world of bars and open-mic nights – to his monthly Bunker Hill Unplugged sessions. Alongside this drive, the club has a new 10-year lease on the building granted by the iwi-led Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority, along with special dispensation for vehicle access. And with the spirited commitment of its many members, the Devonport Folk Music Club looks set to keep the music playing in this spot for years to come.

tūpuna maunga: ancestral mountain

1 Grass growing over the

partially recessed roof of The Bunker. 2 The late Roger Giles,

the club’s long-time president and a prominent figure in Auckland’s folk music scene, is featured in this painting by Gretchen Scott-Blyth. 3 Looking in from the en-

trance to compère Paul Jonson. 4 The club library, with

librarian Sheila Duggan. 5 Hilary Condon, club secre-

tary and treasurer. 6 Club committee members

Mike Wright (left) and Paul Jonson, who also runs his own monthly club at Orewa.

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Hōtoke • Winter 2020 19

PAPAWHARE NGĀ PĀNUI •MAHI NOTICEBOARD • BUILDINGS AT WORK

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Heritage New Zealand

WORDS: JENNY LING • IMAGERY: DANIEL COWLEY

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT As a result of dedicated sleuthing, a humble Northland barn is now thought to be the fifth-oldest building in the country

1 Chris and Monica Church

have owned Pouerua Station, which includes the historic homestead and red barn, for five years. 2 The red barn is believed to

be the fifth-oldest building in New Zealand. 3 The barn sits among pad-

docks on the Churches’ Pākaraka property in the Far North and is filled with farm machinery and tools.

Heritage New Zealand

Kemp House, Te Waimate Mission, the Stone Store, the Treaty House – the roll call of the country’s four oldest buildings is familiar not just to heritage lovers, but to most New Zealanders. For what could well be the fifth-oldest though, it’s another story. The building looks like any other unassuming red barn sitting among paddocks and filled with farm machinery and tools. But as the result of some dedicated sleuthing, it’s now believed that this rustic little barn, nestled among stone walls in the Far North, is the fifth-oldest building in the country. Owned by Chris and Monica Church and named the Pouerua Store/Stable, the barn is a one-and-ahalf-storey rectangular gabled building adjoining the Churches’ main homestead in Pākaraka, which was owned by Henry Williams and his family before the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Henry, an early missionary who helped to translate the treaty, bought the property in 1835 for his six sons to work as a farm. The barn was initially used to house the men and was later used to hold church services before being relocated and used for its current purpose. However, little was known about the true heritage value of the Williams farm building, other than a file note on property documents left in 1999 by former Stone Store curator Fergus Clunie, who recognised the features in the barn as being very early. There was a bit of synchronicity involved in the recent discovery: Chris and Monica had finished a

five-year project of refurbishing their elegant homestead and finally felt up to the task of restoring their barn. Then along came Australian architect and heritage conservation student Daniel Cowley, who, with the guidance of Heritage New Zealand, has completed a detailed report on its history. Heritage New Zealand Area Manager Northland Bill Edwards says the barn lay “hidden within plain sight” for 185 years. “What we have is a pre-treaty house; it’s about not only the building being that old, but its significance of being connected to the Williams family and early pastoral settlement. It’s set in a much older Māori horticultural landscape. “The barn is important as a European artefact, but its real story is its relationship to the land and why Māori and Pākehā were there – because the land was so fertile.” The barn is listed as a Category 2 historic place and sits on a site significant to Ngāpuhi and earlier hapū, adding further cultural importance. There is evidence of a pā, pits and terraces, which indicate agriculture and horticulture use on land encased in stone-fields. Chris and Monica have owned the 30-hectare property, called Pouerua Station, for five years, and run it as a fully active, functioning farm unit. Chris’s own research came from Williams family diaries and sketches from Archives New Zealand. He also uncovered a pile of early bricks indented with thumbprints, along with hundreds of old nails and a smattering of musket balls around the property. “It was quite obvious to me that this building is a substantial building; it’s not just an agricultural barn,” he says. Daniel completed a Bachelor of Architecture in Sydney and came to New Zealand two years ago to undertake a Master of Architecture (Professional) and Heritage Conservation at the University of Auckland. Last year Daniel got in touch with Bill, who found him a couple of projects to work on in Northland as part of his studies. First, he completed a conservation plan for James Clendon’s house at Manawaora Bay near Russell, and this was followed by a report on the old blacksmith’s shed near the Kerikeri Mission Station. Then Bill pointed him in the direction of Pākaraka in Northland, where another understated building was located. Daniel met Bill at the site last August to inspect the red barn, then visited again in October. “I was really interested in the early contact period between European and Māori,” Daniel says. “This is a bicultural building that was drawn into the Ngāpuhi landscape. “It was fascinating to see the structure as well. The methodology of the construction and techniques that remained – pit-sawn timbers, hand-planed joinery and even the foundation – displayed evidence of a really early building.” According to Daniel’s report, after buying the land Henry quickly began the construction of the old barn to house his sons, who ran the property as a sheep and cattle station.

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PAPAWHARE NGĀ PĀNUI •MAHI NOTICEBOARD • BUILDINGS AT WORK

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Heritage New Zealand

“The barn is important as a European artefact, but its real story is its relationship to the land and why Maori and Pakeha were there – because the 5

Fourteen years later, another house – called Pretty Cottage – was built nearby for Henry Junior and his wife Jane. By 1850 the remaining sons had moved out and the barn was used for informal church services for 10 months before the construction of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church. The main house, called the Pouerua Homestead, was built some distance away between 1861 and 1863 as Henry Junior and Jane’s second house. This is the same home in which the Churches now live. Around this time the barn was relocated close to the homestead – most likely between 1863 and 1864, Daniel’s report says – and by 1870 it had reverted to being used as a barn. There were two rooms at ground level plus a sleeping loft, and a single door with a window on each side. Front and back veranda roofs and side wing additions were later attached. What makes the little barn so special are its architectural features similar to those of other pre-1840 buildings in Northland. There is evidence of Georgianstyle windows and shutters, fine-detailed hinges made of cast iron, and single stays used to lock the shutters in place. Roof beams and walls were marked with Roman numerals, a typical method for placement during construction that can be found in the Treaty House and Stone Store buildings. “It’s a really resilient structure and because of the hardwood it still remains,” says Daniel. “The corrugated iron has helped the lifespan that it’s had.” Today the barn contains a tractor, a ride-on mower and a quad bike, along with other farm machinery and tools.

Heritage New Zealand

1 Early stone fencelines. 2 Old bricks, indented

with thumbprints. 3 Georgian-style windows

and shutters and finedetailed cast-iron hinges. 4 Beams were marked with

Roman numerals during construction. 5 Daniel Cowley has compiled

a thesis report on the barn. 6 Pouerua Station.

Chris painted it two years ago and laid gravel inside and around its edges, but “it’s pretty much as it was”. Bill also likes that it’s had minimal intervention. “Being in its raw state, that’s what’s so beautiful about it. It shows the patina of age.” Daniel plans to use the report as part of his thesis, which he hopes to finish this year. His findings involve three main points: the preservation of the structure, minimal intervention, and living heritage, which means its adaptation and how it can be used today. Researching the building has raised some questions, including about its future management, he says. “There’s actually more than just the building. What it’s all about now is evoking the memory of Māori and the Ngāpuhi people and how that building can continue the memory.” For Chris, the whole property is significant, right down to the very last stone. “When I’m out working on the farm back here, I can feel the influence of Ngāpuhi and their tenure of the land and their occupation of it. “It’s not just the house and barn, it’s the whole package. The stone walls and the fields; the volcanic land is stunning, it’s just beautiful for growing anything.” Bill says the research will also prove valuable to the Williams’s descendants, who are holding a family reunion in 2023 celebrating 200 years since their arrival in New Zealand. “It’s great for them. It provides them with another taonga connected to their family. “How marvellous it is that we have one of the oldest buildings in New Zealand and it’s got a Massey Ferguson tractor parked in it. “It’s been used for all these things, and it’s still being used – but in totally different ways from what it was built for.” RETURN TO CONTENTS

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PAPAWHARE NGĀ PĀNUI •MAHI NOTICEBOARD • BUILDINGS AT WORK

UNLOCKING

potential Dunedin’s former prison is being transformed into a place that people want to enter – rather than leave

WORDS: JAMIE DOUGLAS • IMAGERY: ALAN DOVE

How’s this for an ironic twist in the passage of time? Today customers pay to get into the former Dunedin Prison, only to then experience the thrill of trying to break out of its imposing brick walls in just one hour. The escape-game experience is now being offered at the former prison on Castle Street in the

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central city, but for the Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust and its chair Owen Graham, the ultimate goal is to turn the whole prison – rebranded as the Dunedin Gaol – into a total visitor experience; a place where people want to come and stay. And it seems it’s just a matter of time before the right keys will

be found to unlock the potential of the historic prison, given the vision and drive shown by the trust, funding support from various agencies and the input of skilled heritage advocates. All sorts of people have been guests of the penal institution, which was built in 1897 and designed by Government Architect John Campbell in the Queen Anne style. The front-facing administration wing has three supporting cell

blocks with an enclosed central courtyard. It makes for an ominous sight, inside and out, when visiting. The trust operates guided tours in which you learn about the likes of Agnes Inkster, locked up for bashing people with her umbrella at a Salvation Army street meeting in 1909; Sarah Fogo, sentenced to be hanged after stabbing her husband to death in 1900; incorrigible rogue Louis Godfrey, a skilled carver who in better times worked on First Church and Larnach Castle but did a 12-month lag in 1909 for being idle and disorderly; and David Bain, acquitted in 2009 on all charges after being convicted of five counts of murder in 1995, who spent time in cell number 37. It’s easy to get an insight into and a feel for what life was like inside, before the prison closed in 2007. Originally the cells that surrounded the central courtyard offered no protection from the elements, save for the locking of a heavy cell door. Conditions were bleak and basic, with toilets only introduced into cells in 2001, replacing buckets. The ablution areas were about the only progressive and worthwhile addition to the prison, which is now on the mend after years of neglect and heritage maltreatment. Owen is clearly excited at the progress of the trust in ensuring Dunedin Gaol is once again a key part of a Dunedin heritage precinct that includes the Law

Heritage New Zealand

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PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

Courts, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Dunedin Railway Station. The trust purchased the prison from Ngāi Tahu in 2012 after it was decommissioned by the Department of Corrections. Last year the trust received the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Conservation Award for Stage 1 of its restoration journey. “It’s a huge project,” says Owen, as he and architectural conservator Guy Williams discuss progress to date while in the prison courtyard on a brisk Dunedin day. “The key for the trust is to preserve the building so it is appealing to funders and future tenants. We don’t have earthquake issues, the roof will last up to another 100 years and the refurbished exterior won’t require work for at least another 20 years. “The project’s first stage was to bring back the appeal of Dunedin

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Gaol to the public. The trust has reset its strategic direction, seeing its role as kaitiaki of the building’s preservation, promoting the stories of events that have happened here and the asset that this building can be to the wider community in the future. “This is all being done while recognising its Category 1 listing, the covenant on the building and its place within a heritage precinct.” Guy is a key member of the restoration project – “our mastermind, really” – says Owen, who prepared an inventory and description of the prison’s significant heritage features in 2009. In 2014 he prepared a comprehensive roof and associated features condition report, along with specifications for repair and restoration, ahead of being project and contract manager for the first stage of

work to repair and restore the street-facing administration block and annexe. “The focus has been on making the exterior weather-proof and reinstating heritage features torn off from the 1940s through to the 1970s,” says Guy. “A lot of the original design elements were completely messed up in an architectural way, with the detail either removed or covered over for expediency.” The project’s second stage will involve reslating the roof and completing exterior repairs and refurbishment of the three cellblock wings, with $100,000 in grants from the Dunedin City Council and Otago Community Trust being a massive boost. All the century-old slates will be removed, along with the tarred felt underlay, which will be replaced with a new, high-tech membrane, and new slates laid. If the trust secures enough funding, two

kaitiaki: caretaker, guardian

1 Rows of cells only

vacated in 2007. 2 The view across the

courtyard to first- and second-floor cell blocks. 3 The walkway between

part of the courtyard and kitchen area. 4 This corridor would origi-

nally have been open-air, without the windows and walls at left. 5 A typical cell with single

stretcher. The toilet was only installed in 2001. 6 Architectural conservator

Guy Williams and Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust Chair Owen Graham.

Heritage New Zealand

“… there is a unique and exciting opportunity to be part of the prison’s ongoing history” gate pillars originally at the front entrance will be reinstated. The conservation work has unearthed some great finds, including police batons, an old prisoner’s cap and knives, or ‘shivs’, hidden under the attic floorboards, and various beer and spirit bottles attached to cords, which was probably a means used by inmates of receiving alcohol from outside the prison walls. The project’s third stage will feature a revitalisation of the courtyard which, over time, has been infilled with separate work rooms and caged recreation spaces for inmates. “The courtyard project is a key part of getting people back here using it, with one exciting option being a glazed roof to enclose and weatherproof the courtyard,” says Owen. “The idea is to remove the relatively recent courtyard additions and bring it back to

Heritage New Zealand

its original appearance. The courtyard was an open space, with the belief that fresh air was the healthy option for inmates. Winter would have been interesting for them.” With the prison complex around 2400 square metres, the conservation project is mammoth and requires funding. Owen says the trust would be delighted if anyone could offer financial support. Public tours, car parking and a rental from Escape Dunedin help to cover day-to-day operations, insurances, council rates and basic maintenance. “While the prison’s Victorian past includes disturbing aspects,” he says, “its future could be really bright. That’s what we are presenting to potential investors and developers – that there is a unique and exciting opportunity to be part of the prison’s ongoing history.” www.dunedinprison.co.nz

HAPPY BEHIND BARS It’s fair to describe architectural conservator Guy Williams as a ‘lifer’ when it comes to heritage conservation. The court of public and professional opinion holds him in the highest regard, as was reflected in his receipt of the Dunedin City Council’s Pam Jordan Services to Heritage Award last year. The award recognises an individual’s or organisation’s dedication to and support of Dunedin heritage. While today the prison – and hang gliding – occupies much of his time, other significant projects he has been involved in include the Category 1-listed Dhargyey Buddhist Centre on Royal Terrace, Larnach Castle, Larnach’s Tomb at the Dunedin Northern Cemetery, Waikouaiti Coast Heritage Centre (originally a bank built in 1869) and Cargill Monument at The Exchange. Guy’s involvement with the Dunedin Prison Charitable Trust is connected to the other projects he has worked on – particularly the link with architect John Campbell. “I’ve come to really appreciate John Campbell’s architecture – he was an incredibly competent fellow,” says Guy. “I was involved when working with [Heritage New Zealand] in 2002 on the refurbishment of the Dunedin Law Courts, and after leaving that job I was asked to do a building archaeology survey of Sunnyside Hospital’s administration block in Christchurch, another John Campbell building. “It was fascinating to see how he put it together. The Law Courts building and the prison are very much the same, with very well thought out construction details. “The prison fits incredibly well within a modern environment. Campbell created a courtyard prison with the Fabian concept of restorative justice – the courtyard’s open galleries allowing for sun traps on a fine day – which makes it a really elegant and attractive building, even if it was a prison, in the heart of a heritage precinct. “It’s a privilege to be involved.” n RETURN TO CONTENTS

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 27

PAPA WHAKAAHUA TINO PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD • BEST SHOTS

28 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Heritage New Zealand

Slippery slopes Carving up the steep slopes of a favourite ski field is a Canterbury family tradition. At the foothills of the Southern Alps in Selwyn are five club fields within a short distance of each other: Temple Basin, Broken River, Craigieburn, Mt Olympus and Mt Cheeseman, which is near Porters, a smaller

commercial field. Skiers can traverse from one ski field to another in a day. Each ski field has its own history and hallmarks, yet they all share the same magical powder snow. In this image, taken as the sun sets on the Torlesse Range, the last skier glides effortlessly down the slope to the Mt Cheeseman ski lodge, where a warm lounge,

WO RDS AND IMAG E : KELLY LY NCH

dinner and bunk bed await. The slopes are on Mt Cockayne, near Castle Hill. Last year Mt Cheeseman Ski Club celebrated its 90th anniversary after humble beginnings in 1929 as the Canterbury Winter Sports Club. Today the club has two accommodation lodges and a day lodge, two T-bar ski lifts and a learner tow.

www.mtcheeseman.co.nz TECHNICAL DATA Camera: Canon 5D MkII Lens: Canon 24mm Exposure: 1/320, f8 ISO: 800

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 29

PAPA TE HAPORI PĀNUI• •COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

Art minds

Ambitious artistic projects and huge feats of volunteer effort have helped to secure the future of a central Auckland church

What does it take to save a heritage place? Blood, sweat, tears – and a whole lot of art. Just ask the members of The Friends of St David’s Trust – a community group that has rallied around St David’s Memorial Church in Grafton, Auckland. There’s Shirley Blackie, who recalls spending up to 15 hours a day removing tape and its residue from the back of artworks – a task that left hands raw and bleeding. Or the group’s treasurer, Dawn Judge, who recounts hairy times hoisted 26 metres in the air in a cherry picker to attend to an art installation. Or photographer Jessica Gernat, who waited for hours on a deserted and freezing central Auckland street until, well

past midnight, she could capture a perfect image of the church. Then there’s Paul Baragwanath, the leader of ‘the Friends’, whose commitment has included taking on the biggest professional challenge of his life – an art fundraising project that raised a record $1 million. “It has been,” admits Paul, “a wild ride.” But well worth it, say the group’s members. Last year the church – which previously had no heritage protection and faced potential demolition – gained Category A scheduled heritage status in Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan, thanks primarily to their efforts.

WORDS: CAITLIN SYKES • IMAGERY: JESSICA GERNAT

30 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Heritage New Zealand

The ride began near the end of 2014, when Paul attended a meeting at which he became aware that the 1927 Kamo heritage brick and Oamaru stone church required a seismic upgrade and its demolition was an option under consideration. Paul has family connections to the church – his grandfather and great-great-grandfather were ministers at St David’s – and his immediate thoughts turned to documenting the church building photographically before any changes were made. “I run an art consultancy business, so I’m aware of the

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 31

PAPA TE HAPORI PĀNUI• •COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD 1 Seven thousand brass quatrefoil artworks

adorned the church for three months in 2015. 2 About 1000 people gathered for the laying of the

church’s foundation stone on Anzac Day 1927. 3 Paul Baragwanath, the leader of The Friends of

St David’s Trust.

32 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

value of photography, and of documenting history before it’s lost,” says Paul. “Then I thought I’d just let a few people know what was happening and there would be others who would come in and take it on. I was already really busy with life and running a business; I didn’t have time to fit in a [heritage preservation] project.” But the pull to save St David’s – once known as the Presbyterian Cathedral of Auckland – proved too strong to resist. He made the time. “The key starting point was building a small group – a community – around a common vision,” he says, “which was to save this place of beauty for the future so that it would serve the wellbeing of the community and society. “The most beautiful thing about St David’s is how it lifts your spirits; it’s what church architecture is designed to do. That hasn’t gone out of fashion and it never will.” Key to building such support for the Friends, says Paul, has been the group’s ability to connect with a broad spectrum of people, including supportive members of the congregation past and present, but also reaching out to the wider community – those with no direct historical or current links to the church. “You need to think about what aspect of this place’s story will people fall in love with, and identify with. How do you bring a place that has been largely forgotten back into people’s consciousness, and help them understand that its history is important to us now?” In the case of St David’s, he says, the fact that the church was built as a memorial to World War I soldiers and has many military connections was key to capturing hearts and minds. And when a cousin gave him a ceramic poppy – one of the 888,246 created by artists Paul Cummins and Tom Piper that filled the Tower of London’s moat as part of a World War I remembrance project in 2014 – another piece fell into place. “I thought, ‘This is it’. Art is something I know, something I understand. Imagine doing an art project around this historic building that was so beautiful and so big it couldn’t fail to captivate.” So began ‘The Art of Remembrance’ (see Heritage New Zealand magazine, Winter 2017), in which 7000 brass quatrefoil artworks, each the size of a soldier’s outstretched hand, adorned the exterior of St David’s for three months in 2015. The artworks were gifted by one of New Zealand’s most internationally successful artists, New Yorkbased Max Gimblett, who has a long association with St David’s. A predominant motif in his work, the quatrefoil can be seen throughout the architecture of St David’s, which Max attended as a boy.

Heritage New Zealand

TIPS FOR RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL HERITAGE PRESERVATION CAMPAIGN Take responsibility: “Just because there’s a heritage building standing now that you admire, it doesn’t mean it will be standing there tomorrow. And just because you don’t own it, and don’t have the resources to fund its restoration, it doesn’t mean you can’t take responsibility.” Don’t let a lack of money get in the way: “You may not have any money, but you have passion and that goes a long way! The support you need will come. We had $200 after months of fundraising. We then went on to raise $1 million – and ultimately achieve the Category A protection.” Create a community: “You can’t just rely on the very small community that generally naturally exists around these great historic buildings. Places slip under the radar over time, so you need to remind people why they are so important and beautiful, and create a wider community around a common vision to hold on to that.” Good communications: “The media space is so busy; there’s always so much to read, and look at. So how do you get on people’s radar, communicate your key values and become an entity that people want to be part of? All your communications need to be beautiful, and communicate the vision of not just where you are but where you want to be.” SOURCE: PAUL BARAGWANATH

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke Winter Spring•2019 33 2020 33

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD 1

Paul admits it was by far the most ambitious project of his career, requiring him to personally borrow $150,000, and pull it together in just eight weeks. The project’s launch on the eve of Anzac Day 2015 attracted hundreds, and the closing of the exhibition in July saw Corporal Willie Apiata VC present a quatrefoil artwork to the grandson of Cyril Bassett, New Zealand’s only Gallipoli recipient of the Victoria Cross. Cyril, a Royal New Zealand Engineer, was married at the site of St David’s in 1926, a year before the memorial church was built and dedicated to his comrades. The artworks were then individually sold – eventually raising more than $1 million, the largest amount ever raised through a charitable art project, requiring vast feats of volunteer effort. Shirley Blackie was among the first members of The Friends of St David’s Trust, joining in response to an advertisement calling for volunteers. “The church wasn’t far from where I was living,” says Shirley, who now lives in Wellington, “and I was also interested because my father’s parents were married in the church, among other family connections.” It didn’t take long for her to become deeply involved in the day-to-day activities of the trust; this included helping to oversee hundreds of volunteers over a

34 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

1 Shirley Blackie, a Friends

of St David’s Trust patron. 2 Tape used to secure

the artworks had to be carefully removed later. 3 Volunteers had to

categorise the quatrefoils following the exhibition. 4 The results of preparing

the artworks for dispatch. IMAGERY: SUPPLIED 5 The current church interior. 6 The Royal New Zealand

Engineers’ memorial window. 7 Designed by architect

Daniel B Patterson, the church has superb acoustics. IMAGE: JONATHAN SUCKLING 8 The quatrefoil motif can be

seen around the church. 9 St David’s was designed

with a raked floor to afford all parishioners a view.

number of months, who together worked meticulously to prepare the artworks for dispatch to purchasers. Each of the thousands of quatrefoils needed to be removed from the metal wire and tape used to attach it to the church, carefully cleaned, categorised, affixed with new hardware for hanging, then packaged and sent. A hallmark of the work of The Friends of St David’s Trust has been the professionalism of its projects, despite being delivered by volunteers. Over the past several years, for example, the look and feel of the trust’s written and visual communications have been produced by design and branding experts (and volunteers) Doug Hawkins and Lisa Bates of Hawkins&Co. Explains Paul: “When you’re looking to save heritage, you have to be passionate; you have to have a strong sense of why you’re doing it and then you have to be as professional as if you were being paid a corporate salary – when you’re actually working pro bono.” The group has since carried out other successful artistic collaborations, including the Southern Star – Te Tonga Whetū o te Rangi project with artist and jeweller Warwick Freeman, who has created a remembrance pin worn by many across New Zealand and the world, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Alongside such ambitious artistic projects, consistent and professional communications have been crucial in galvanising support for the vision to save the church and keeping the community around it connected and engaged, says Paul. Professional photographers Jonathan Suckling and Jessica Gernat, for example, have captured the images of the church since the start of the campaign, the latter also taking thousands of photographs to document the many events the group has conducted. “That’s been incredibly important, particularly in gaining Category A protection for the church,” says Paul. “We had documentation of the history of St David’s, but we really also needed to show its modern history. Events are history in the making, and by capturing these more recent events at St David’s, Jessica has captured the importance of this place in its community today.” Heritage New Zealand Senior Conservation Architect Robin Byron says the group’s success in obtaining heritage protection for the church through Auckland Council is primarily attributable to Paul’s determination, tenacity and creative thinking, and his ability to garner assistance from a large and diverse contingent of committed supporters. He also understood, she says, that a large part of appreciating the values associated with the memorial church, and gaining wide support for it, was to ensure that its heritage significance was well researched, articulated and communicated, and that heritage assessments were commissioned and peer reviewed to this end. “It has been a gargantuan effort, through many challenges and adversity at times,” says Robin. “What is particularly notable is that the efforts have always celebrated the worth and value of St David’s, its meaning, its heritage significance and the resonance the place has as an important part of our shared history.”

Heritage New Zealand

6 7

ST DAVID’S: THE SOLDIERS’ MEMORIAL CHURCH n The foundation stone of St David’s Memorial Church was laid on Anzac Day in 1927, in memory of those who lost their lives in World War I. It was dedicated the Soldiers’ Memorial Church in October that year. n In 1928 the Corps of the Royal New Zealand Engineers presented a tablet to the church in memory of fallen comrades. The Sappers’ Memorial Chapel was later incorporated into St David’s. n Commemorative windows and plaques were unveiled in 1949 after World War II to commemorate the Royal New Zealand Engineers, office holders of the congregation, and those who had lost their lives in both world wars. n As a memorial church that would be attended by war veterans, and to enable the broadest access to all, St David’s was designed with a ramp entry rather than stairs, and with cutting-edge technology for the time, such as listening stations so the hearing impaired could participate in the services.

SOURCE: WWW.SAINTDAVIDSFRIENDS.ORG.NZ/HERITAGE

RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 35

IMAGERY: MARK BRIMBLECOMBE

PAPATAPUWAE NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD O NGĀ TŪPUNA • MĀORI HERITAGE

36 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Heritage NewHeritage Zealand New Zealand

WORDS: JACQUI GIBSON

safe

IN HANDS

A Whanganui community has taken a hands-on approach to conserving its stunning Category 1 church

Heritage New Zealand

Frankly, it’s hard to say who in the Pūtiki church community put in the most elbow grease. Was it the volunteers in highvis jackets who skilfully touched up dozens of ornately painted kōwhaiwhai panels while teetering on scaffolding erected metres above the ground? Or was it the industrious team of cooks who turned out a tasty, near-constant supply of boil-ups, stews, trifles and jellies? Put the question to church trustee and self-titled whipcracker Huia Kirk and she’ll throw her hands up and declare it an even tie. “They were at it five days a week for six and a half months from six in the morning until

four in the afternoon. You’d have to say it was an outstanding effort all round.” The effort to which Huia refers is the final stage in a 10-year restoration project that’s breathed new life into St Paul’s Memorial Church, known locally as Pūtiki church, a Category 1 building in the Whanganui township of Pūtiki. Back in 2009 the historic Anglican church had fallen on hard times. The roof was leaking. Water stains discoloured the walls. The faint smell of rotting carpet could be detected and the pīngao strands that held the church’s beautifully woven tukutuku panels together were starting to unravel.

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 37

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

1 St Paul’s Memorial

Church, Pūtiki.

IMAGE: MARK BRIMBLECOMBE 2 Raranga tutor Trina

Taurua (foreground) and trust secretary Margaret Tauri rework a damaged tukutuku panel. 3 Volunteer Kath Tahau

repairs a Whanganui-amumu tukutuku panel. 4 Kath Tahau and Trina

Taurua at work. IMAGERY: GAIL IMHOFF

38 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

The Pūtiki congregation of around 40 people stood to lose a much-loved place of worship, while New Zealand stood to lose a one-of-a-kind church richly decorated in the Māori arts and crafts tradition. Something had to give. “We didn’t know exactly what was needed, but we knew we needed to do something or we’d lose it,” explains Huia over a cup of tea inside the Pūtiki Parish Hall. Following advice from Heritage New Zealand contacts in Whanganui, Huia set up the restoration trust, became chair and set about fundraising for repairs. The trust’s first task was to commission a conservation report from DLA Architects to identify the issues and recommend ways to address them. Written by conservation specialists (the late) Wendy Pettigrew, Bruce Dickson and Dean Whiting (now Heritage New Zealand Director Kaiwhakahaere Tautiaki Taonga and Kaupapa Māori), the 2011 report recommended extensive renovations to the building’s interior and exterior. It found the roof and electrical wiring needed replacing, the external walls needed painting, and new paving, insulation, fire protection and heating had to be installed. Four years down the track, with $200,000 spent, the trust was ready to bring its efforts indoors. Margaret Tauri, trust secretary, explains: “We didn’t want to contract out the second phase like we had the first. It wasn’t about trying to scrimp and save money by doing it ourselves – conserving the interior is what got us excited. That’s what we all wanted to be part of.”

All up, around 30 people volunteered in the project’s second phase, which included the renovation of both the church and parish hall interiors. The Venerable Bernard Broughton opened the project with a karakia and oversaw the project tīkanga. Dean Whiting and Pouarahi Traditional Arts Jim Schuster advised volunteers on technique and sourced all-important materials such as kiekie, harakeke, pīngao and pāua shell. Tutors and students from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Whanganui repaired original tukutuku panels. Meanwhile, locals scrambled up scaffolding to repair the kākaho wall and ceiling panels and touch up decorative kōwhaiwhai rafters originally painted by Oriwa Tahupotiki Haddon and Jack Kingi. Some volunteers got busy making kai in the parish hall kitchen, whipping up crowd favourites such as fruit pie and custard, roast pork and apple sauce and the weekly fish dish (reportedly a Friday favourite). Others spent hours carefully cleaning 80-year-old whakairo with toothbrushes and soft cloths. One volunteer took care of workplace acoustics by playing a kōauau as people worked around him. Looking back, Margaret and Huia agree that a lot of perseverance, skill and aroha has gone into the restoration project. “Sometimes people were quiet in their work and full of concentration. Other times the talk would fly about, punctuated by sudden bursts of laughter,” says Huia. “I think one of the things I most enjoyed was the fellowship and listening to people strengthen their bonds to one another and to this place.”

Heritage New Zealand

Both Huia and Margaret have strong personal ties to Pūtiki. Huia, of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi descent, traces her whakapapa to the original people of the Whanganui River. She is well versed in the community’s history and, at 82, still hosts tours of Pūtiki church for the local tourism office. In 1938 she was one of the first babies baptised in the church, a year after it was consecrated. Margaret’s late husband John Tauri was a descendant of Ngāti Tūwharetoa rangatira Wiremu Eruera Te Tauri, who brought Christianity to Pūtiki in 1836.

Heritage New Zealand

Every Sunday both women attend the bilingual church service at Pūtiki – Margaret as a lay reader and Huia in the congregation. Dean Whiting, whose late father, artist Cliff Whiting, decorated Pūtiki Parish Hall in 1972, says the community’s deep connection to the church is part of what makes it special. “People’s ties to Pūtiki church are intergenerational. It’s amazing. “Personally, I remember coming here with Dad as a kid. Places like the Pūtiki church only really survive

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 39

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

with a connection like that; where the connection to the community is hands-on.” Huia and Margaret believe Pūtiki church is relevant to all New Zealanders. It’s among the most highly ornamented churches in New Zealand, for starters, says Huia, and it is one of only a few churches associated with the Māori arts and crafts revival kickstarted by Sir Āpirana Ngata in 1927. “Almost every element of the interior reflects something of the customary Māori art form,” she says. “Walk inside and you’ll see everything from geometric-patterned tukutuku panels that line the upper walls and roof trusses to the ceiling painted with kōwhaiwhai designs representing Whanganui bush flora.” But it also tells an important story, she says, about the arrival of the Anglican faith in New Zealand. Built in 1937, the church was the fifth to serve the people of the Pūtiki Mission Station, an early Christian mission established in 1840 on land that had been gifted by local rangatira. As such, adds Huia, the modest neoGothic building designed and built by Arthur J Cutler is a symbol of the church’s enduring legacy at Pūtiki.

40 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

1 Trust secretary Margaret

Tauri (left) and church trustee Huia Kirk. IMAGE: MARK BRIMBLECOMBE 2 Interior restoration

lead volunteer Te Ariki Karamaene works on a ceiling kōwhaiwhai panel in Pūtiki church. 3 Te Ariki Karamaene

repairs kōwhaiwhai in the church hall. 4 Restored tukutuku panels

in Pūtiki church. IMAGERY: GAIL IMHOFF

According to a Heritage New Zealand report by Blyss Wagstaff, St Paul’s Memorial Church also reflects a uniquely Māori take on Christianity. Published in 2019, the report says that the Māori community “imbued the very fabric of the building and its contents with their culture, traditions, artistry and memories”. And it’s this rich combination of factors that makes this church one of New Zealand’s most important historic churches. So, when can people visit Te Anaua Street in Pūtiki and see it for themselves? “People can sign up for a guided tour at Whanganui’s i-SITE visitor centre in town or they can drop in on a Sunday morning,” says Huia. “The doors are open every Sunday at 9am. Attend a service with us, then come next door to the parish hall for a cup of tea and a biscuit. “We’re a pretty good bunch, with a pretty good sense of humour and way about us,” she adds. “That way, you’ll see our special country church with people in it, enjoying it. “You’ll see it as it really is.”

Heritage New Zealand

harakeke: flax kākaho: toetoe shoot karakia: prayer kiekie: vine kōauau: small flute kōwhaiwhai: painted geometric swirls pīngao: sand-binding grass rangatira: chiefs raranga: hand-plaiting technique tikanga: cultural protocol tukutuku: woven latticework

whakairo: carvings whakapapa: genealogy whare karakia: churches wharenui: meeting houses

THE VISION OF SIR APIRANA NGATA COMES TO PUTIKI The St Paul’s Memorial Church and Parish Hall communities in Pūtiki can thank Sir Āpirana Ngata for the stunning buildings that occupy their township. The interior decoration of both buildings reflects the vision of the Māori leader, politician and scholar who wanted to revive Māori decorative arts, such as fine finger weaving and traditional carving, to improve the social and economic wellbeing of Māori. In 1927 Sir Āpirana opened the School of Māori Arts and Crafts in Rotorua and commissioned its students to decorate approximately 50 buildings throughout New Zealand, including wharenui and whare karakia. Many significant artists worked on St Paul’s, including nationally renowned master carver Pineamine Taiapa, who directed the whakairo carvers. These included Hoani (John) Metekingi from Pūtiki, who carved the church’s memorial font and baptistery canopy. Years later, in 1972, Dr Cliff Whiting, Māori artist and Whanganui district advisor on Māori arts and crafts, drew on the vision of Sir Āpirana to decorate the Pūtiki Parish Hall, applying traditional Māori artforms to the hall’s walls and simultaneously giving those same artforms a modern twist. n RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 41

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD KŌPIKOTANGA • DOMESTIC TRAVEL

Backed by a local street map, this photograph of a 1940s fire engine used by the Waikanae Volunteer Fire Brigade was part of a display at the Kāpiti Coast Museum in the 1990s.

42 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Heritage New Zealand

WALK ON

Writer Kay Blundell takes a journey down heritage- rich Elizabeth Street in Waikanae, exploring its most interesting heritage sites and uncovering stories from her own neighbourhood along the way

WORDS: KAY BLUNDELL • IMAGERY: BRAD BONIFACE

Kāpiti Coast has one of the highest growth rates in the country, with new subdivisions exploding across farmland, swampland and once sleepy beachside holiday settlements that previously supported many Māori villages. Amid all this ‘newness’, however, there is significant heritage, for example in the buildings in central Waikanae’s Elizabeth Street that I drive past several times a day. Although I had some knowledge of their historical significance, I have found that exploring their back stories has given me a greater understanding of how Māori and Pākehā worked together to develop the town during colonial times. My exploration starts on the corner of Elizabeth Street and the former State Highway 1. Waikanae’s smart railway station, painted bright green and white, was opened in 2011. A plaque on the platform describes its history.

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 43

PAPA PĀNUI DOMESTIC TRAVEL • NOTICEBOARD 1 The railway line at the

entrance to Elizabeth Street was opened in 1886. 2 St Luke’s Anglican Church

was relocated to Elizabeth Street by bullock wagon in 1898. 3 Parishioners embroidered

colourful cushions for the church. 4 Native timber captures

the building’s rich colonial history. 5 Kāpiti Coast Museum,

founded in 1984, began life in 1906 as the Waikanae Post Office. 6 A large whaling pot from

Kāpiti Island. 7 Historical photographs and

household bric-a-brac dating back to colonial times. 8 Musical memorabilia and

historical telephony and communication equipment.

“I just love the fact there is so much story behind it. It’s not just a church

In 1884 officials from the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company met with local Ngāti Toa/Te Ātiawa chief Wiremu Te Kākākura Parata, also known as Wi Parata, and other Māori to negotiate the passage of the railway through the district. Wi Parata said it would bring “great good to our people” and agreed to give the land for the right-of-way on the condition that all trains stopped at Waikanae. The Wellington-Manawatu railway line between Wellington and Longburn, near Palmerston North, was opened in 1886. As settlers clustered around the new transport link, the village became known as Parata Township. In 1908 the private railway was sold to the government. Deregulation in the 1980s resulted in the closure of the

44 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

station, but it was reopened in 1991 when New Zealand Rail introduced the weekday Capital Connection service between Wellington and Palmerston North. In 2004 the Greater Wellington Regional Council announced that the electrification of the Wellington suburban rail network would be extended from Paraparaumu to Waikanae. A new station was subsequently built in Waikanae and opened in 2011. Crossing the railway lines into Elizabeth Street, the first building you come to is historic St Luke’s Anglican Church. According to a plaque outside the church, Wi Parata, who donated the land, built it in 1877 on the Tuku Rākau marae, about halfway to the beach. As settlers moved inland he instigated its relocation by bullock wagon to its present site in 1898.

9 A copper-plate print

depicts Kahe Te Rauo-te-rangi, who swam from Kāpiti Island to the mainland in 1826, with a child strapped on her back, to warn her tribe about a war party’s arrival. 10 A large bust of Wi Parata

overlooks the Parata urupā next to St Luke’s Church. 11 A stained-glass window in

St Luke’s Church features Wi Parata and Octavius Hadfield standing alongside St Luke.

Heritage New Zealand

Upon entering the church, my first impression is of the warm glow emanating from the native timbers, carved oak prayer bench and stained-glass window, capturing the essence of its colonial history. The memorial window, designed and manufactured in England, depicts colonial missionary Octavius Hadfield, Wi Parata and St Luke the Evangelist. The depiction of Hadfield and Parata together is interesting because in 1877 Wi Parata took Hadfield and the church to court over a gift of land that was not used as a school as intended. The far-reaching case, Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington, was lost, however, when the Treaty of Waitangi was ruled a “simple nullity” by Chief Justice Sir James Prendergast. Parish manager Hazel Nugent describes what she loves about the historic church. “I just love the fact there is so much story behind it. It’s not just a church building; it is steeped in local history. When I came you could smell the wood – there is just something about it,” she says. The building has been extended over the years to be twice its original footprint and now incorporates a hall. A large bust of Wi Parata looks out over the 50 or so headstones that stand in the urupā of the Parata whānau on the northern side of the church. Some of the graves date back to the 1800s and many headstones bear the surnames Parata, Barrett, Higgott and Ropata. One of the most recent headstones honours a direct descendant of Kākākura Parata, long-time Kāpiti Island resident and local character Fredrick Haumia Leo (Boysie) Barrett, who died in 2019. The next historic building up Elizabeth Street is the brightly painted Category 2 Kāpiti Coast Museum, which began life as the Waikanae Post Office in 1906. Housed in a wooden Edwardian building with doublehung windows, the museum was founded in 1984 by a group of radio enthusiasts. It now contains a large collection of artefacts dating back to 1840, including treasures from the local pioneers, early photographs, clothing, tools, music, telephony and New Zealand

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 45

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

military memorabilia. Static displays include a 1930s New Zealand kitchen. One of the first objects to catch the eye is a large whaling pot from Kāpiti Island dating back about 150 years. “It’s wonderful working with artefacts,” enthuses Museum Management Committee Deputy Chair Norma McCallum. “I see artefacts and also the people behind them – the woman who made bread in that bowl, the man who used that phone, the guys who collected radios. I walk around and feel they are there.” One of her favourite exhibits is a photograph of a painting of a young Māori woman, Kahe Te Rau-o-terangi, who swam 11.2 kilometres from Kāpiti Island to the mainland in 1826, with a child strapped on her back, to raise the alarm when Ngāti Toa were attacked by a war party. “She was a woman of great mana, who later signed the Treaty of Waitangi,” says Norma. Leaving the quaint cottage and heading up the road, I come to a small brick garage painted white with ‘1923’ emblazoned on the façade. The plaque outside states it was originally Priddey’s Bicycle Shop, owned by Mr Priddey. The garage was developed behind the bicycle showroom, with the building also being used to run a taxi business and tearooms.

46 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Bruce Lawrie now leases the building, running Lawrie Motors. The owner of a 1937 Chrysler and a member of Steam Incorporated, Paekakariki, Bruce values the history of the building. “I work on a lot of modern cars with modern gear but also have a lot of old tools and work on old vehicles.” Some of the machinery dates back more than 60 years, including a 1940s valve-refacing machine, used to grind valves in the motors of old vehicles such as

1 Bruce Lawrie treasures his

collection of mechanical tools and equipment. 2 Eastside Foodmarket

opened as a post office and general store in 1894. 3 Eastside Foodmarket

owner Vinesh Veeran, with son Dhruv, says many people share memories of the store.

Heritage New Zealand

WI PARATA: MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT It was during the 1860s that Wiremu Te Kākākura Parata became involved in politics, and in 1871 he was elected to Parliament as the member for Western Māori – a seat he held for two terms. On 4 December 1872 he was appointed to the Executive Council; Parata and Wi Katene (appointed a month earlier) were the first Māori to hold this position. n SOURCE: WWW.TEARA.GOVT.NZ/EN/BIOGRAPHIES/2P5/PARATAWIREMU-TE-KAKAKURA

A TOMO MARRIAGE

Morris Minors and once a standard piece of equipment in mechanics’ workshops. “I am loath to chuck some of this old stuff out – once it’s gone, it’s gone,” he says. Across the road is Eastside Foodmarket, which opened as a post office and general store in 1894. It offered postal services until 1907 and later incorporated a lending library, drapery and groceries. Vinesh Veeran now owns the dairy and neighbouring café. A brightly coloured mural on the eastern exterior wall of the store features grocery brand labels from yesteryear, including Rinso, Reckitt’s and Bell Tea. “People have their wedding photos taken in front of it. Both buildings are historic. It means a lot to me.

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Queenie Rikihana, of Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, has close relatives buried in the Parata urupā and describes how her parents’ tomo, or arranged marriage, came about. She says her mother, a shy young woman from Waikanae, went to a funeral in Ōtaki. Queenie’s mother and grandmother sat on one side of the room and her grandmother urged her daughter to go and sit next to a handsome young man sitting on the other side of the room. “The whole tribe watched. Two days later, in the dead of night, a black taxi left Ōtaki with seven men and nine bottles of whisky on board to meet Mum’s family in Waikanae and the deal was done,” she recalls. Queenie, whose father was a member of the Korokī hapū of Ōtaki iwi Ngāti Raukawa, says there were many arranged marriages at that time, which helped to heal rifts between tribes. n

“A lot of people come to see the store – some knew it 50 to 60 years ago. There are a lot of memories. We have had earthquakes, but the building is still standing.” One plaque just east of the store catches my eye before I leave the street: a photo of a small corrugated-iron shed called ‘Bank/Bootmaker/Hairdresser’. This was the smallest bank in the country when it opened as a Bank of New Zealand in 1907, measuring 1.98 metres by 2.43 metres. It was also a men’s hairdresser, a bootmaker and repair shop, and was used for a dressmaking business. As I return home, I marvel at the wealth of history on my doorstep and realise just how important it is to preserve the rapidly growing town’s rich history.

RETURN TO CONTENTS

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 47

PAPA PĀNUII •TE HAERENGA NOTICEBOARD AO • INTERNATIONAL

ACROSS THE

water

On a journey to a further understanding of te ao Māori, archaeologist Brigid Gallagher travelled to the Society Islands to explore some of its marae, including the great Taputapuātea on the island of Ra’iātea – regarded by many as the homeland of Māori WORDS: BRIGID GALLAGHER

Ka mua, ka muri – walking backwards to the future. Any archaeologist would probably agree this wellknown whakataukī aptly sums up our working lives. We study the physical world of people and places that went before, in a modern-day environment. Every day at work as an archaeologist I look back to look forward. Researching the past, excavating the land, talking to the people, protecting for the future. With hope. In Bay of Plenty where I mainly work, development is happening at unprecedented rates, with huge tracts of land and past cultural landscapes destroyed under the pressure for new housing. With each cut of the whenua, the sheer intensity with which Māori used these fertile lands is evident: large, expansive archaeological landscapes with whole areas of rua, whare, taonga and kōiwi. Yet apart from maunga and terraced pā, most of these lie silent. I am not tangata whenua. I am a Pākehā female, with no whakapapa to this land, but I have been brought up to respect the stories of the places from which the early voyagers came. And after nearly eight years of virtually back-to-back archaeological investigations, a whole lot of questions about te ao Māori are swirling in my mind – all of them influenced by what archaeology has unearthed. Who were Māori prior to colonisation? What was life like before Christianity arrived, and how did it change traditions? Did Māori bring a template in their minds of the process of setting up new marae? And before they

48 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

Heritage New Zealand

1 View of the reef around

Moorea on the flight from Ra’iātea across Moorea to Tahiti-Nui. IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM 2 On the water taxi from

Ra’iātea’s capital, Uturoa, to Taha’a, with Ra’iātea’s rocky interior behind. 3 The transport hub of

Uturoa, with Taha’a in the background. IMAGERY: SUPPLIED

set off on the long voyage to Aotearoa, would Māori have recognised the archaeology I am digging up today? Last September the universe aligned to help me explore these questions further. When our elder daughter was offered a chance to spend a week at a school in the Society Islands town of Taravao – located where Tahiti-Nui (big) becomes Tahiti-Iti (small) – I, my partner Raysan and our nine-year-old daughter decided to fly out with her to Pape’ete, Tahiti. We had no idea what to expect – cocktails and overthe-water bungalows or what we had actually come to find: evidence of a society from which Māori originated. We took the opportunity to take the 45-minute flight to Ra’iātea, the island that many regard as the homeland of Māori. Home of the great marae Taputapuātea; the school of traditional ocean navigators and tohunga; the place where James Cook met Tupaia, who guided him across the Pacific using traditional voyaging techniques; and, for some Māori, the final resting place of a person’s soul after the long voyage to Te Rerenga Wairua/Cape Reinga and back across the oceans to Hawaiki. We arrived in Ra’iātea’s capital, Uturoa – a 15-squarekilometre port town in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The capital sits on a shared lagoon with the motu Taha’a just a 20-minute taxi-boat ride away. The resort island of Bora Bora is in easy view past Taha’a, and the low-lying Huahine sits due east. During our time here, all four of these islands were referenced as significant departure points for waka known in New Zealand; just up the road, for example, is the Tainuu marae, with one of the oldest ahu on the island. Flying in, we could see the wharf area buzzing with small craft and outriggers – the local equivalent of a central bus station. These islands were meant to be

Heritage New Zealand

seen and accessed from the water and we discovered the joy of travelling by outrigger between Ra’iātea and Taha’a on our last morning, instantly connecting the construction of the craft with waka. I now realise how important the reef is to these islands, and what an adjustment Māori needed to make to the more open marine environment of Aotearoa – adapting fishing lures and looking for protected places to make their first settlements. They surely would have found little comfort in the weather. In our time in the Societies the temperature

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 49

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

ahu: ceremonial platforms kōiwi: human remains kōrero: talk maunga: mountains motu: island rua: crop storage pits tangata whenua: a person/people of the land taonga: artefacts te ao Māori: the Māori world tohunga: experts/priests whakapapa: family ties whakataukī: proverb whare: buildings and homes whenua: land

50 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

did not drop below 30°C, and I realise now how cold Māori must have felt. Through return voyaging it would have become clear that things such as pure coconut oil were redundant in Aotearoa; by the time it arrived, it would have been a solid block. Mine still is. But visiting Taputapuātea marae was the real goal of this trip. And there is something special about it, something intangible. Taputapuātea, which opens straight onto the sea, incorporates huge slabs of coral that stand upright, creating a sea wall around the perimeter of the marae. But what struck me immediately was that the predominant building material was volcanic stone. This is markedly different from marae structures in Bay of Plenty, which were built primarily from earth and wood, but is not so different from the cultural complex at Ihumātao next to Auckland Airport and cultivation mounds found north of Auckland. The use of volcanic stone to create ahu, floors, benches for offerings, stone back rests, and raised gardens and planting mounds is constant in the Society Islands. Taputapuātea was situated on the tip of an underground volcano, so stone was a readily available material. Volcanic stone was also available in New Zealand, but the abundance of large hardwood trees may have brought about a change in materials’ use. Taputapuātea, like other marae we visited on our trip to Ra’iātea, Taha’a, Moorea and Tahiti, was built

using volcanic stone and river cobbles to create not just simple rectangular ahu as focal points; Mahaiatea marae on Tahiti, for example, was formed as a stepped pyramid, measured by James Cook as being 79 metres long at the base and 13 metres high, although it now exists as a very large pile of rubble. I couldn’t help but think of the great terraced pā of New Zealand’s Papamoa hills and Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill). But as far as we can tell using archaeological methods, Māori did not build terraced hillside pā until between 200 and 300 years after leaving the Societies. Another marae, Arahurahu on Tahiti, is impressive as a reconstructed ahu, but unlike pā in New Zealand it functioned as a ceremonial complex. While at Taputapuātea we had the good fortune to meet Jacques, an English-speaking historian who works there, and who explained that the marae we see today is in its later form. It ultimately became a seat of royalty on the island, but the site has a long history and has had many phases of development, much like we find on New Zealand marae sites today, and it is difficult to know when changes happened. An archaeological team undertaking restoration work was on site the day we visited. Unfortunately the site archaeologist was at lunch during the visit, but I spoke with the tangata whenua working with

Heritage New Zealand

1 A stone platform at

Taputapuātea marae. IMAGE: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM 2 Tallulah (9), Brigid and

English-speaking historian and guide Jacques at Taputapuātea. 3 Archaeological restoration

work in front of the main ahu at Taputapuātea. 4 The large coral slabs

along the boundary of Taputapuātea and the water. IMAGERY: SUPPLIED 5 One of the oldest ahu on

Ra’iātea is at Tainuu marae. IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

him. Although there was a language barrier – my French isn’t so good – it was clear that as they restore the platforms, older archaeology is often discovered, as had happened that day. We spent about an hour with Jacques. He apologised for his French name, explaining that one of his greatest concerns is the lack of Tahitian being spoken across the islands and he predicted its loss unless this is rectified. His passion for re-establishing long-term cultural connections across the Pacific was evident. He spoke of the effects of colonisation on communities, the subjugation of the local Tahitian culture over time, and the resurgence he desired. As in New Zealand, so many archaeological and other places of past cultural importance have been abandoned and forgotten, left isolated or just not been needed. People’s lives have moved away from the country and into urban spaces. When I asked Jacques where the people once lived, he waved towards the rampant lush hillsides – away from the marae, further up the hill, where nobody goes anymore.

In Moorea we went into the hills to look at some of these everyday living spaces. Clustered together are the remains of ahu, gardens and fare (whare), positioned on either side of small streams flowing down the mountains. While the ancestors would have lived in the domain of the gods, high up on the cloud-covered peak, you and I would have lived here in its shadow. It seemed an apt end to our trip that at the last marae we visited we found a summary of archaeological work by Professor Roger Green. He was one of my teachers at the University of Auckland when I started this journey of learning about te ao Māori as a 19-year-old. Also walking about the sites that day were Wayne Morgan of Whakatāne and his wife. We stopped to kōrero and I asked him why they had gone there. He was on a journey, he said, to see the places he had heard so much about; where the Mataatua waka had come from, and to walk in the footsteps of his ancestors. Mā mua ka kite a muri; mā muri ka ora a mua – those who lead give sight to those who follow; those behind give life to those ahead. RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 51

PAPAPUKAPUKA NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD • BOOKS

WORDS: M A RI A N NE T R E MA I N E

History creates pictures Using words and illustrations to convey the emotional power of historical events The enormity of what the captain of HMS Endurance, Frank Worsley, faced as leader of a trans-Antarctic expedition is evident in Ice Breaker! An Epic Antarctic Adventure, written by Maria Gill and illustrated by Alistair Hughes (New Holland, $29.99). This illustrated children’s book takes its readers along with Frank into what seem like impossible situations with no escape. At first, ice floes bar the ship’s passage, then it is stuck in ice and drifts for nine months. Finally, ice crushes and wrecks the ship and Frank navigates his men through the ice floes in three lifeboats to enable their survival. The words create vivid pictures and the map of the Endurance’s journey at the back of the book

52 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

shows the route taken by Frank and his men during two years of sailing. This book is ideal for readers who love adventure, with exciting insights into Antarctica’s challenges and the determination needed by its explorers.

The General and the Nightingale: Dan Davin’s War Stories, edited by Janet Wilson (Otago University Press, $45), shows examples of a different type of courage – the courage needed to endure boredom, danger, extreme discomfort and loss. The stories provide an understanding of the psychological damage of war, when people who endure extreme danger must also adapt to boredom and routine

on the front line, and the difficulty of communicating with those at home who think their loved ones should find safe and cushy spots to sit out the rest of the war. The everyday reality of war is made easy to grasp because the stories draw readers in to the experiences of the soldiers as they are happening: the fear, the discomfort, the stress, the boredom. Because the stories deal with the specific experiences of individuals, readers identify with them. You feel for the sergeant in ‘East is West’. He is trying to write a letter to a mother whose son has died on the battlefield and, after several attempts, gets no further than ‘Dear Mrs Curtis’ after three days. In the same story, four soldiers attempt to drive through the dark to join other New Zealand troops, without knowing east from west or whether they are driving away from or towards the Germans. Suddenly they hit a mine, which destroys the legs of the captain. He has been asserting himself by sneering at and contradicting the three of lower rank in the van. As he dies, the captain cries like a baby, calls out for his mother and begs one of

the men to shoot him. The atmosphere in the van is tangible. The reader is there in the dark in the van, sees the men and feels their feelings. All the war stories in this book are simple in words but powerful in meaning. They show you, rather than tell you, what is happening. Because the characters and situations in Dan Davin’s stories are so easy to identify with, they give a better understanding of a soldier’s experiences in war than many other war stories.

In comparison, Down a Country Road II: More Stories from New Zealand’s Back Country, by Tony Orman (New Holland, $34.99), deals with different types of pictures. This is a rural life full of fascinating characters; I was struck by Whacka Anderson’s eccentric hospitality, including the grubby coffee mug he gives his visitor, and the hens on the kitchen table, which is encrusted with their droppings. These are great stories of places, people and a way of life that could have been lost and forgotten without the writer’s efforts to preserve them.

By examining the information to be gained from archaeology,

Heritage New Zealand

GIVEAWAY

Pākehā Settlements in a Māori World: New Zealand Archaeology 1769-1860, by Ian Smith (Bridget Williams Books, $59.99), takes us back to a time in New Zealand when Pākehā were a minority amongst Māori. An Honorary Associate Professor in the archaeology programme at the University of Otago, Ian made a huge contribution to New Zealand archaeology over four decades, and pioneered the teaching of historical archaeology in New Zealand. This book, published shortly before his death in January of this year following a long illness, is a culmination of his life’s work and is widely acknowledged for the considerable contribution it makes to our understanding of early Pākehā life. In the book Ian looks at objects such as Māori fishing gear, buttons, assorted artefacts and the remains of clothing as a way of further explaining history, and shows readers how much more can be learned about the past by exploring information that still exists in the present.

In The Hunters: The Precarious Lives of New Zealand’s Birds Of Prey, by Debbie Stewart (Penguin, Random House, $50),

Heritage New Zealand

Debbie communicates her love and admiration for these magnificent birds and gives readers an amazing amount of information about them. Her explanation of the way birds of prey function is so compelling, it is easy to feel respect and awe for them as inhabitants of our world. Watching a hawk in flight is always breathtaking, and it is fascinating to learn how the hawk’s tail feathers work in flight and to realise that, unlike other birds, its eyes are not on the side of its head but on the front, as with humans. This book is gripping reading that brings these birds, usually only sighted in the distance, much closer to us.

Kauri: Witness to a Nation’s History, by Joanna Orwin (New Holland, $45), is a second edition that Joanna was persuaded to write because of the current threats to these inspiring trees. Kauri are seen as symbols of strength, power and endurance and because of their longevity appear almost indestructible; however, recent threats posed by subdivision and land development, along with the mysterious but fatal and fast-spreading kauri dieback

disease, have exposed their fragility. Reading this book reminds you how much the environment has changed for kauri and makes you wonder what the forests of northern New Zealand would be like if there were to be a future without these magnificent trees.

In Birdstories: A History of the Birds of New Zealand (Potton & Burton, $59.99), Geoff Norman provides the full story of New Zealand bird species, including photographs, cartoons, paintings of Māori rock art and clear, user-friendly tables and figures linking sources of information. The stories of why particular species have developed in the way they have are written in a completely absorbing way. Geoff has the rare gift of not only being an expert bird enthusiast but also being able to communicate and share that enthusiasm with others. His writing style is so comfortable and conversational it makes you want to keep reading. Geoff includes all the tidbits of information about species that even non-experts are likely to know and builds on these to create a fascinating story. He includes some disconcerting figures and

We have one copy of Pākehā Settlements in a Māori World: New Zealand Archaeology 1769-1860 to give away. To enter the draw, send your name and address on the back of an envelope to Book Giveaways, Heritage New Zealand, PO Box 2629, Wellington 6140, before 20 July 2020. The winner of last issue’s book giveaway (Leading the Way: 100 Years of the Tararua Tramping Club) was Marlene Anderson of Masterton.

statistics about conservation issues but deals with successes and conservation champions as well. At the same time as he helps readers to confront the reality of past damage done, Geoff shows us how much there is still to treasure about our country’s birds. Anyone with an interest in the natural world will be captivated by this book.

Books are chosen for review in Heritage New Zealand magazine at the discretion of the Books Editor. Due to the volume of books received, we cannot guarantee the timing of any reviews that appear and we are unable to return any copies submitted for review. Ngā mihi. RETURN TO CONTENTS

Hōtoke • Winter 2020 53

PAPA Ō tātou PĀNUI wāhi ingoa-nui, • NOTICEBOARD taku kitenga • Our heritage, my vision

DELIVERING

DEEPER Historian and academic Damon Salesa explains to Caitlin Sykes why critical and ethical thinking is crucial to ensuring Aotearoa New Zealand preserves an inclusive heritage IMAGE: MARCEL TROMP

54 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

There’s a wonderful geographer, Doreen Massey, who describes ‘places’ as ‘where stories come together’, and the heritage places that I particularly value cluster in places of significance for me – Auckland, Northland and, of course, the Pacific, especially Samoa. In Auckland, I think the places that tell the most about our heritage are our maunga. The nature of heritage preservation is to gravitate towards the built environment, particularly sites built for those with privilege, but when I think of the really powerful things that make us distinctive as a city, a large part of that is invested in those maunga. In New Zealand, the most special place for me is Waitangi. Few places have such a sense of grandeur about where a nation begins, and when we celebrate on 6 February it’s New Zealand at its best. It’s a festival of bicultural New Zealand, and part of that has to be about contestation – this is a really healthy thing to have. Also incredibly spectacular and significant is Te Rerenga Wairua/Cape Reinga. Across the Pacific there are many places like this, where spirits depart to ancestral homelands. The place in Samoa where this happens is called Falealupo. Falealupo is a special place in Samoa to me because it’s where my father is from, and because it’s a place that connects Samoa to the rest of its deeper history. The ancestors in their wisdom knew that places like these are all we have, essentially – and not just for a little while. That understanding of kaitiakitanga is connected to a sense of place and also to an understanding that our children will be here, and our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren and so on.

kaitiakitanga: guardianship maunga: mountains

In terms of how we preserve these places, I think of heritage sites like an archive, but an archive of places – and like an archive, admission into the archive is controlled by certain interests. And what we have within an archive is what we inherited from people whose values and priorities are different from our own. The danger is that those places left outside of heritage archives are incredibly vulnerable – and I know that some of those within them are also vulnerable; so many of them have disappeared. And ultimately that means that the people connected to those places have not had their histories and places preserved. I think we should be completely rethinking the way we’ve archived, which means not only including a bit of diversity but also understanding and being quite critical about the terms of our inclusion. Compulsory teaching of New Zealand history [from 2022] is opening the door to the deeper and better knowledge needed to help make that happen, but we also need the resourcing to deliver that better and deeper knowledge. What we need now are quality histories that encourage critical thinking and awareness, as well as the knowledge that will make our young people powerful and ethical citizens. Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa is Associate Professor of Pacific Studies and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Pacific) at the University of Auckland. RETURN TO CONTENTS

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PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

Consider leaving a gift that will last forever

A gift in your will could provide a lasting legacy for our nation’s heritage and help preserve our history for future generations.

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE? Contact Brendon Veale for further details.

0800 802 010 • bveale@heritage.org.nz PO Box 2629, Wellington, 6140 • www.heritage.org.nz

NATIONAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION INCENTIVE FUND

This Fund encourages conservation of privately owned heritage places recognised on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Priority is given to heritage of national significance where conservation work is planned and could be improved through extra funding. Priorities for funding 2020 n

conservation and preservation of sites of significance to Māori

conservation and preservation of sites that support regional economic development

conservation work to increase resilience of heritage places against climate change impacts including site stabilisation.

Grant applications close 26 June 2020

For more information and an application form

www.heritage.org.nz

56 Hōtoke • Winter 2020

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Heritage New Zealand magazine, Hōtoke Winter 2020 issue

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