Heritage New Zealand magazine, Hōtoke Winter 2021

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PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Issue 161 Hōtoke • Winter 2021 NZ $9.95 incl.GST

PRESENT CORRECT Gifting family treasures

HEAD AND HEART

Future-proofing an historic home

NEW YEAR RISING

Marking Matariki

BACK IN BALANCE

Bringing heritage to life at a hapū-led cultural centre

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Hōtoke • Winter 2021 1

WINTER HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD

Bloom Blunt Umbrella

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NGĀ KŌRERO O ROTO • CONTENTS

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 Features

Explore the list

12 To give, to receive

8 Edge of heaven

Dr James Ng has spent a lifetime giving voice to the stories of Chinese New Zealanders

A heritage haven for art and culture lovers in Auckland’s Titirangi Village

16 Back in balance

10 On the ball

A hapū-led cultural centre is bringing heritage to life at a nationally significant site

There’s a new chapter in the story of Port Chalmers’ flagstaff

20 A place in the heart

Journeys into the past

A much-loved historic home in Auckland’s Mt Eden is shifting into public hands

24 A new understanding Mātauranga Māori, archaeology and science are shedding fresh light on wetland pā

30 Sweet celebrations Celebrating Matariki at Te Parapara in Kirikiriroa-Hamilton

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42 Shining bright A journey embracing the wonders and stories of Māori astronomy

48 The heat is on

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Why effective fire protection for heritage sites is now more important than ever

36 Truly gifted

Columns

How treasures gifted by families are helping to tell richer heritage stories

3 Editorial 4 Noticeboard

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52 Books Stories that show how life and work can be linked to art

54 Our heritage, my vision A vibrant city is one that holds on to its heritage – but gets on with things too

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.

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42 Hōtoke • Winter 2021 1

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

Good changes are coming to membership From July, we’ll be rolling out a much simpler renewal by email (with no lengthy form-filling).

If you’ve provided us with your email address, then you’re all set! You need do nothing more – simply wait for your renewal email, which will include instructions on how to renew.

If we don’t have your email details, you’ll continue to get a mailed renewal with some new payment options as some methods are no longer available with banks.

So, if you have paid your membership dues in the past via:

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You can now pay by:

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CREDIT CARD OVER THE PHONE

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(WITH EITHER A CREDIT CARD OR BY BANK TRANSFER)

These all offer a ‘set and forget’ method that will make your renewal nice and straightforward.

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We’re here to help make your membership simple and enjoyable.

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.

Mr David and Mrs Hilary Bott Ms C M Hubbard & Ms P Hubbar Ms Esther Glass & Mr Ken Tunnicliffe Mr Lloyd and Mrs Anne Brady Mr Dennis and mrs Maree Mills Mr Andrew and Mrs Amanda Nicoll Joe Hollander 2Mr Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Mr Dan and Mrs Tessa Williams Mrs Vivien Ward Mrs Jennifer Scanlan Mr Paul and Mrs Isabel White Mr Kevin and Mrs Maureen Sceats Mr Wade and Mrs Prem Armstrong Wyatt Creech & Danny Creech

Dr Colin Patrick & Mr Bryan Gibbison Mr Darryl and Mrs Katrina King Mr Robert and Mrs Susan Geck Mrs Rachel and Mr Gilles England Dr Paul Drury & Dr Susan Rudge Mr Andy and Mrs Sarah Bloomer Mrs Shirley Blackie

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HE WHAKAARO NĀ TE ĒTITA • EDITORIAL g

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PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Issue 161 Hōtoke • Winter 2021 NZ $9.95 incl.GST

PRESENT CORRECT Gifting family treasures

HEAD AND HEART

Future-proofing an historic home

NEW YEAR RISING

Marking Matariki

BACK IN BALANCE

Bringing heritage to life at a hapū-led cultural centre

Heritage Issue 161 Hōtoke • Winter 2021 ISSN 1175-9615 (Print) ISSN 2253-5330 (Online) Cover image: John King’s pocket watch

by Jess Burges

Editor Caitlin Sykes, Sugar Bag Publishing Sub-editor Trish Heketa, Sugar Bag Publishing Art director Amanda Trayes, Sugar Bag Publishing Publisher Heritage New Zealand magazine is published quarterly by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. The magazine had a circulation of 10,485 as at 30 September 2020.

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 Pouhere Taonga, 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.

Giving back ‘A labour of love’ is one of those phrases you often see in stories about heritage. Anyone who has ever undertaken any type of home renovation knows that it always costs more and takes longer than anticipated. But in heritage projects – involving older materials and workmanship, layers of research and added levels of sensitivity and regulation – these tensions often seem exacerbated.

There are some wonderful examples of labours of love in this issue. One that particularly struck me is in Claire McCall’s profile on Otago-based doctor and historian James Ng (page 12).

James’s dedication to seeking out and giving voice to the many stories of Chinese New Zealanders is epitomised in his fourvolume work Windows on a Chinese Past.

Claire’s story describes how, between 1986 and 1999 and with the support of his wife and an assistant in his practice, James spent every spare moment researching and writing the work. While his publisher, George Griffiths, became a lifelong friend, when the final manuscript swelled to 400 pages, George threatened to tear it up.

Says James: “By 600 pages, George said plaintively, ‘We can’t bind any more of the heavy-duty papers; it will split.’ So I stopped.”

Then there’s the story of the Normans’ many decades of love and care for Coldicutt House, featured in Lydia Monin’s story on what is potentially one of the country’s oldest surviving stone houses (page 20).

Averil Norman describes how she was drawn by an unseen hand to the house in Auckland’s Mt Eden: “I never had the intention of buying it. I honestly couldn’t afford it – it was a hefty price – [but] I think it was meant to be. I was chosen to look after it.”

Averil and her husband Warwick subsequently oversaw repairs that, although time-consuming and expensive, were carried out by craftsmen who loved the work.

What makes the story of their labour of love more poignant is that, after 35 years of caring for the house, the couple has essentially gifted half of the property’s value in an arrangement with the New Zealand Heritage Trust that will see it eventually consigned to the care of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

For Averil, notes the story, “it’s the culmination of a passion project that’s lasted half a lifetime”. She says: “It’s been 35 years of work and a lot of angst … it was a big responsibility, but I knew from the start it was special and had to be cared for.”

The sense that, while their heritage journey hasn’t always been easy, it has been enriching is very much echoed in James’s story.

James’s significant contributions to heritage preservation include purchasing the Lawrence Chinese Camp in 2004 and helming a trust formed to restore the hotel and the main joss house (temple) at the Category 1 historic place.

But as the story outlines, such experiences have proved fulfilling. It notes how, when James occasionally preached in the Dunedin Chinese Presbyterian Church, at times he would draw his listeners’ attention to the gesture of gifting – the image of hands and arms outstretched.

“The gesture of giving is the same as that for receiving,” he points out in the piece.

“In my experience, though, I have received far more in return than I have given.”

Ngā mihi nui Caitlin Sykes

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

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PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD MEMBER AND SUPPORTER UPDATE

... WITH BRENDON VEALE Simplifying your membership experience In the past two editions of Heritage New Zealand magazine, we’ve advised you of upcoming changes in banking and to your membership.

These changes will provide you with alternative ways to pay your membership fee, and if you have provided us with your email address, you’ll

Ngā Taonga i tēnei marama Heritage this month – subscribe now Keep up to date by subscribing to our free e-newsletter Ngā Taonga i tēnei marama Heritage this month.

Visit www.heritage. org.nz (‘Resources’ section) or email membership@ heritage.org.nz to be included in the email list.

4 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

get a much simpler renewal experience delivered straight to your inbox.

For those of you who've previously paid by cheque, we are now able to accept direct debits. This means we can send you a simple form to complete and your membership will automatically renew each year (we’ll let you know before this happens, of course).

Soon we’ll also be offering the same ease of renewal using credit cards.

This means you can focus less on joining or renewing and more on simply enjoying the benefits that membership brings!

Visit page 2 for more detail on these changes. If you have any questions or feedback, please email membership@ heritage.org.nz or phone 0800 802 010.

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

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.

THREE QUICK QUESTIONS WITH BEC COLLIE (SECOND FROM RIGHT), MARKETING ADVISOR, HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND POUHERE TAONGA

1

Part of your role is thinking up new ways of engaging members with heritage. What are some of the recent initiatives you've enjoyed launching?

Since joining Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga almost two years ago, I’ve been really lucky to work on some amazing projects, including the heritage wallpaper retail range and the Māngungu wallpaper conservation videos.

Both projects get our members a little bit closer to our heritage and, as in the case of the wallpaper collection, enable them to touch and even own a piece of heritage.

I think I’m destined to work on wallpaper throughout my career at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga!

It’s also inspired me to use wallpaper in my own homerestoration project.

2

What are some of the further benefits you're working on that members can look forward to?

Something I’m really excited about is creating heritageinspired travel itineraries that will help our members around the country discover heritage wherever they go. These are immersive heritage experiences that include some of the country’s most well-known heritage destinations, as well as some hidden gems.

I’m also really looking forward to writing more of our ‘10 heritage-inspired things to see and do’ lists, including the best heritage venues with fireplaces to sit beside and enjoy a cup of tea – or a wine if you’re so inclined.

3

What's your favourite heritage destination, and why?

It would have to be Māngungu Mission in Hokianga. Until you go there, I don’t think you can really understand the impact a small place can have on you – and our country. There is just something special about the small house with big significance that draws you in – its importance to Māori and the stories that go along with it are beautiful. I also think it has one of the most spectacular views in the world.

Heritage New Zealand

Places

KIA KAHA TE REO MĀORI

we visit mātauranga knowledge

whakaaro thoughts

Auckland, p8, p20

Kerikeri, p16, p36

Mātauranga Mātauranga means numerous things, including knowledge and knowing. Mātauranga is a compound word and is made up of the two words ‘mātau’ and the suffix ‘-ranga’. Mātau means to be knowledgeable, to be clever, to understand; ‘-ranga’ turns the verb mātau into a noun, meaning the body of knowledge.

Mātauranga Māori is the body of knowledge originating from Māori ancestors, including Māori world views and perspectives, Māori creativity and cultural practices. Mātauranga-a-iwi is knowledge emanating from individual tribes.

Whakaaro Whakaaro means thinking, thoughts, opinions, concepts, ideas, understanding. ‘He aha tō whakaaro?’ means ‘What do you think?’. Whakaaro is also a compound word and is made up of the two parts, ‘whaka’ and ‘aro’. Whaka is a causative prefix; aro means to consider or comprehend.

Hamilton, p24, p30

Takapō, p42

Port Chalmers, p10

Lawrence, p12 Dunedin, p54

BEHIND THE STORY WITH PHOTOGRAPHER MARCEL TROMP You've photographed two heritage places in Auckland for this issue – the heritage precinct around Lopdell House in Titirangi and Coldicutt House in Mt Eden. Had you previously had any connections to either of these places?

I’ve always viewed the Lopdell House precinct as a gem in Titirangi Village, and also, a bit of an anomaly.

Located on an unusual, triangular sloping site, it’s the last tall structure before the bush and then the sea. It’s such an important centre, though, for all the talented artists dwelling in the Waitākere Ranges.

As for Coldicutt House, until I covered this story, I was completely oblivious to its presence – even though I ride my bike past it almost every day.

Heritage New Zealand magazine educates its contributors as well as its readers!

What else did you learn while visiting these places?

I discovered that the two stairwells in Lopdell House

Heritage New Zealand

are sensational and that hidden above the stairwell at Coldicutt House is a small cupboard that once housed a handgun.

Of all the heritage sites you’ve visited, anywhere in the world, which is your favourite?

My favorite heritage place, so far, is in Kanazawa, Japan. It’s Kenrokuen Garden, at the beginning or the end of the day, in spring or in autumn.

Kenrokuen, which means ‘Garden of the Six Sublimities’, satisfies all the senses, with unexpected surprises. It showcases nature's beauty and diversity, with each season transforming the garden and revealing another character. We’d love to visit in winter!

The theory goes that six features must be present to achieve the perfect garden – spaciousness, seclusion, artifice, antiquity, abundant water and broad views – and Kenrokuen is one of the few gardens that has the space to combine them all.

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 5

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD SOCIAL HERITAGE

... WITH BEC COLLIE Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Marketing Advisor We recently sailed into more than 10,000 likes on Facebook – and buoy, were we excited! This means we’re now sharing with more than 10,000 people not only the heritage stories of New Zealand, but also our (shockingly good) puns!

A Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Facebook post in March tapping into America’s Cup madness set sail, reaching more than 26,200 people, and certainly helped nudge us over that 10,000 mark.

Bean Rock Lighthouse in Waitematā Harbour appeared on screens around the world as America’s Cup competitors flew around the course. This Category 1-listed lighthouse, erected on a reef in 1871, is New Zealand’s oldest surviving

timber-built lighthouse and the only remaining wave-washed lighthouse in the country.

February is always an extremely busy time for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga on social media, as we join the country in celebrating Te Rā o Waitangi – Waitangi Day. On this day we open the heritage properties we care for to all New Zealanders for free.

In addition, our properties put on events, activities and their own commemorations, including Māngungu Mission, which recognises on 12 February every year the anniversary of the treaty

signing on the shores of Hokianga Harbour.

Each year we mark Te Rā o Waitangi with a booklet that includes reflections on the ways in which Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga honours the treaty principles. The booklet includes something for all Kiwis and this year you shared our enthusiasm, with more than 14,000 being involved with the post.

Our Facebook friends also enjoyed the first video in a series

on the conservation of wallpaper at Māngungu Mission. The project is working to conserve the layers of wallpaper left behind by previous generations. In the video, our staff members Alex Bell and Mita Harris introduce the project and explain why this small house is of great significance.

This post reached more than 13,700 people, reflecting an interest in heritage conservation and exploring our own heritage as we continue with the ‘new normal’ of life during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A home for the holidays Keeping kids busy during winter school holidays, when it’s cold and wet outside, can pose a challenge for even the most creative of caregivers. So why not embrace the ‘great indoors’ and explore our special heritage places?

A perennial favourite for those living in Auckland (or visiting) is a trip to Highwic in Newmarket, where there are also some great school holiday activities on offer from Wednesdays to Fridays, 11am to 3pm.

Why not try bookbinding? On Wednesdays (14 and 21 July), kids can make their very own books the old-fashioned way, then fill them with sketches of treasures from the house and gardens – or write stories inspired by Highwic.

On Thursdays (15 and 22 July) they can gain hands-on experience with one of the earliest forms of photography – sun prints – using the sun, photographic paper and objects found in the Highwic garden. Or at ‘Stitch in Time Fridays’ (16 and 23 July) children can learn the art of creating samplers, using different stitching techniques to produce stitched pictures.

And a Highwic school holiday favourite – its Coal Range Baking Day – will also be on offer.

Activities run from 11am to 3pm on a drop-in basis, with a small charge for materials. For further details of these and other events and for the date of the baking day, phone Highwic on (09) 524 5729, or visit highwic.co.nz or the Highwic Facebook page @Highwic.

6 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Heritage New Zealand

With daylight hours at their shortest and our weather at its coldest, it’s a time of year when many look to mid-winter Christmas celebrations to brighten their days.

To get you into the spirit, we thought this beautiful image of the Category 1 Old Government Buildings (affectionately known as OGB) in Wellington might help. It was captured in December last year at OGB’s first Ngā Rama Wherikoriko Pō me Te Mākete Kirihimete Night Lights and Christmas Market.

Held over three nights, the event featured stalls run by local makers, and music and other entertainment shared from a natural stage provided by the building’s front steps.

Tamsin Falconer, Heritage Assets Manager for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga in Wellington, says with support from Victoria University of Wellington, whose Faculty of Law is housed at OGB, the property’s front lawn was opened up as a space in which the community could gather.

“We had a group of really high-quality makers at the stalls, and a lovely young guy who was our Santa walking around giving the kids highfives,” says Tamsin.

“People could sit on the grass with their families, watch the entertainment and just enjoy the summer vibe.” www.heritage.org.nz/ places/places-to-visit/ wellington-region/oldgovernment-buildings RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 7

IMAGE: STEPHEN A’COURT FOR HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND POUHERE TAONGA

SOUTHERN LIGHTS

PAPA PĀNUI TE TŪHURATIA • NOTICEBOARD RĀRANGI • EXPLORE THE LIST

In its heyday as a hotel, what’s now known as Lopdell House in Titirangi was once promoted as "a castle on the fringe of heaven".

It’s a depiction of the building, and the precinct in which it sits, that still rings true today: Lopdell House is a tourism destination that’s a special kind of heaven for lovers of art, culture, heritage and history.

As a much-loved community hub, it doesn’t get much better than Lopdell House. While development has ramped up in Titirangi in recent years, locals have rallied to ensure Lopdell House, built in 1930, remains an important part of everyday life.

It features function rooms to hire, including a spectacular rooftop terrace with sweeping views of Manukau Harbour, Waitākere Ranges and the city; the Te Uru Waitākere

Contemporary Gallery; the Upstairs Gallery, which promotes local arts; Titirangi Theatre; and Flicks Titirangi, which screens arthouse and documentary films. It’s also home to the popular Deco Eatery and offices for local businesses in the former hotel rooms on level two.

It’s a well-used precinct, where creative expression has, on occasion, extended to dressing the relocated statue of early pioneer and environmentalist Henry Atkinson in gay pride attire.

It has also recently hosted events celebrating the Category 1 listing of the precinct, which includes the former Hotel Titirangi, the Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery (pictured page 9) and the 1926 Treasure House (a single-storey museum

Edge of heaven

that pre-dates the five-storey Spanish Mission-style hotel).

After the Depression put paid to hotel patronage, the hotel building and museum were used as an educational facility for deaf children and, from 1960, were named after educationalist Frank Lopdell and used as a residential centre for teacher trainees.

The Lopdell Trust nominated the Titirangi landmark for inclusion on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero.

In 2002 community members, concerned at the property’s deterioration, formed the Lopdell House Development Trust to ensure that a venue for arts remained.

Thanks to key support from the Waitākere District Council and The Trusts Community Foundation, then Auckland Council, the Lopdell Trust

LOCATION The suburb of Titirangi is located 13km southwest of Auckland’s city centre.

attracted key supporters and investors with public and private funding. After extensive conservation work and the addition of a new, purposebuilt, six-level gallery, the Lopdell House precinct opened in late 2014.

WORDS: JAMIE DOUGLAS • IMAGERY: MARCEL TROMP

Sitting high in Auckland’s Titirangi Village is a heritage haven for lovers of art and culture

8 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Heritage New Zealand

Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery

Lopdell Trust Chair Terry Bates has a family connection to the precinct: his parents trained there as probationary teachers. When he reflects on why the $20 million project has been such a success, there’s one special reason that makes him smile.

“It’s the ongoing dedication of the trustees,” he says.

“No-one has been paid a cent for what they have put in. It has been wonderful to find representatives of the community, and with a diverse range of skills, to willingly give so much of their time. I’m always humbled by the quality of people around the table.

“We started work close to 20 years ago and the activity in the precinct has been genuinely supported by the community.”

Terry says the foundation for success was laid with the right architectural practice engaged to realise the trust’s vision.

“The motivation was to secure the building. West Auckland doesn’t have that many buildings of such significance. Very few people understood the physical state it was in. It needed major seismic restrengthening work.

The new piles are as deep as the building is high.”

The trust benefited greatly from the expertise of member Allan Wild, a former University of Auckland professor of architecture. Following a competitive tender process, Mitchell and Stout Architects (now Mitchell Stout Dodd Architects) was selected.

“Mitchell and Stout was phenomenal in understanding what we were trying to achieve and interpreting that vision in a rich and profound way,” says Terry.

“The main priority was to restore the building as a regional art gallery. The second driver was to create a functional arts precinct that was integrated for community arts delivery.

“The Waitākere District Council did a very good job in setting up the project for the incoming

supercity merger. It gave us real impetus and the base for raising the $20 million for the project.”

Martin Jones, Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, says some key themes come to the fore with Lopdell House.

“This place is historically important for its associations with the development of early 20th-century tourism, particularly in Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges, as well as a growing appreciation of the country’s natural and cultural history at that time.

“The recent addition of Te Uru [Waitākere Contemporary] Gallery has also enhanced the complex’s aesthetic, architectural and social significance. The gallery addition and conservation of the early buildings resulted in national architecture awards in 2015, due to their outstanding landmark qualities and contributions to the local community.”

Terry agrees that the gallery building adds a new layer of heritage and history, creating a fresh chapter in the precinct’s fascinating story.

“To conserve the historic building, we needed to create a modern building to complement it. We were delighted that Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga accepted the argument for recognising the new building.

It has already secured its place in people’s hearts.

“It’s an icon of Titirangi Village and a much-loved landmark.”

See more of the Lopdell precinct on our video: www.youtube.com/user/ HeritageNewZealand/ featured

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 9

PAPA PĀNUI TE TŪHURATIA • NOTICEBOARD RĀRANGI • EXPLORE THE LIST

WORDS: SIMON NOBLE • IMAGERY: ALAN DOVE

On the ball

The location, fabric and function of Port Chalmers’ flagstaff may have changed, but it still holds a place in the heart of its community Port Chalmers’ historic flagstaff stands high above Otago’s busy port, signalling the region’s maritime heritage as an important part of its story.

But the Category 2 historic place has its own story to tell.

It’s one that includes relocation, and the replacement (several times) of its main components – with a new chapter recently having been added.

In October last year, a new timeball on the flagstaff was unveiled, thanks to a project spearheaded by the Port Chalmers Historical Society and financially supported in part by the great-greatgrandson of the port’s first

10 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

signal master. A once-vital timepiece, the timeball is back in daily operation.

The story of the site began in 1864, when a flagstaff was first erected at Port Chalmers on Observation Point. It was originally the mizzen (rearmost) mast of the barque Cincinatti, which had arrived in Port Chalmers in 1862 and was later condemned.

The flagstaff acted as a signal station for communication between ship and shore. In an era before wireless technology, communication was by way of coloured flags and intended mainly to warn ships about traffic and water depths.

At that time – 16 years after Dunedin’s establishment and three years after the discovery of gold at Lawrence – navigators relied on keeping precise time to be sure of their global positions.

And precise local time could be signalled to mariners by a timeball – a large, easily visible sphere that was hoisted up a flagstaff then dropped at a specific time.

In 1867, following the petitioning of the Otago Provincial Council by ship owners, and public fundraising, a timeball was added to the Port Chalmers flagstaff and began service on 1 June. Six days a week, the timeball was manually raised at 12.45pm then dropped

at exactly 1pm, precisely 11 hours, 22 minutes and 36.5 seconds ahead of Greenwich Mean Tme. However, a decade later Otago’s position as New Zealand’s premier port had waned, so even as timeballs continued to be added at other ports around the country, the timeball service at Port Chalmers was discontinued.

Following further petition, the service was resurrected on a weekly basis in 1882, but again ceased for time signalling in 1909. (The timeball continued to be used for storm warnings and traffic management until 1931.)

By that time, the original flagstaff mast was rotting. It was replaced with a new one made of

Heritage New Zealand

LOCATION Port Chalmers lies 10km inside Otago Harbour, 15km northeast of Dunedin's city centre.

ironbark – a very hard eucalypt.

This second iteration flew flags for Captain Robert Scott’s illfated expedition to Antarctica, which left Port Chalmers on 29 November 1910.

Fast forward some 60 years to 1970, and the whole flagstaff was again under threat when its port owner decided it was unsafe and an impediment to traffic. A preservation society emerged and the flagstaff was moved to its current position, where it was recommissioned (without its timeball) in September 1971. Ownership transferred to Port Chalmers Borough Council and then to Dunedin City Council in 1989.

However, this was not the last disagreement to occur around the flagstaff and its site.

New Zealand artist Ralph Hotere flew protest flags on it in the

years around 1990 after Port Otago declared its desire to cut away much of Observation Point to make more flat land for cargo.

Hotere’s studio on the land was slated for removal and was a key part of the resistance to the port’s plans. He eventually sold his studio to the port, with the agreement including the relocation of sculptures that eventually formed the main part of the Hotere Garden Oputae located right beside the flagstaff.

On its second site and in its third iteration materials-wise, the flagstaff endured another near miss in 1994, with a building being relocated.

It was Port Chalmers Historical Society committee member Norman Ledgerwood who, in 2019, had the idea of once more restoring the timeball function.

Norman’s idea was soon adopted by the society and then, he says, “the work really started” for four committee members. Norman took charge of fundraising, with a total of $50,000 eventually raised from four sources: three in Otago, including Port Otago and the Dunedin Heritage Fund, and one in Brisbane – the great-greatgrandson of the port’s first signal master, Captain John Robertson.

Harold Woods took on the technical role. He sought design advice and prices for the work, settling on Stark Brothers in Lyttelton – the company that had reinstated the timeball there after it was damaged in the Canterbury

earthquakes. The Dunedin City Council also contributed to the project, replacing (yet again) the top section of the mast.

While the original timeball was light, being made of wicker, the latest iteration, at 120 kilograms, is made of stainless steel and is computer and air operated.

But its heritage significance remains, says Sarah Gallagher,

Heritage Assessment Advisor for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

“In fact,” she says, “these aspects contribute to its story and value.

“The essence of the structure and its intended use, its historical use, and its continuing social value qualify it as a place of local cultural significance.”

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 11

WHAKAAHUA • PROFILE

12 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Heritage New Zealand

WORDS: CLAIRE MCCALL • IMAGERY: ALAN DOVE

TO GIVE,

TO RECEIVE

Doctor and historian James Ng has spent a lifetime seeking out and giving voice to the many stories of Chinese New Zealanders

The memories of a five-year-old can be vague, but for a young James Ng, landing in New Zealand in 1941 following a sea voyage from his birthplace in China delivered two stand-out moments.

On meeting his father, who was already living in New Zealand, in Wellington, he vividly remembers receiving his first telling off on our shores – “I was badgering my mother” – then, before the family set off into their new life, he received some sage words of advice.

“My father warned me that if anybody gave me cheek – for instance, called me a chink – the best thing to do was ignore it.”

That mischievous lad who leant over a ship’s bow, half hoping the mine-sweeping cutter would set off the excitement of an explosion, went on to become a medical doctor and a pre-eminent historian, giving voice to the many stories of New Zealand’s Cantonese immigrants.

Medicine was not always in James’s sights. He had wanted to study geology. That pathway did not sit well with his family, descendants of a stream of immigrants who first arrived here in 1865 to work in the Otago goldfields and progressed through a succession of lowly occupations, one generation helping the next to come. They existed through decades of poll tax and discriminatory residency regulations to eventually become naturalised citizens.

His father, who owned a laundry business in Gore, was no doubt proud that James was the first of his lineage to attend university.

Heritage New Zealand

“I liked the idea of geology and an outdoor life, but when my parents found out what geology was, they didn’t think it was much of an advance on market gardening,” says James.

This was the early 1950s and the common feeling among the Chinese community was that Europeans may not actually employ them or, if they did, promote them.

“My parents insisted that if I must go to university, I study a course where I could be self-employed.”

Fortunately, medicine proved fascinating and led to something of an epiphany. James’s fifth-year thesis, completed with a fellow student, was a study of the blood pressure of New Zealand Chinese. In writing up the history to augment his discoveries, James suddenly realised: “I am a Chinese New Zealander”.

“I rushed out onto the balcony, not exactly shouting ‘Eureka’ but feeling a little like Archimedes.”

His sense of identity crystallised, Dr James Ng began to explore his roots in earnest. His wife Eva had to endure a West Coast and Central Otago honeymoon in which her new husband sought out cemeteries where goldminers were buried. But it was earlier, when he wrote up the case history of a Chinese man to present at a post-mortem, that the truth of this diaspora really hit home.

“He was such a lovely guy, but he had only distant relatives here. He typified the kind of lives many of the Chinese were living in New Zealand in the 1950s. He had no family. No spiritual faith. No hope. It was a half-life.”

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 13

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD WHAKAAHUA • PROFILE

Scan here to explore the Toitū docuseries Journey to Lan Yuan.

The poignancy of this spurred him on. “I did not lose my ‘controlled sympathy’ as taught to doctors in interacting with patients; I just wanted to know and understand.”

Windows on a Chinese Past is one result of his thirst for such knowledge. James loved learning and was gripped by stories. The four-volume opus that began as a single book soon took on a life of its own.

Between 1986 and 1999, with the support of his wife and an assistant in his practice, James spent every spare moment researching and writing. His long-suffering publisher George Griffiths became a lifelong friend.

Nevertheless, when the final manuscript grew to 400 pages, George threatened to tear it up.

“By 600 pages, George said plaintively, ‘We can’t bind any more of the heavy-duty papers; it will split.’

So I stopped.”

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pou tokomanawa: centre pole supporting the ridge pole of a meeting house; in this context, a person or people being essential to a community.

James may see the humorous side of this endeavour, but historian Seán Brosnahan, who works as a curator at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin’s specialist social history museum, says James and Eva have given crucial support and advice to the museum over the years.

“They helped make Otago’s Chinese history one of our central focus points through the 1990s and beyond,” says Seán.

“James was kind enough to let us use the stillunpublished manuscript of Windows on a Chinese Past for a display on Chinese history in Otago that we organised as one of our 1990 Sesquicentennial projects.”

Seán believes that James and Eva, who he says are an absolute joy to work with, are really the pou tokomanawa of the Chinese community in Otago.

The couple also participated in the making of the docuseries Journey to Lan Yuan, which explains the evolution of Dunedin’s Chinese Garden ‘Lan Yuan’ and sets it in the context of Otago’s Chinese history, going right back to 1865. This involved a visit to James’s home village of Wing Loong in Taishan county, Guangdong,

by Seán and film-making colleagues.

“Seeing the place where he spent his first years, and the remaining buildings that had been built by his family from their New Zealand earnings going back a couple of generations before, was extremely moving,” says Seán.

While the written word is the central tool for archiving, a physical manifestation of what has gone before has the ability to spark the imagination even further, and James’s involvement with the Lawrence Chinese Camp seems almost inevitable.

As the chief gateway to the Otago goldfields, it was the first and biggest Chinese camp in Otago, founded in 1867. James purchased the one-hectare site, with its remaining three buildings, in 2004. The camp has a Category 1 heritage listing and a trust was formed to restore the hotel and the main joss house (temple).

Daughter Denise, who has returned to New Zealand from Singapore, is on the cusp of appointment to the camp committee – not exactly taking over from her father but sharing his vision of a future based on the past.

For 85-year-old James, that’s a wonderful prospect.

“The pursuit of the Kiwi Chinese history has introduced me to a world of heritage and friendships that are very fulfilling,” he says.

The doctor, author and historian also preached occasionally in the Dunedin Chinese Presbyterian Church, where he at times drew his listeners’ attention to the gesture of gifting – the image of hands and arms outstretched.

“The gesture of giving is the same as that for receiving,” he points out. “In my experience though, I have received far more in return than I have given.”

Heritage New Zealand

Lawrence Chinese Camp Wherever I live or have been associated with for a time becomes my favourite place, but the most compelling by far is the Lawrence Chinese Camp. The grounds are largely empty today, but I can imagine the past with the small sections crowded with full- and mixedheritage people of different ages and diverse occupations, all striving for normalcy.

Then there were the Europeans patronising the popular Chinese Empire Hotel (below) and, at the back of the grounds, the gardens, pig ovens and pens, and poultry enclosures. We can never replicate the scene and atmosphere, but we will try to install a good outline.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga rules only allow restoration, not replacement,

and more than $1 million will be spent on adapting the hotel.

It was a real Kiwi hotel with a bar, five bedrooms and a dining room.

We also bought the main joss house (above right) off a woman who had rescued it from demolition by shifting it to Lawrence itself and using it as a bach. Classically there are two altars in a joss house: one for

people who have died (including miners and family in China); and the other dedicated to a god.

That is usually Gwan Di, whom Westerners know as the god of war. In reality he was a deity akin to St George and also became the patron god of travellers.

The Cantonese who came to New Zealand weren’t very religious, so this joss house was used mainly for meetings. It still had a combined altar though, so visitors could bow to the deceased and the deity. n

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 15

PAPATAPUWAE NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD O NGĀ TŪPUNA • MĀORI HERITAGE

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BACK IN BALANCE WORDS: JENNY LING • IMAGERY: JESS BURGES

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Heritage New Zealand

Just across the river from Kerikeri’s Stone Store, Mission House and Kororipo Pā in the Far North, there’s a hive of activity.

Builders and landscape gardeners labour under the hot sun, while volunteers and Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai workers come and go at the site.

In the midst of it is Kipa Munro, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, who is tasked with breathing life into the once-tired tourist attraction known as Rewa’s Village, now renamed Te Ahurea.

When Heritage New Zealand magazine visits, it’s just days until Te Ahurea is officially opened on 4 February, and Kipa is flat out.

But he’s excited to see the old village being transformed into a living, breathing cultural and educational centre and interactive pā site.

“It’s a privilege to be able to bring this to life,” he says. “It’s a privilege to be the custodian on behalf of all this.”

Kipa steps out onto a newly constructed viewing platform bordering the site and surrounded by fresh palisades, and looks across the shimmering waters of Kerikeri Basin.

Soon this side of the river will again be humming with the activities that were key to the everyday life of his tūpuna.

There will be traditional carving, weaving and weaponry demonstrations and workshops,

guided tours through native bush, and trips along the river on a beautifully carved waka.

All the activities will be led by local hapū Ngāti Rēhia, and Kipa is keen to tell their stories.

But it’s not just Te Ahurea he is keen to promote; he wants visitors to understand the full picture of Kororipo Heritage Park, which nestles into the upper end of Kerikeri Inlet.

The area is one of the very first places in which Māori and Pākehā began living together.

Because of its status as one of the most culturally and historically important sites in Aotearoa, it is listed as a Tohu Whenua.

Tohu Whenua – located in Northland, Otago and the

A hapū-led cultural centre is helping to tell a richer story at one of the nation’s most significant heritage sites

1 New palisades border the site

of Te Ahurea.

2 Kipa Munro, Te Rūnanga

o Ngāti Rēhia.

3 Kipa shows visitors Kerikeri’s

Stone Store, Mission House and Kororipo Pā across the river.

4 Two of the three whare that

offer visitors a glimpse of Māori life before European settlement.

West Coast – are places that have shaped our nation and are promoted by the Government as offering the best heritage experiences in the country.

“I don’t want people to come to Te Ahurea, I want them to come to the Kororipo Heritage Park,” Kipa says.

“We’ve got this village, we’ve got the Stone Store, the Mission House and Kororipo Pā. I want them to experience the whole area.”

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 17

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

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Changing times

Rewa’s Village was originally named after Rewa, a prominent Ngāpuhi chief. Along with Hongi Hika, he provided patronage for the establishment of the Kerikeri Mission Station in 1819, one of the first areas in which Māori and Pākehā came together to live and trade.

The people of Hika and Rewa lived at Kororipo Pā, a terraced pā site that was once a stockaded fortress but by the 1820s was an unfortified village.

Atareiria Heihei, Pouārahi/ Māori Heritage Advisor for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga in Te Tai Tokerau, notes that Hika and Rewa did not live exclusively at Kororipo but spent time at different pā within their rohe, converging at Kororipo especially during times of war.

“When Ngāpuhi were called to war and they left from Kororipo, the waka would

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observe rituals in preparation for war, as this stretch of water was possessed of great mana.

“In former times, to ensure the success of any war party, it was necessary for the waka to be sailed up and down the river before leaving, following the path up the river and out the Kerikeri Inlet to the moana [Pacific Ocean].”

Atareiria also notes that the Rewa’s Village area is part of the Kororipo wāhi tapu area listing.

The Rewa’s Village tourism attraction was initially built by the Society for the Preservation of the Kerikeri Stone Store Area (Spokssa) in 1970 to fund its legal battle to stop the land around the Stone Store and Kororipo Pā being developed.

Although bulldozing did begin to take place, the group was ultimately successful, forcing the Government to buy the land and turn it into a reserve.

But the replica 18th-century Māori fishing village, which has sat on the hill for more than 50 years, was looking increasingly rundown as Spokssa volunteers struggled to maintain it.

Only a trickle of tourists visited the series of static displays, which aimed to capture the atmosphere of a settlement in pre-European times. These included a small museum with artefacts, and a few thatched whare scattered among thick native bush.

That all changed in June 2020, when then-Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced $1.25 million in funding from the Provincial Growth Fund, allowing Ngāti Rēhia to redevelop the site.

Work on the project began immediately, employing up to 30 people throughout the course of the project, and was completed in January ahead of the February opening.

ketu: paddle-shaped implement kō: pole-shaped implement mau rākau: weaponry mirimiri: massage raranga: weaving rohe: tribal boundaries rongoā: traditional medicine taiaha: long-handled weapon te ao Māori: the Māori world view tikanga: cultural protocol tūpuna: ancestors wāhi tapu: sacred site wānanga: education whare noho: sleeping space wharenui: meeting house whare waka: waka house

Heritage New Zealand

RISING UP A waka will once again frequent the Kerikeri Basin as part of many offerings that visitors to Te Ahurea can enjoy.

An 11.5-metre waka has been carved from a kauri that fell in Omahuta Forest, near Mangamuka in the Far North, seven years ago.

Rather than being transported out of the bush on the back of a truck, the hull has been adzed (carved and shaped) in the forest.

The waka will be moved later this year into a new whare waka beside Kerikeri River, directly opposite the Stone Store.

Master carver Hemi Eruera and his team will continue to work on the waka, completing its side panels on site so the public can observe the progress and see the waka come to life.

Hemi learnt his craft from the renowned Hekenukumai Busby, a great navigator and skilled master waka builder, who died at the age of 86 in 2019.

Kipa Munro envisages waka tours running up and down the river as soon as next summer, meaning people will arrive at Kerikeri in the same way that others arrived centuries ago.

Visit https://teahurea.co.nz and https://tohuwhenua.nz/tetai-tokerau-northland/kororipoheritage-park. n

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Te Ahurea – which translates as ‘culture’ – has created permanent jobs for at least seven local people, who will share their skills and knowledge with visitors and the wider community.

There will be guided tours of the site, and maps provided for those wishing to explore on their own. A small souvenir shop and historic museum have been upgraded and showcase traditional gardening tools such as kō and ketu, along with artefacts like fishing hooks, whalebone, and flax kete.

Outside, the forest has been thinned and cleared of weeds, boardwalks have been created and walking tracks are now better defined. The tracks follow gentle ridges of the shaded earth and open out to a clearing where three new whare – one large wharenui and two smaller whare noho – have been constructed.

Nearby, hāngī pits have been dug into the ground.

Kipa points to some spaces that have been created in the surrounding forest where carving and raranga workshops will be carried out, along with mirimiri and storytelling.

Holiday programmes will

entertain children and there will be wānanga for the children of the hapū.

A rongoā garden is also planned, so visitors can learn about the medicinal benefits of native plants such as kawakawa, kūmarahou and tūpākihi.

And down by the river’s edge, Kipa will continue teaching the art of mau rākau. Kipa has been training students how to use taiaha, and has promoted the use of te reo, tikanga, and te ao Māori during twice-weekly classes since 2017.

But perhaps the most significant addition is a new whare waka, which will house an 11.5-metre waka carved by a team led by Hemi Eruera, who learnt from the renowned waka builder Hekenukumai Busby.

An accompanying jetty on site, around a u-bend in the river, will mean visitors can arrive by water as people did centuries ago.

Kipa is excited to share Te Ahurea with the community, who are becoming increasingly curious.

“The impact is already evident ... there are so many people coming over to see what this development is turning into,” he says.

“We want to give them the full experience of what this place would have looked like.

“When people arrive here, they’ll almost go back in time to between 1770 and 1830 and what was happening then. We’ll have a waka going up and down the river, a carver down in the whare waka and the boys on the pā site doing haka and weaponry training.

“These were all activities that were happening at that time; it’s like taking them on a journey.”

Kipa says Te Ahurea will do more than showcase Māori culture; it will also be a source of pride for his people.

“The point of difference between this tourist operation and others is this is hapū led,” he says.

“It will lift the profile that’s been a little bit lost and bring our culture and stories alive.”

Mita Harris, Kaiwhakahaere Tautiaki Wāhi Taonga/Māori Heritage Director for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, says the transformation of Rewa’s Village into Te Ahurea is significant for the area.

Te Ahurea will add to Māori tourism and the stories of Te Tai Tokerau, which are already told at key tourist destinations such as Waitangi Treaty Grounds and more recently Manea Footprints of Kupe in Hokianga.

Mita likens Te Ahurea to a bridge that crosses the water, bringing together two cultures of early settlement in Aotearoa.

“If you stand in the middle and look to the left and to the right, it’s those two old worlds coming together, it’s bringing back a balance to the area,” he says.

“I was talking to Kipa recently and he mentioned that Ngāti Rēhia are ready to tell their stories; we’re all ready to tell our stories. But it’s not just their story, it’s Ngāpuhi’s story as well.”

1 Front L-R: June Pitman,

Marian Hobbs, Kipa Munro, Paul White. Rear L-R: Mita Harris, Andrew Coleman, Renata Tane (carver), Bill Edwards, Dean Whiting.

2 The whare waka will house

a new 11.5-metre waka.

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 19

TE WĀHI • PLACE

A PLACE IN THE

heart

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WORDS: LYDIA MONIN • IMAGERY: MARCEL TROMP

Thanks to an imaginative – and generous – proposal, a much-loved historic home in Auckland’s Mt Eden is shifting into public hands

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Heritage New Zealand

“I just pulled into the side of the road, walked across the street and it was so strong, the sensation, that I actually turned behind me to see who was there. I could feel a hand pushing me towards the house. I turned around to see who was pushing me and, of course, there was no-one there.”

The building that cast this psychic pull on Averil Norman some 35 years ago is Coldicutt House. Located on Auckland’s Mt Eden Road and built as a family home and farmhouse, it is potentially one of the oldest surviving stone houses anywhere in New Zealand.

Averil’s grandmother was born in the house, and even though Averil lived a stone’s throw from the house as

Heritage New Zealand

a girl, she barely gave it a second thought. At least, not until one fateful drive to a nearby plant shop that set in motion a chain of events that would change her life and the destiny of the house forever.

“I went and knocked on the door and said I wanted to buy it. I was thinking, ‘What am I doing? I don’t want to buy this house’. Honestly, it was like something just took over and made me go and do it … and I was thinking differently from what I was speaking. But then the woman said that they had sold it the week before!”

Then fate intervened once more. Averil told the owners she was an Air New Zealand flight attendant and they mentioned a captain they knew who worked for

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2 One of the country’s

oldest surviving stone houses is tucked away in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden.

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 21

TE WĀHI • PLACE the airline. A few months later, the schedules conspired to put Averil and the captain on the same flight. They spoke about Coldicutt House and the captain told Averil the deal to sell it had fallen through. Three months later, Averil Norman was the new owner.

“I never had the intention of buying it. I honestly couldn’t afford it – it was a hefty price – [but] I think it was meant to be. I was chosen to look after it.”

And it certainly needed looking after. The timber was rotting away and the roof cladding had to be removed because of asbestos.

“We wanted to repair it so that no-one did it cheaply.

We oversaw it and saw that the craftsmen loved what they were doing. It was time consuming and expensive, but it was worth it,” says Averil.

Now a Category 2 historic place, the building sits on what was originally part of an eight-hectare Crown Grant made to George Graham in July 1843. Six months later it was sold to William Coldicutt, an English sawmiller who had arrived on the Osprey in 1842, bound for the Manukau Harbour Company’s settlement venture at Cornwallis, which eventually became unsustainable.

While no original documents making specific reference to the construction of the house still exist, there are wills, captions in family photographs, newspaper reports and obituaries, and a consensus that it’s likely to date from between 1844 and 1848. But an exact date of construction remains elusive and the builder’s name is contested.

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“If a developer bought it, or someone who didn’t appreciate the antiquity of it, the whole property could be ruined and

The trees that now enshroud Coldicutt House have only added to the mystique. Through the leaves and branches there are glimpses of another, older world that has intrigued Mt Edeners for generations.

There have even been media campaigns to try to unravel the house’s story: when was it built, by whom, for whom? But to this day the building holds on to its secrets.

The property was bought and sold several times and in 1911 it was subdivided into villa lots marketed as the Ellerton Estate – part of the suburban development along the Mt Eden Road tram route. It was briefly in public hands when the Mt Eden Borough Council saw the heritage significance of the house and bought the property in 1974. However, it was back in private ownership two years later.

Averil and her husband Warwick flirted with the notion of selling Coldicutt House a few times over the years, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t bring themselves to part with it.

“I felt I couldn’t let it go to anyone from the public because of where it might lead to,” explains Averil.

“If a developer bought it, or someone who didn’t appreciate the antiquity of it, the whole property could be ruined and my 35 years of looking after it would be in vain.”

Eventually Warwick and Averil had the idea of contacting Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, with an imaginative – and generous – proposal.

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Heritage New Zealand

“They said if we could establish a market value, they’d be prepared to essentially gift us half of that,” says Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Board member David Nicoll.

But finding the other half required another creative solution. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is a Crown entity, and Crown entities can’t borrow money.

But David had anticipated the need for a mechanism to capitalise on Coldicutt-esque opportunities.

“It just so happened that I had set up the New Zealand Heritage Trust,” says David. The trust is a charitable body whose sole beneficiary is Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

Now the onus is on the trust to raise the money through bequests, donations and fundraising to repay the mortgage. Once the debt is paid off, the trust is obliged to gift the building to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga in accordance with the arrangement with the Normans.

“It was the only way that I could be confident the building was going to be preserved,” says Averil.

“Auckland development being what it is, it’s pretty tragic at times when lovely old properties just get carved up.”

Eventually, Averil would like Coldicutt House to become a space that the public can enjoy. She talks about the Paul Revere House in the heart of downtown Boston. Built around 1680, it was the colonial home of the famous American patriot during the time of the American Revolution.

“There, among all the high rises and the urban concrete jungle, is this little wooden house that Paul Revere rode out from. It’s been preserved for hundreds of years and it’s one of the top tourist attractions in Boston.

“All around the world you’ve got little historic buildings that have been preserved in the middle of big cities; each is like an oasis and a reminder of what was there.”

Coldicutt House stands as a reminder of Mt Eden’s transformation from a mid-19th-century farming area into a modern residential suburb, and there’s now a pathway to safeguard this historic building – likely one of the oldest surviving stone houses in Auckland.

“If we let that go and it was destroyed? We don’t want that happening on our watch,” says David.

And for Averil Norman, it’s the culmination of a passion project that’s lasted half a lifetime.

“It’s been 35 years of work and a lot of angst … it was a big responsibility, but I knew from the start it was special and had to be cared for.”

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1 Stairwell at Coldicutt House.

2 Mystery still surrounds who built the house.

3 Meticulous repairs and restoration have pre-

served both the interior and the exterior.

4 L-R: New Zealand Heritage Trust Chair

David Nicoll with Averil and Warwick Norman.

5 Part of the rear area of Coldicutt House.

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 23

PAPA TE MĀTAI PĀNUI WHAIPARA • NOTICEBOARD TANGATA • ARCHAEOLOGY

View of Te Uapata Pā in Taupiri, where the archaeology team has been working with Taupiri Marae.

A new UNDERSTANDING Experts in mātauranga Māori, archaeology and science are coming together with iwi and hapū to shed new light on the wetland pā of Waikato 24 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Heritage New Zealand

WORDS: ROSEMARY BAIRD • IMAGERY: PETER DRURY

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t is early morning and the sounds of a karanga and karakia pierce the low-lying fog. Local kaumātua are welcoming a team of archaeologists onto a former pā site in the Waikato wetlands. A session of bush bashing follows as the group carves out a track through tangled raupō, blackberry and willow.

Soon, an excited call is heard: “Here’s one!” A palisade post has been found, and the archaeologists begin to excavate. The sounds of geese honking and cicadas chirping are joined by the thudding of spades and the squelching of mud.

As the hot sun burns off the fog, the archaeologists drip sweat and think of morning coffee. But when the winch and tackle finally extricate the palisade post, everything seems to pause. There is always a moment of wonder as the past meets the present.

This is the Waikato Wetland Pā Project, which brings together archaeologists, scientists and Tainui iwi in a respectful partnership to provide new insights into how Māori constructed, used, and lived in wetland pā.

The project originated in 2016 when radiocarbon dating expert Professor Alan Hogg from the University of Waikato wondered whether radiocarbon ‘wiggle matching’ could be applied to New Zealand archaeology for the first time. A chance conversation with Waikato-based archaeologist Warren Gumbley led to the idea of dating Waikato’s wetland pā. The preserved wooden palisade posts, they said, might be suitable for this new technique.

Waikato is an ideal setting for this project. The region is dotted with a considerable number of pā in wetland areas and the wooden palisade posts and other artefacts are preserved in the water-logged conditions.

Warren says we take pā for granted, but nowhere else are they seen in such density as in New Zealand.

Heritage New Zealand

“They are concentrated in the North Island where horticulture could be practised, and it has been assumed they were built to defend seasonal kūmara crops.

“But they are also part of a complex political and social dynamic in the middle ages of Māori settlement that we don’t really understand.”

To answer the questions of why and how Waikato pā were built, the team needed to partner with local Tainui iwi.

“There was a bit of an informal moratorium on pā site archaeology during the 1980s and 1990s, due to past mistreatment of artefacts and a lack of sensitivity,” says Warren.

“We knew we needed expertise in mātauranga Māori to understand the social history and cultural traditions behind pā.”

University of Waikato Associate Professor Tom Roa, a respected Waikato Tainui kaumātua, was invited to join the team.

Tom admits, “I never found archaeology all that interesting until I got involved with this project. When Alan invited me to his office for a talk, I thought, ‘What can I do in this space?’ In the past, I was that iwi leader saying to archaeologists, ‘Sorry, we’re not sure we can trust you on pā sites’.”

Tom was won over by the opportunities created by juxtaposing mātauranga Māori with archaeology.

“When Alan said the method could date to plus or minus four calendar years, that blew my mind. Now we will be able to date our traditions and oral histories.”

In 2019 the Waikato Wetland Pā Project was granted $827,000 from the Marsden Fund. The team grew to include: dendrochronologist Associate Professor Gretel Boswijk (University of Auckland); archaeologist Professor Atholl Anderson (Australian National University); clinical psychologist Dr Waikaremoana Waitoki (University of Waikato); and two archaeology PhD students, Isaac McIvor and Rowan McBride.

Isaac, a former Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga archaeologist, says he got butterflies in his stomach when he saw the PhD scholarship advertised. “I just knew it was one of those opportunities I had to take.”

Rowan agrees that the multidisciplinary nature of the project is exciting: “I feel incredibly lucky to be a sponge and soak up all that knowledge and experience.”

The first phase of a field trip for a project to a pā site is always engaging with mana whenua to ensure they see the benefit of the research, and to establish appropriate tikanga for the fieldwork.

Ngāti Hikairo and Ngāti Apakura are Tainui iwi connected to the many lakes in the Waipā district, including Lake Mangakaware. Ngā Iwi Tōpū o Waipā (the Assembled People of Waipā) was approached by representatives from the Waikato Wetland Pā Project in 2020.

Haupai Puke is one of the local kaumātua from Pūrekireki Marae. “After talking to the team, iwi had confidence that the excavation sites would be treated respectfully, following iwi protocols of monitoring and regular reporting,” she says.

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 25

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD

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Scan here to learn more about the Waikato Wetland Pā Project in the ninth episode of the podcast Aotearoa Unearthed: Archaeology for Everyone, jointly produced by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and the New Zealand Archaeological Association, and available on Spotify (top) and iTunes.

kaitiaki: custodians

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karakia: prayer karanga: ceremonial call kaumātua: elder

“When multiple taonga were discovered at two pā sites, local kaumātua were there to perform the appropriate rituals.”

Once welcomed on site, the team searches for earthworks and palisades.

“Wetland swamps, peat lakes and streams are tough working conditions. You have polluted waterways, steep banks, mud over your gumboots and vegetation that is chest height,” says Rowan.

Most palisades have been damaged by stock, he adds, so only small 10-centimetre sticks may be visible above ground level.

The palisades are winched out of the mud so the archaeologists can obtain small sample slices of wood.

The archaeologists carefully record anything found before the palisades are replaced in their original positions. The handcrafted posts are tangible reminders of the people who made them.

“You can see the shaping strokes of individual stone adzes,” says Warren. “It must have taken thousands of hours to cut these posts, transport them and erect them in the ground.”

26 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Every field trip brings its own highlights. During excavations at two pā sites at Mangakaware, the team discovered complex defences.

“The low lake levels meant we could investigate areas inaccessible in the 1960s excavations,” says Warren.

“We found a scattering of large boulders around a major entry gate from the lake. When we talked to a local kaumātua, Jack Cunningham, he told us these would have been part of a fighting stage.”

Kaitiaki are keen to see how the fieldwork is done.

Many of the Tainui descendants have never visited these privately owned sites before.

Kaumātua involved in the excavations often share memories of ancestors who lived around the lake before the invasion of the British and the Waikato War. “Being involved in this project has encouraged discussion among mana whenua about how these lake environments must have greater protection,” says Haupai.

“The iwi also hope there might be future opportunities to display the artefacts found in this project, to inform our people about their history.”

kīanga: formulaic saying kōrero tuku iho: history, oral tradition mana whenua: guardians of the land mātauranga: knowledge pepeha: tribal saying taonga: treasure tikanga: protocol, procedure waiata: song, chant whakapapa: genealogy whakatauākī: proverb

Heritage New Zealand

THE SCIENCE OF RADIOCARBON ‘WIGGLE MATCHING’ Although standard radiocarbon dating is reliable, the calendar age dates it provides are not particularly precise for the short time interval representing Māori occupation in New Zealand (beginning as early as the 13th century AD). Variations (wiggles) in the concentration of atmospheric radiocarbon in different years can lead to age estimates with a range of 100 to 150 years.

Radiocarbon ‘wiggle matching’ uses a calibration curve that is derived by measuring radiocarbon from known-age material, usually tree rings. Gretel Boswijk and Rowan McBride are working on the tree samples.

“We polish the wood slice to a mirror sheen to count the growth rings,” says Gretel. “We then sample five-year blocks of growth rings at known intervals [the number of rings between each block] for

radiocarbon dating and wiggle matching. The wood blocks are fitted to the radiocarbon-calibration curve to obtain the calendar dates.”

A 2017 pilot study at Otāhau Pā, Taupiri, successfully dated miro timbers to 1768AD with an error range of only plus or minus four years at 95 percent confidence.

But wiggle matching is proving more challenging in the Waikato Wetland Pā Project.

“We have tried comparing the ring-width patterns from the pukatea palisade posts to see if they crossmatch and can be aligned, but they are very challenging to work with. The [pukatea] species is not very suitable for dendrochronology [tree-ring dating],” says Gretel.

Undeterred, the team is continuing to work on the palisade posts and refine its results. n

Mātauranga Māori is essential to the project. Native Land Court minutes, written and oral iwi narratives, whakapapa, waiata, whakatauākī, pepeha and kīanga all add to the historical context. Isaac McIvor’s meetings with Waikato-Tainui whānau, hapū and kaumātua to collect kōrero tuku iho and whakapapa are invaluable.

“We are very lucky as Waikato has been continuously occupied by Tainui iwi, so the knowledge has been maintained,” says Isaac.

“We don’t want to shy away from the richness of this history. I think of it as a kaitaka – a woven cloak – of mātauranga across the landscape, pinned down at pā sites, with the strands of harakeke representing the whakapapa connections between pā.”

The team is developing a cultural history database to document thousands of Tainui sites and ancestors.

It is important for the whole team that this project has ongoing impacts in the region. Tom Roa hopes that the project will show Tainui young people how a career in science can be applied to benefit Māori.

“There is great potential in these relationships. The iwi and scientist interactions in this project have been eye opening and exciting for our iwi and hapū. As the team have excavated material and artefacts, they have conducted themselves in an exemplary manner,” he says.

The team will begin connecting whakapapa to archaeology as the project progresses. “That is the most amazing part of this project,” says Alan Hogg, “the interconnection of mātauranga Māori and Western science to bring us a new understanding of our past.”

1 An identified palisade post.

2 L-R: Isaac McIvor, Rowan McBride and Warren

Gumbley prepare to winch up a palisade post.

3 Alan Hogg inspects a piece of pumice bowl.

4 Rowan records precise post locations using GPS,

while Isaac cleans a palisade post.

4 RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 27

PAPA WHAKAAHUA TINO PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD • BEST SHOTS

WORDS A N D I M AGE : MIK E H E Y DO N

28 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Heritage New Zealand

Winter wonderland We opened the curtains the day after arriving at our house in Naseby, Central Otago, last September, to find that 20 centimetres of snow had fallen overnight. We had a great day wandering around the historic buildings and into the forest covered in such deep,

fresh snow. This was our dog Scout’s first encounter with snow; I later photographed him standing on one of the frozen dams in Naseby Forest.

Naseby is a great little town to explore any time of year, but during a winter storm it’s a pretty special place.

TECHNICAL DATA • Camera: Nikon D850 • Lens: 24-70mm f2.8 ED VR lens @70mm • Exposure: 1/320, f5 RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 29

PAPATAPUWAE NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD O NGĀ TŪPUNA • MĀORI HERITAGE

30 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Heritage New Zealand

WORDS: VENETIA SHERSON • IMAGERY: PETER DRURY

Sweet

celebrations With strong associations between Matariki and kuumara, Te Parapara – the traditional Maaori garden where kuumara are cultivated from seeds dating back hundreds of years – will be a fitting home for Matariki celebrations in Kirikiriroa-Hamilton

Heritage New Zealand

In March last year, when New Zealand was in lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, Alice Gwilliam (Taranaki, Whakatoohea), head gardener at Hamilton Gardens, worried constantly about the plants under her care.

Prevented from visiting the gardens, she relied on an essential worker – a person tasked with feeding the chickens in the productive gardens – for daily photos and updates on how the plants were coping.

She particularly worried about the kuumara planted at Te Parapara, a unique pre-European Maaori garden that tells the story of Ngaati Wairere, one of the confederation of Waikato-Tainui tribes and the first inhabitants of Kirikiriroa (Hamilton).

The garden, established more than a decade ago and cultivated according to traditions of Maramataka, produces kuumara propagated from ancient seeds, some dating back more than 700 years to the arrival of waka from Polynesia. The responsibility for their continued wellbeing lay at Alice’s feet.

When lockdown ended, her first sight of the garden was daunting. Weeds had overtaken the channels between the regularly spaced puke where the kuumara grew. The plants, which had been carefully nurtured for months, had grown wild.

There are seven heritage varieties in the garden, two DNA tested to the 13th century and others to early sailors and whalers. Alice knows their whakapapa, but after four weeks’ lockdown it was difficult to see where one plant began and another ended.

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PAPATAPUWAE NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD O NGĀ TŪPUNA • MĀORI HERITAGE

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1 Alice Gwilliam checks the

kuumara plants before the harvest at Te Parapara.

2 The kuumara crop includes

varieties propagated from seeds dating back hundreds of years to the arrival of waka in New Zealand.

32 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

When the harvest began after lockdown, she and others dug with their hands beneath the tangled leaves, deep into earth enriched with blood-and-bone compost, charcoal and sand. A cheer went up. The crop – red, orange, purple and white varieties – was beautiful and bountiful.

“The best yet,” says Alice. “Essentially, while no-one was watching or interfering with them, they just got on and did their own thing.”

Wiremu Puke, a descendant of Ngaati Wairere and an ethnographer, has a different view. The best harvest, he believes, was the very first when there was no need for fertiliser because the earth was pristine.

Since then, practices have had to change because, as Te Parapara is a public garden, there is no room to fallow or rest between seasons.

Wiremu says that during the first harvest, fittingly, the biggest kuumara grew directly at the feet of Hoturoa, captain of the Tainui waka, depicted on one of the pouwhakarae. It was gifted along with the best of the crop to the Maaori king, King Tuuheitia, a

“I WHAKAWHITI ATU AI TE KOOPUU MANIA O KIRIKIRIROA, ME OONA MAARA KAI TE NGAWHAA WHAKATUPU AKE TE WHENUA MOOMONA” “I cross the smooth belly of Kirikiriroa, its gardens bursting with the fullness of good things”

Heritage New Zealand

tradition that has continued ever since, alongside the distribution of crops and plants to community groups.

In 2003 Wiremu and his late father Hare Puke, kaumaatua of Kirikiriroa and Chair of Nga Mana Toopu o Kirikiriroa Charitable Trust (representing a coalition of local hapuu) were instrumental in pushing for the establishment of Te Parapara at Hamilton Gardens, recognising the need to preserve and showcase the mana of traditional gardening, including the technology, thinking and protocols linked to the lunar calendar.

He says the garden acknowledges the importance of food production to the Ngaati Wairere people and celebrates their fame as horticulturalists. King Taawhiao, the second Maaori king, is reported to have said about the region, “I whakawhiti atu ai te koopuu mania o Kirikiriroa, me oona maara kai te ngawhaa whakatupu ake te whenua moomona.” (“I cross the smooth belly of Kirikiriroa, its gardens bursting with the fullness of good things.”)

Te Parapara is named after the ancient paa built on a rise above Hamilton Gardens, chosen for its access to Waikato River’s sandy loam soils, nearby gullies, and freshwater springs, plus large stands of kahikatea abundant with kereruu.

The paa was the home of Ngaati Wairere chief Haanui and his descendants and renowned as a site of sacred rituals associated with food crops. There was a tuuaahu called Te Ikamauroa associated with those rituals in the vicinity.

In his proposal for the garden to the Hamilton City Council, Hare Puke said Te Parapara would be “unique to the city and, indeed, Maaoridom”. The council agreed and the garden was brought to life in 2010. Since then it has been viewed by millions of New Zealanders and overseas visitors.

The garden is made up of two parts: Te Ara Whakataukii (the path of proverbs), which showcases uncultivated food from the forest and grassland and acknowledges the sayings of ancestors about the journey of time and the significance of Maramataka; and Te Taupaa (the garden) beyond the waharoa where the kuumara grow, watched over by Rongomaa-Taane, deity of cultivated food plants. Te Ara Whakataukii depicts the hue, used as a receptacle that holds water or the placenta – both related to life itself.

It is a place to gather before entering Te Taupaa.

The kuumara garden is surrounded by a taaepa of kanuka stakes braced by raataa vines and includes carved structures of tootara and matai. There are

2

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 33

PAPATAPUWAE NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD O NGĀ TŪPUNA • MĀORI HERITAGE

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three examples of paataka or rua kuumara with thatched roofs templated from 1823; a ceremonial gateway and ancestral pou. The carvings, designed

by Wiremu, depict the genealogy of Ngaati Wairere and the astrological knowledge of ancestors passed down through generations.

The puke are planted in a recurring quincunx (offset) pattern (the shape of a ‘5’ on dice), replicating remains of ancient gardens unearthed during archaeological digs. Alice says the shape ensures no plant overshadows another during sunlight hours.

“There was exceptional ingenuity in their thinking,” says Wiremu.

“The garden is not just a collection of carvings and sculptures. It is a working example of material culture and the knowledge passed down from our ancestors about the importance of Maramataka in the uniquely successful planting and cultivation of crops and other environmental indicators.”

34 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

MAANAWA MAIEA TE PUTANGA O MATARIKI MAANAWA MAIEA TE ARIKI O TE RANGI MAANAWA MAIEA TE MAATAHI O TE TAU Hail the rise of Matariki Hail the Lord of the sky Hail the new year

1 Marleina Ruka, pictured

near the ceremonial gate to Te Parapara, has overseen Matariki celebrations at Hamilton Gardens since 2016.

2 Hamilton Gardens is built

near the ancient site of Te Parapara paa, chosen for its fertile soils and access to Waikato River. The gardens, which are still being extended, are world renowned.

Heritage New Zealand

This month, on 11 June – Covid-19 and the mists of the Waikato valley willing – Matariki will shine brightly in the dawn sky above Te Parapara and hundreds of people of many cultures will gather in the garden’s piazza – a place that represents the birthplace of Galileo, the first person to observe Matariki through the magnification of a telescope.

The surrounding forest and exotic plants will be strung with tiny lights. A karanga will call the visitors as they move forward, weaving groups together as they approach Te Parapara; guests will be invited to embrace the wairua of the proceedings. There will be a karakia, waiata and a koorero about Matariki.

The group will then circle the kuumara gardens, stripped of growth in preparation for new planting in spring. They will also be asked to reflect on what Matariki means to them: the beginning of new life; kotahitanga; and a celebration of stories and skills still to be learned.

Words like ‘planning’, ‘nurturing’ and ‘reaping’ have relevance for all forms of life. Rangihaeata – the first light – is a fitting symbol of the significance of a new year.

“It’s a spiritually moving ceremony,” says Marleina Ruka (Raukawa, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri), Chair of Te Ohu Whakaita Trust and President of the Friends of Hamilton Gardens, hosts of the celebrations.

Marleina has been involved in Matariki at Hamilton Gardens since 2016. In 2017 she became Chair of Te Ohu Whakaita Trust, tasked with bringing together a number of organisations to celebrate Matariki ki Waikato. In 2019, the 10th anniversary of the formation of Te Ohu Whakaita, the trust delivered the Matariki ki Waikato Winter Festival, which began with the dawn ceremony launch at Te Parapara garden and included 36 events over six weeks.

In 2020, as plans were building for an even bigger festival, Covid-19 turned the world upside down.

“We were pretty devastated,” says Marleina. But in the spirit of Matariki, Te Ohu Whakaita Trust focused on what was achievable, building a website with funding help and sharing celebrations online.

In January 2021 the trust employed a festival director, Bea Mossop (Ngaapuhi, Ngaati Hine), who has a corporate and events background, to lead the planning team. Bea likens the celebrations to flying a kite. “Every strand has to be in place before it can fly.”

While Matariki is celebrated throughout New Zealand, Bea says Waikato is a great place to begin because of the Kiingitanga (Maaori King movement) and the confederation of tribes.

“Again, it represents the drawing together of people.

While Matariki is a celebration specific to Maaori people, it has parallels in many other cultures. It is a connection of stories from the past and thoughts about the future.”

At interviewee request, this article uses double vowels instead of macrons in accordance with Tainui spelling.

2

MORE ABOUT MATARIKI hue: gourd karanga: ceremonial call, to summon kaumaatua: elder koorero: talk kotahitanga: togetherness, unity Maramataka: the Maaori lunar calendar paataka: storehouses pou: pillars pouwhakarae: main post in the palisade of a paa, usually carved puke: mounds rua kuumara: underground storage pits taaepa: palisade tuuaahu: sacred altar or shrine waharoa: gateway wairua: spirit

For early Maaori, astronomy was woven into all parts of life. They used the stars to understand and interact with their environment, to tell them when to plant and harvest, fish and hunt. In recent years there has been a revival of interest in and interpretation of those practices, including Matariki, recognising a time to honour togetherness and goodwill.

Matariki is a cluster of stars that rises in the predawn sky during June and July. The star cluster is a prominent astronomical feature for many peoples and is known by many other names in different cultures, including Pleiades, Messier 45, the Seven Sisters and Subaru. For Maaori, when Matariki is seen rising, it is the sign of the new year.

The appearance of Matariki is said to predict the bounty of the forthcoming season. It is a time of rejoicing and celebrating with family and friends, of mourning deaths and anticipating new life. At this time, the harvest has been completed and the storage houses filled with produce. People are free to enjoy pastimes such as kite flying, games, music and arts.

The date of the celebrations varies according to location, environment and tribal groups.

The association between Matariki and the kuumara was widespread throughout traditional Maaori society.

Matariki is sometimes referred to as ‘Hoko kuumara’.

Reference: Matariki: The Star of the Year by Rangi Matamua n RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 35

PAPA TE HAPORI PĀNUI• •COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

36 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

Heritage New Zealand

WORDS: NAOMI ARNOLD

TRULY

gifted

In gifting personal family treasures, new windows are opened to the past

Heritage New Zealand

All heritage properties in New Zealand offer connections to the past. But these homes and buildings possess an extra resonance when filled with artefacts that once belonged to people who lived there.

Many of the taonga that reside in properties managed by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga have been donated by whānau or others closely related to the original families.

Objects related to heritage properties play a huge role in how visitors experience historic places and how the stories of these places are told – so having family items brings those closer connections, according to Belinda Maingay, Collections Advisor for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

“There is that connection to the past when you’ve got family items that are passed down through generations and have such strong, clear provenance, which is so important,” she says. “It’s why these gifts are so wonderful to receive.

“There’s a sense of responsibility for these taonga that descendants carry with them. It’s wanting to see them, making sure they are preserved for future generations and recognising that national significance.”

One such set of items comprises heirlooms belonging to John and Hannah King, who were among the first Europeans to settle in New Zealand and were in the group of missionaries that founded the first Christian mission and European settlement in New Zealand at Rangihoua, Bay of Islands, in 1814.

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 37

TE HAPORI • COMMUNITY

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“There is that connection to the past when you’ve got family items that are passed down through generations and have such strong, clear provenance, which is so important”

“To have these very early King items gifted back at Te Waimate is significant,” says Belinda.

A pocket watch engraved with the initials ‘JK’ and a section of Hannah King’s wedding dress are now preserved at Te Waimate Mission in Waimate North, along with a four-seater Australian hardwood settee and five chairs. They were gifted by John and Hannah King’s great-great-grandchildren – Bill King, together with his wife Doris, and his sister Judy Horrell.

The section of wedding dress is on display with other precious linens: the King family christening gown worn by John and Hannah’s son Thomas Holloway King, who was the first European child born in New Zealand; and John’s Irish linen wedding

38 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

shirt, made for him by Hannah. It’s the earliest example of a European-made garment in New Zealand for which the names of both the maker and the wearer are known.

The King family are immensely proud of their lineage, and Bill, now nearly 80, says it’s remarkable how long the fabrics, in particular, have survived.

Bill’s grandfather once bought a safe at an auction for £3 and kept the dress fragment in it for years. “It’s been carefully folded and looked after all this time.”

Donating the items to Te Waimate was the obvious choice for them. “We felt quite strongly that [European] New Zealand history started here and this is where [the dress] arrived, and we wanted to give it to the Mission House where it’ll be secure and looked after,” says Bill. “We wanted to keep it in Northland.”

Alex Bell, who manages the Hokianga properties of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, says the donation gives Te Waimate a unique collection of early New Zealand textiles.

“It’s one of the limited opportunities to view some of the craftsmanship of women in the historical record; things like tools, timber working etcetera survive well and have a bias towards men,” he says.

Heritage New Zealand

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“These items have tremendous personal value to the King family, and the fact that they are willing to share these important heirlooms with the people of New Zealand is incredibly generous.”

Other unusual treasures are a hat, hatbox and scarf recently donated to Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead, Oturehua, once owned by English immigrant Hannah Hayes (the scarf is in the process of verification).

Hannah and her husband Ernest settled in Central Otago after their arrival in New Zealand in 1882, whereupon Ernest began inventing and refining tools to help with farm work. To market his handiwork, Hannah would cycle along the dirt roads of nascent Central Otago settlements in full skirts, while also raising nine children.

Today, Hayes products are still used throughout the world, and the fully operational workshop is a popular stop on the Otago Central Rail Trail. But again, there aren’t many personal pieces relating to how women navigated the world during that time.

Ernest and Hannah’s great-granddaughter Anne Hayes donated the black bonnet-style hat, which sports a black ostrich feather and white fabric roses.

Heritage New Zealand

She says it was better kept at the homestead rather than being hidden away in a box in a wardrobe.

“Because my family has such a public history, I felt that it’d be nice to share it [and] for others to enjoy seeing it,” she says.

It’s “humbling”, she says, having her family represented by the homestead.

“I’m proud when I walk around there and think, ‘That was Dad’s little pedal car.’ It’s a great feeling.”

Property Lead Jessica Armstrong says it’s great to be able to populate the house with actual items that used to belong to the family.

“People do often ask, ‘Was this the Hayes’?’, and for some items we can say yes. For others, we have acquired ones that are the same, so they’re more like props,” she says.

“It’s the real item that adds to the authenticity and experience of the place.

“Hannah Hayes was such an interesting person, but we have so little information on her. So just having a piece of her is nice because her story captures a lot of our interest.”

At the other end of the country, three taonga gifted

by Ngāpuhi rangatira Hongi Hika to early Kerikeri

1 A pocket watch belonging

to John King. He and his wife Hannah were among the first European families to settle in New Zealand.

2 Hannah King embroidered

the initials of her husbandto-be on his wedding shirt.

3 The Irish linen wedding

shirt Hannah King sewed for her husband John.

This is one of the earliest examples of European textiles in New Zealand.

4 A section of Hannah 5 King’s wedding dress, 6 meticulously folded and

stored, has been passed down in the King family.

7 The flyleaf of an 1827

English grammar textbook in the King collection.

IMAGERY: JESS BURGES

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 39

TE HAPORI • COMMUNITY

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missionary James Kemp in 1827 are held at New Zealand’s oldest building, the Mission House (aka Kemp House), a Category 1 historic place built in 1821-22.

Donated by Kemp descendants, there are two tewhatewha and a pouwhenua. Held in the family for 150 years (including a period in which the tewhatewha were in Australia), the taonga are now home again.

The precious items show their history: the blade of the pouwhenua has battle marks and a patina that reveals how it was held during combat. Only chiefs wielded these weapons.

As rangatira of the area, Hongi Hika protected the missionaries who established the Kerikeri Mission Station at the foot of his pā, Kororipo, recognising the benefits of having trading relationships with the settlers.

The taonga are thus a legacy of the earliest partnerships between Māori and Pākehā.

Mita Harris, Kaiwhakahaere Tautiaki Wahi Taonga at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, says Hongi Hika gifted the taonga to the Kemp whānau not long after he had lost one of his sons.

“So you can imagine the heartache and everything that went with that,” he says. “Only he knows why he gave them. We can only speculate.

40 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

2

“They are personal things; you could call them tools, and the pouwhenua in particular is very old, not made with the steel instruments as the other two are.”

Kept inside the home in a glass-fronted case with open sides – Mita points out that this is so they can breathe – the tewhatewha and pouwhenua are occasionally loaned for display elsewhere, such as in St Michael’s Church, also known as Ōhaeawai Māori Church, and Te Whare Karakia O Mikaere, and the recently refurbished Te Ahurea (see page 16).

“It is a big thing for a chief to transfer all those taonga to the Kemp family, and once a chief makes that choice, that’s it,” says Mita.

“But we can start having conversations about sharing them a bit more on some sort of loan agreement.”

Says Belinda: “The family went out of their way to make sure [the artefacts] could come back to Kemp House, which shows the sense of responsibility for these taonga that descendants carry with them.”

In fact, Mita invites everyone in New Zealand to come and visit the taonga at Kemp House and the other places in the region to which Hongi Hika is linked.

“He left a huge imprint on Te Tai Tokerau, as well as other parts of the country.”

pouwhenua: long-handled pointed weapon taonga: treasures tewhatewha: long-handled fighting club

1 Artefacts that tell stories 2 of women’s lives in New

Zealand are rare. A hat and hatbox belonging to Hannah Hayes are two such personal items bringing the past to life at Hayes Engineering Works and Homestead, Oturehua.

IMAGERY: HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND POUHERE TAONGA 3 Ngāpuhi rangatira Hongi

Hika gifted three taonga to James Kemp in 1827.

IMAGE: JESS BURGES

Heritage New Zealand

3

THE GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING Brendon Veale, Manager of Asset Funding at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, says gifts left in wills are the most significant support that the organisation receives, especially the gift of a property or the residue of someone’s estate. These can help enable key restoration works.

He suggests that if you’re considering leaving money or property to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga in your will, it’s best to get in touch ahead of time to finesse its wording.

“It’s quite a complex area,” he says. “Imagine, for example, leaving $1 million to care for Old St Paul’s Cathedral in Wellington – but then six months after your death, an earthquake flattens it beyond repair.

What happens to your bequest?” (As an aside, he points out that earthquakes are now less likely to flatten Old St Paul’s since bequests have helped to strengthen the building.)

“The more specific you make your gift, the more careful we need to be with wording,” says Brendon.

“But if your will says, ‘I leave $1 million to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga to help protect heritage as it sees fit’, that makes things much easier to manage.”

Generally, major bequests are directed towards ‘transformational’ restoration projects at significant properties, he says. “In this way, people can know that they will be making a tangible difference to New Zealand’s heritage. In fact, large bequests are often acknowledged on plaques or notices at the sites.”

Other than cash gifts, people can also bequeath or donate collection items, such as furniture.

Unfortunately, not everything can be accepted, says Brendon; donated artefacts need to fill any gaps in properties currently owned.

“If someone rang and said, ‘I have the original dresser or mantelpiece for Highwic in Auckland’, we would be interested,” he says.

“If it helps us better represent one of the properties we already own or it’s an original item from our property, that’s a priority.

“Even if it’s just an item from a particular period that we don’t have but that we could use to tell a story, that’s useful too. But beyond that it can get difficult.”

If an artefact is a teapot from the 1920s that’s available in a standard antique store, for example, it’s generally not helpful and needs to be on-sold.

If you have a question about an item you’d like to donate, contact Belinda Maingay, Collections Advisor for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. For other gifts or bequests, Brendon says it’s best to contact him directly, via your regional Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga office.

“Touching base with us is always the first step; we are here to help.” n

RETURN TO CONTENTS

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 41

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD KŌPIKOTANGA • DOMESTIC TRAVEL

Shining BRIGHT Winter brings Matariki – and with it, opportunities to embrace the wonders and stories of Māori astronomy WORDS: JACQUI GIBSON

I

t’s almost midnight in the Aoraki Mackenzie township of Takapō/Tekapo. There’s not a breath of wind outside, yet the night sky overhead is a swirling cauldron of cloud and stars.

Inside Rehua, the lakeside monolith that houses the Dark Sky Project, 22 people are waiting for our Ngāi Tahu hosts to tell us the weather dance above has calmed enough for tonight’s outdoor Summit Experience at the University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory to go ahead.

To be fair, it’s not just the possible cloud cover that’s temporarily dampened the mood in Takapō. Thanks to Covid-19, the region’s once humming astro-tourism industry has quietened to a murmur.

42 Hōtoke Kōanga • Winter Spring 2020 2021

Gone are the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flocked here in recent years to experience the internationally accredited Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

Gone too are the many staff who fed and accommodated them and hosted tours.

Tonight, however, the Dark Sky Project’s doors are open and, following months in hibernation, its outdoor and indoor multimedia tours are back on.

By 12.15am we get the all-clear. Soon I find myself swaddled in an extreme-coldweather jacket (the temperature in Takapō at Matariki can hover around zero degrees), jammed into a van of excited tourists and driving past the low-colour streetlights of Takapō up to UC Mt John Observatory.

Heritage HeritageNew NewZealand Zealand

The night sky at UC Mt John Obervatory.

IMAGE: NGĀI TAHU TOURISM

Heritage HeritageNew NewZealand Zealand

Hōtoke Kōanga••Winter Spring 2021 202043 43

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD KŌPIKOTANGA • DOMESTIC TRAVEL

1

All told, we spend around 90 minutes at the research site learning how to identify the southern sky’s three brightest stars (Sirius, Canopus and Alpha Centauri) with the naked eye. Our tour guide prompts us to guess the distance between ourselves on Earth and the closest star, Alpha Centauri (turns out it’s 4.367 light years or about 40 trillion kilometres).

Through scraps of dancing cloud, we pick out the Southern Cross. Then, before we eyeball the solar system with Mt John’s state-of-the-art telescopes, we discuss how cultures around the world have used the night sky to navigate oceans, identify changing seasons and generally make sense of the world around them.

“Polynesian explorer Kupe discovered Aotearoa about 800 years ago in an ocean-going waka steered by the stars, sun and moon,” our guide reminds us as we huddle around her to learn more.

“Jump ahead five centuries and European navigator James Cook used the same night sky to make his way to New Zealand.”

In pre-colonial times, she explains, Māori used a unique lunar calendar – one that began each year with the rising of the Matariki star cluster – to plan seasonal activities such as fishing and gardening.

44 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

“Thirty years ago, very few people knew about Matariki. For the most part, Matariki was a discontinued practice. Now it’s

University of Waikato Professor Rangiānehu ‘Rangi’ Matamua (Tūhoe), author of Matariki: The Star of the Year, says public understanding of Matariki is growing.

While his family’s knowledge of Māori astronomy dates back seven generations to tohunga kōkōrangi Te Pikikōtuku, Rangi says his personal interest ramped up in the 1990s as a university student on a mission to learn about, document and pass on the knowledge of his ancestors.

Around that time, he says, Māori groups and iwi such as Kahungunu in Hawke’s Bay were spearheading a revival of Matariki. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa hosted Wellington’s inaugural Matariki event, which included public lectures, cultural performances and a pre-dawn Matariki viewing.

rangatira: chiefs rūnanga: tribal councils te ao Māori: the Māori world view tohunga kōkōrangi: astronomy expert whakapapa: genealogy

Heritage New Zealand

1 Dark Sky Project Summit Experience.

2

2 The dark skies of Aoraki Mackenzie.

IMAGERY: NGĀI TAHU TOURISM

By the early 2000s, Auckland and Christchurch were regularly celebrating Matariki, followed by regions such as Nelson with Te Huihui-o-Matariki (The Gathering of the Stars) in 2019.

Meanwhile, in February this year Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made good on her party’s election promise to establish Matariki as a public holiday and set a date for the 2022 celebration (Friday 24 June).

Rangi, as chair of the Matariki Advisory Group, helped determine the date and will advise the Government on future dates and how Matariki should be celebrated and communicated to the public.

“It’s wonderful to get to this place,” says Rangi, who was the winner of the 2019 Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize for his work in raising awareness of Matariki.

“Thirty years ago very few people knew about Matariki. For the most part, Matariki was a discontinued practice. Now it’s becoming part of our evolving national identity.”

Mackenzie Tourism Development Manager Lydia Stoddart believes the country’s astro-tourism sector is perfectly positioned to share the story of Matariki.

“Here in Aoraki Mackenzie we’re dusting off the difficulties of this past year and planning what we believe will become New Zealand’s premier Matariki festival.”

She says it makes sense to host a major Matariki event in Aoraki Mackenzie.

“Our region is an international dark sky reserve, so it meets strict criteria for stargazing. We have the partnership between Ngāi Tahu Tourism and Dark Sky Project founders Hide Ozawa and Graeme Murray, who established Rehua, our world-class astro-tourism centre combining Māori astrology and science.

“Our community is learning more and more about preserving the night sky. We have strong relationships with the region’s operators and our three local rūnanga – Arowhenua, Waihao and Moeraki – so any festival will have strong community buy-in.”

Ngāi Tahu Kotahi Mano Kāika Senior Advisor Victoria Campbell agrees.

Also a member of the Government’s Matariki Advisory Group, Victoria helped teach Dark Sky Project staff about Māori astronomy, alongside Rangi, in 2019. These days, following a recent move to the region, Victoria is working with Lydia to plan the region’s inaugural Matariki festival scheduled for July.

Victoria is also a member of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve Board and is behind the board’s bid to see New Zealand become the world’s first dark sky country.

“It wouldn’t mean changes to the entire country, of course, but would instead link up the various dark sky reserves around the country. It would be

Heritage New Zealand

VICTORIA CAMPBELL’S STARSPOTTING TIPS When is the best time to see Matariki?

Early morning – just before the sun rises. My whānau and I will observe Matariki during the Takaroa moon phase – the last quarter of the lunar cycle, which is 2 to 9 July.

What should I look for?

A good marker is Puaka Rigel, which is another important star to Ngāi Tahu and te ao Māori. Once you identify Puaka, track left towards Te Kōkota, located within the constellation of Taurus. Matariki is the small cluster of stars to the left of Te Kōkota. Once you identify Matariki, see how many stars in the cluster you can make out.

Where in Takapō can I immerse myself in the dark sky?

Te Manahuna, the Aoraki Mackenzie region, is an international dark sky reserve.

No matter where you are, if it’s a clear night, you’ll enjoy stargazing. This year the region is hosting its first-ever Matariki festival. Visit in July to enjoy stargazing tours, great kai and a magical environment. For more on the festival, go to www.mackenzienz.com/matariki. n

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 45

PAPA PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD KŌPIKOTANGA • DOMESTIC TRAVEL

1

wonderful for tourism – don’t forget, 80 percent of the world’s population can’t see the night sky because of pollution, urbanisation and so on. And it would provide another way to promote Matariki. There’s a renewed interest in New Zealand’s unique astronomy story – so I think it’s timely.”

Wairarapa stargazing guide Becky Bateman moved from Wellington to Greytown a couple of years ago after learning about the region’s bid to join Takapō as an internationally accredited dark sky reserve.

Today she offers pop-up astronomy tours and sits on the board of the Wairarapa Dark Sky Association. She says Wairarapa is another region suited to astro-tourism and sharing stories of Matariki.

“We’re much smaller in scale, of course. Tours here tend to be more intimate – and very often wine-related, with so many top-range wineries handy. We’re starting to see growing connections between our tourism sector and local hapū and iwi, which are essential for Matariki stories to be told well.”

That’s one of the major challenges for New Zealand’s astro-tourism industry, believes Aoraki Mackenzie

46 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

International Dark Sky Reserve Board Chair Steve Butler.

“I’ve learned a lot about Māori astronomy in this role.

All of it has been extraordinary – from its links to Māori navigation to the fantastic connections between the Māori creation story and scientific cosmology.

“But I do think we have to take care to avoid taking ownership of these stories as non-Māori. The right thing to do is to partner with iwi and hapū – the owners of this knowledge – and to share this country’s extraordinary heritage that way.”

To mark Matariki this year, Kaye Paardekooper, owner of Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat, will host a nine-course dinner to reflect the primary stars in the constellation. Kaye has enlisted Victoria to advise her chefs on the final menu, as well as speak to diners about the cultural importance of Matariki and its connections to seasonal planting and feasting.

“As a business, I’d say we’re at the very beginning of our understanding of Matariki. It’s a big leap into the unknown. But we’re excited. Over time, with the right cultural support, we hope to help others better understand and celebrate this special time of year.”

1 UC Mt John Observatory,

Takapō.

IMAGE: NGĀI TAHU TOURISM 2 Carkeek Observatory,

New Zealand’s earliest observatory, built in 1867.

3 Rawhiti Higgot at the

Carkeek Observatory, Featherston.

IMAGERY: MIKE HEYDON

Heritage New Zealand

2

REMEMBERING NEW ZEALAND’S EARLIEST OBSERVATORY Rawhiti Higgott hopes his ancestor’s legacy will soon feature in Matariki celebrations in Wairarapa. Rawhiti, whose whakapapa includes Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa, Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa and Te Atiawa ki Waikanae, is the great-great-grandson of Welsh amateur astronomer Stephen Carkeek.

In June last year, thanks to hours of research and a formal application, Carkeek’s Featherston observatory was listed as a Category 1 historic place.

“I think it’s a wonderful part of the region’s astronomy story. Would I like to see it rebuilt and become a place for astro-tourism events? Absolutely.

To me that adds mana to the site and to my ancestor’s legacy,” says Rawhiti.

Built on farmland in 1867, the Carkeek Observatory is thought to be New Zealand’s earliest surviving astronomical observatory. Kerryn Pollock, Assessment Advisor for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, helped to research and assess the listing.

She says: “It’s a perfect reminder of how astronomy is embedded in the lives of this region. It’s part of a long lineage that started with Māori, was added to by settlers like Carkeek, and has continued through to today.”

For more information about the Carkeek Observatory, go to www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/9808. n

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 47

PAPA PĀNUII •TE HAERENGA NOTICEBOARD AO • INTERNATIONAL

THE HEAT

is on

A surgeon asleep in the hospital next to Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is woken at 3am by the noise of casks being rolled through a barricade between the two buildings. The date is 24 May 1871 and the revolutionary Communards are about to set fire to the cathedral, with 900 patients lying in the path of the impending inferno.

Over the nine centuries of its existence, Notre-Dame has survived bombs, battles and fires. The most recent existential threat played live to a horrified global audience through real-time footage of a fire that caused the 680-tonne central spire to collapse into the cathedral. The pictures were chilling enough for the layperson, but if your business is heritage site protection, it was a seminal moment.

“I tuned in early,” says Chris Marrion, a fire and disaster risk management consultant, “knowing that it was probably an uncompartmented, unsprinklered attic, and the issues with trying to get enough water up that high, even with ladder trucks – you knew in your gut where this was going to go in the next couple of hours, and it was just devastating to watch.

“Notre-Dame is like the Taj Mahal; there aren’t many buildings in the world that you grow up knowing about, and to watch this was so sad.”

On the phone from his New York office, Chris reels off a depressing list of recent fires at key heritage sites: Notre-Dame; the National Museum of Brazil, causing the destruction of 20 million artefacts; Japan’s 500-yearold Shuri Castle; the Milot Church in Haiti.

“We continue to make the same mistakes,” says Chris.

“We know there are lots of ignition sources. We know there are lots of combustible materials. We know we have so little detection, if anything. We know that without compartmentation a fire spreads from one floor or one room to the next. We know what happens with no sprinkler systems or if there are issues with water supplies or a lack of training and awareness and the problems with restoration.”

Notre-Dame was undergoing restoration at the time of the fire, and that involved the all-too-familiar balancing act of preserving a building’s aesthetics while protecting it using visually intrusive sprinklers and firewalls.

48 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

WORDS: LYDIA MONIN

As new threats emerge – such as an increased incidence of wildfires due to climate change – effective fire protection for heritage sites is now more important than ever

Heritage New Zealand

Paris, France, 15 April 2019: this photo of the roof fire at Notre-Dame is taken from the Pont de la Tournelle/Tournelle Bridge.

IMAGE: CAROLIN KRUG / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 49

PAPA PĀNUII •TE HAERENGA NOTICEBOARD AO • INTERNATIONAL

1

“Even a single fire in a heritage building can result in a tragic loss – a community loses a link to its history” “Hollywood fails to portray just how good sprinklers are,” says Chris. “I think a lot of people with historic buildings fear they’re going to create all this water damage and mould and mildew, yet they don’t have worries about plumbing and hot/cold water pipes leaking and doing damage.”

“Sprinklers are a fantastic means of controlling fires, but you see someone [in a movie] blowing out candles on a cake or someone lights a match, and suddenly all the sprinklers go off, but that’s not the way they work.

Each one has to get hot enough to operate individually.”

He says without sprinklers the fire and water damage (mostly from fire hoses) is usually much worse.

Complying with new fire regulations without ruining the look of a restored building was the challenge that faced owner Ted Daniels when it came to the rebuild of the century-old Bracken Court building in Dunedin after it was gutted by fire in 2005.

“Often a fire engineer will come up with a plan and it may not always be the most beautiful way of doing it, so you have to think of other ways of making it less obvious, like hiding sprinklers in such a way that the pipes aren’t outside the building or on the ceiling.”

50 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

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Wildfire threat

With the recognition of new threats posed by climate change, an increasing number of historic buildings need fire-prevention strategies. As temperatures rise, so does the peril of wildfires.

Todd O’Donoghue, Risk Reduction and Investigations Manager for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, advocates a greater awareness of buildings’ surroundings.

“It’s crucial that any building has a good clear area around it – a good defensible space so that if a wildfire is heading towards it it’ll tend to burn out before it gets to the building.

“We recommend using plant species that are nonflammable,” he says.

“Even a single fire in a heritage building can result in a tragic loss – a community loses a link to its history.”

Heritage New Zealand

Fit for purpose

Back on the streets of Paris in 1871, the hospital’s director pleads with the leader of the Communards.

They strike a deal: Notre-Dame can be torched – after the hospital has been evacuated.

But later that morning, smoke begins pouring from a cathedral window and the Communards have commandeered the fire engines and the firefighters.

Six medics assemble a volunteer force of women, children and one renegade fireman in a desperate attempt to save Notre-Dame and the 900 souls in the nearby hospital.

Improvisation is a guiding principle in Chris Marrion’s work today, especially in remote Mongolian monasteries that use butter lamps, candles and incense routinely and have no access roads and no fire departments nearby.

After Chris was woken at 6am one morning by the sound of a conch shell calling the monks to prayer, he suggested using a shell with a different pattern as an alarm. Younger monks could take on fire watch duties and buckets of sand and dirt and blankets could become makeshift suppressors as there were no extinguishers.

The need for culturally aware responses to the risks in New Zealand’s meeting houses came into sharp focus following a fire in 2003 at Ōwhata Marae in Rotorua.

Following the tragedy, communities were advised to store marae mattresses in buildings separate from meeting houses and not to stack them high, near lights.

“We realised we had to do something, because there were around 50 meeting houses within our wider Rotorua catchment area and they were all at risk,” says restoration expert Jim Schuster, Pouarahi Traditional Arts at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

Traditionally, a meeting house has one entrance, so it needs a second one as a fire exit.

“You get the traditionalists who say, ‘No, there was only one door in the old houses, that’s it’,” says Jim. “We get rung up to advise on what the best option is for installing a second exit.

3

“Quite often it’s about not compromising the artworks, particularly the carvings.”

Jim tells the story of how a serious fire risk was discovered during roofing work on a meeting house in Tauranga. A thick layer of raupō (bulrush) – seven truckloads of it – was found in the ceiling. Rats had also been chewing on the wiring that ran through this dry, highly flammable material. The community decided to replace the raupō with modern fireproof insulation, which raised the issue of what to do with it, as it had been part of the building’s DNA for generations.

“They didn’t want to set fire to it on the marae, so they had it taken to a special swamp down towards the polytech in Tauranga, and by the time the second truckload arrived the first load had been swallowed.”

Some old meeting houses still have raupō insulation, says Jim, despite the risk: “It’s their decision, we leave it to them.”

You suspect that Victor Hugo, for one, would be in favour of keeping raupō insulation. In his book The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, he’s scathing about all the changes made to the cathedral. “Tempus edam, homo edacior.” (“Time is destructive, man more destructive.”)

Revolutionaries may have attacked and pillaged the building, but changes in fashion, “growing ever more absurd”, had been even more disastrous. One imagines Hugo would have despaired at the thought of a glass roof and a spire made of Baccarat crystal that could be lit up at night.

Back to that night in 1871 and that small band of amateur firefighters who managed to smother the flames. By the morning, the regular army was back in control of the Paris area, saving both the cathedral and the hospital.

Newspapers around the globe carried the story of the doctor on duty who first raised the alarm in the wee small hours. His name should be remembered in history, people said. So who was he? His name, for the record, was Victor Hanot.

1 17 February 2020:

the aftermath of the catastrophic fire at Shuri Castle, Naha, Okinawa, Japan.

IMAGE: BEEBOYS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM 2 The historic 500-year-old

Shuri Castle at twilight.

IMAGE: CELSO PUPO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM 3 The National Museum

of Brazil façade in Quinta da Boa Vista park, Rio de Janeiro.

IMAGE: ALESSANDRO ZAPPALORTO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM FIELD, 1892.

4 2 September 2018:

fire at the National Museum of Brazil – an incalculable loss of a 200-year-old institution and 20 million artefacts.

IMAGE: CELSO PUPO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 51

PAPAPUKAPUKA NGĀ PĀNUI • NOTICEBOARD • BOOKS

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

Life, art, work The stories of an academic and an activist, an entomologist and a soldier all show how life and work can be linked to art Life, art and work are often interconnected, as some of the books in this column show. In Freyberg: A Life’s Journey, by Matthew Wright (Oratia Books, $45), Bernard Freyberg’s gift for visualising and planning the strategy and likely course of a battle was his art.

The book gives a depth of insight into Freyberg’s personality. As a leader, he was determined to support his troops far beyond a concern about their readiness for battle. He took the same care in everything to do with their wellbeing, including their need for good food and protection against venereal disease.

His men trusted him. The book gives an account of how Freyberg would go round the

52 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

troops before battle, speaking to them personally. One man tells how Freyberg greeted him warmly with, “So pleased to see you … good luck. Do try to get some sleep”. It was gestures such as this that made the men think they had a friend watching their backs (page 55).

In planning battles, he would always consider every possibility – even extremes, which sometimes made others think he was indulging in fantasy. However, his thoroughness and intense concentration were important parts of his particular mode of strategic thinking.

Matthew’s insights into all that made Freyberg the person he was are so intriguing that you are likely to enjoy getting

to know Freyberg, even if books about war are not your usual reading material.

In a similar vein, George Gibbs’s book, An Exquisite Legacy: The Life and Work of New Zealand Naturalist G.V. Hudson (Potton and Burton, $59.99), provides a picture of someone wholeheartedly committed to his field. The author is Hudson’s grandson and an entomologist like his grandfather.

These days people receive salaries for their work as entomologists; given that was not the case in Hudson’s time, it makes his achievements even more impressive.

Hudson worked in the post office and funded his research from his own income, publishing seven books during his lifetime.

He shared his knowledge by taking others on nature rambles

to show them the wonders of New Zealand’s insect world. His personal collection of insects is now held in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, but this book makes it possible for you to see the beauty of Hudson’s work just by turning its pages.

The book has superb production values. The quality of the paper and printing allows you to see the moths, butterflies and other insects reproduced from Hudson’s original paintings and drawings in superb detail.

Hudson and Freyberg are two examples of people whose lives and work involved art: Freyberg by scoping out battle plans and Hudson by displaying insects through drawings and paintings. By contrast, the next book examines life, work and

Matthew’s insights into all that made Freyberg the person he was are so intriguing that you are likely to enjoy getting to know Freyberg, even if books about war are not your usual reading material Heritage New Zealand

GIVEAWAY

artistic expression through the clothes, designs, music and lifestyles of a decade. Okay, Boomer: New Zealand in the Swinging Sixties, edited by Ian Chapman (Bateman Books, $39.99), is a delight, and a reminder of how it really was, written by several people in 60 brief chapters.

The photos take you back to what now seems a different life, but then seemed as if it couldn’t be otherwise. It’s a splendid present for anyone familiar with the 1960s, although having the book in the house does run the risk of younger inhabitants taking a look and hooting with laughter.

Looking back at the past from this distance can summon disbelief that these events really happened. One of these is covered in The Platform: The Radical Legacy of the Polynesian Panthers, by Melani Anae (BWB Texts, $14.99).

This book details the way young Pacific people reacted to the systemic racism of the Dawn Raids in the 1970s.

Melani explains how, in response to the raids, a group of young Pacific people formed, basing themselves on the Black Panther Party in the United States. She explains how the platform of the group developed and how her

involvement led her to decide to obtain a malu, a femalespecific tattoo of great cultural significance. The malu, which she writes about in detail, is the artform that brings her life and work together.

Billy Apple was a New Zealand artist who became well known internationally. He was born Barrie Bates in Auckland in 1935 and studied at the Royal College of Art in London from 1959 to 1962, where David Hockney was one of his contemporaries. In 1962 he changed his name to Billy Apple and mounted one of the earliest solo pop art exhibitions.

In 1964 he moved to New York where he exhibited extensively with other pop art luminaries, such as Andy Warhol.

He established one of the first alternative art spaces, Apple, which became part of the New York art scene in the 1970s. He returned to Auckland in 1990 and continued to produce his conceptual art.

These days, Billy Apple’s work is held in such illustrious places as the Tate and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Finding detailed material about Billy Apple and his work is made much simpler by reading Billy Apple® Life/Work,

by Christina Barton (Auckland University Press, $75). In one book, you can see his work and find out more about his life and approach to art in fascinating detail.

Another book that takes readers further into a New Zealand artist’s work and life is Karl Maughan, edited by Hannah Valentine and Gabriella Stead (Auckland University Press, $79.99).

In a chapter about Maughan’s early years, contributing writer Linda Tyler explains gardens as nature, shaped and designed by humans. She points out that they are already a form of art, so Maughan’s paintings of gardens are “art made from art” (page 21). Maughan’s paintings are very distinctive and easily recognised. The flowers are extreme, surreal and overpowering. Looking at the paintings is an intense experience.

Linda describes the way Maughan “became aware of how the perception of phenomena in gardens can become intertwined with personal associations and emotions” (page 23). In other words, when you look at his paintings there can be considerable clamouring for

We have one copy of Karl Maughan to give away.

To enter the draw, send your name and address on the back of an envelope to Book Giveaways, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, PO Box 2629, Wellington 6140, before 30 June 2021.

The winner of last issue’s book giveaway (Searching for Charlie: In Pursuit of the Real Charles Upham VC & Bar) is Mr GF Parker of Tauranga.

your attention as links are made to the emotions evoked and the layers of associations the paintings hold for you.

This book has the breadth and depth needed to provide a satisfying way to immerse yourself in the art and revisit Maughan’s painting from the comfort of your home.

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.

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 53

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

Bright lights

INTERVIEW: JACQUI GIBSON • IMAGE: MIKE HEYDON

A vibrant city, says Dr Glen Hazelton, is one that holds on to its heritage but gets on with things too You can’t beat Dunedin’s central city. I love an urban environment where people, place, architecture and culture come together to create that special something you can’t quite put your finger on. If I think of a heritage place that’s important to me, Dunedin’s it.

In just 40 minutes you can take it all in on foot, starting at Princes Street and the Oval and walking through the Warehouse Precinct to George Street and the university area. And, no matter where you are, you’re never far from the waterfront and Otago Harbour.

I have a soft spot for Dunedin’s Warehouse Precinct. It represents my first foray into heritage revitalisation for the Dunedin City Council more than a decade ago. I love the way the buildings tell the story of Otago’s post-gold-rush wealth, yet also reflect where the city is at today.

The Terminus building in Queens Gardens is a great example – 140 years ago it was a big, bustling hotel and today it houses apartments, a restaurant, a garden design shop and a boutique bakery.

What I love about a vibrant city – one that holds on to its heritage but gets on with things too – is that it speaks to all people for different reasons. Some people love Dunedin’s grungy fringe. Others like its arts scene. For others still, it’s the bar and retail strip. For me, there’s no better way to spend time than walking around, breathing in the city buzz and checking out what’s popped up in one of Dunedin’s nooks and crannies this week.

Right now, Dunedin’s a city that’s coming into its own. You only have

54 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

to look around and talk to people.

That’s what I do. I talk to business owners, developers, renters and startups. People here really want to discuss the city’s future and they’re full of so many ideas.

From what I see, heaps of people are experimenting with new thinking. The students, as always, bring a really exciting energy to the city. And there are still plenty of oddballs and tinkerers doing their thing. To me, that’s the challenge for the city – harnessing the creativity and innovation that are here, yet evolving in a way that works for all the people who live in Dunedin.

That’s where I hope to play a role.

I want to support growth that’s sympathetic to the heritage of the city. But I don’t think our current rules and regulations always deliver those outcomes.

As heritage professionals, we have to help people navigate the statutory and regulatory framework more quickly and easily. And we have to shift people’s thinking from ”I need to make a quick buck” to “Yes, I want a commercial return, but I’m also prepared to take the time and care needed to achieve sustainable, long-term solutions”.

Dr Glen Hazelton is Project Director Central City Plan at the Dunedin City Council. He was Director Organisational Development at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and Dunedin City Council’s Heritage Team Leader for Urban Design and Policy, where he led the revitalisation of Dunedin’s historic Warehouse Precinct.

Heritage New Zealand

Hear more from Dr Glen Hazelton on our video: www.youtube. com/user/ Heritage NewZealand/ featured

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Heritage New Zealand

Hōtoke • Winter 2021 55

MARKETPLACE

Consider leaving a gift that will last forever

Stay informed with our monthly e-newsletter, covering the latest heritage news and events membership@heritage.org.nz

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

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

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56 Hōtoke • Winter 2021

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