Heritage titan remembered

WORDS: Antony Phillips

In January 2023, renowned conservation architect Jeremy Salmond passed away. There has been a great deal written about Jeremy since his passing – this is Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga’s tribute to one of our leading heritage professionals, friend and colleague.

Many readers will have come to learn of Jeremy Salmond and his work either through various editions of Heritage Quarterly or Heritage New Zealand magazine or when his work generated notoriety through other media. The projects that garnered his involvement stemmed from the nationally significant to the lesser-known private commissions. Those with an interest in visiting heritage destinations in Aotearoa New Zealand are likely to have visited a place touched by Jeremy’s heritage expertise.

Jeremy Salmond was raised in Gore and like many who grew up in the 1940s and 1950s, home was an old timber dwelling. His grandfather, Louis, and uncle, Arthur, were both architects and during his younger years he developed a keen interest in drawing. These early interests and influences, gently nurtured in his childhood Edwardian villa home, would serve him well when deciding upon a career.

After gaining experience with the Ministry of Works in Dunedin and undertaking studies at the University of Otago, Jeremy completed a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Auckland. At the same institution he later completed a Master of Architecture with the title to his thesis: ‘The New Zealand House: 1800-1910' Jeremy reworked his thesis into a book which was first published in 1986. Later editions would follow, and the publication is now in its eighth edition.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Senior Conservation Architect, Robin Byron, notes the educational importance of this publication as a professional point of reference: “Jeremy wrote the book that has helped us understand the provenance and evolution of dwellings in this country.”

Jeremy and his wife, anthropologist and former Historic Places Trust chair Dame Anne Salmond, established a residence in Devonport (also an Edwardian villa) where they raised their family. He practised as an architect in Devonport, later partnering with fellow conservation architect Peter Reed to form Salmond Reed Architects.

It has been suggested some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant heritage places remain due to Jeremy’s conservation, design and technical contributions. Robin is in no doubt as to the heritage practitioner’s significant contribution, “There is no doubt Jeremy has had a hand in the conservation of many of the country’s most significant heritage places.”

In Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, his conservation adroitness is peppered across the city. Downtown, he served as the principal Conservation Advisor to the regenerated Britomart Precinct including the former Chief Post Office. City landmarks such as the Civic Theatre, Auckland Art Gallery, the former Auckland Jewish Synagogue, the War Memorial Museum and nearby Wintergardens were all recipients of his expertise. Further afield notable mentions: Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wellington and the Pompallier printery in

Kororāreka Russell, and the innumerable private projects and commissions have added a richness to our built environment.

Jeremy’s immeasurable contribution to the heritage community went beyond architectural advice. He was generous of spirit and with his time and his knowledge aided the professional development of his colleagues and heritage practice in this country. “He has forged a path for those committed to the conservation of New Zealand’s architectural heritage and shaped heritage philosophy, practice and policies through his membership and contribution over the years to ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) New Zealand,” says Robin.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff would often work with Jeremy to support heritage owners to cultivate good heritage outcomes in their projects. Byron sums up her experiences:

“Jeremy had an uncanny ability to produce heritage design proposals that seem like the most obvious solutions to the conundrums that on occasion bring a heritage assessor (me) and an owner to an impasse. This deft ability, to find the appropriate responses, is the result of not only an innate intelligence, pragmatism, and design sense, but also of the experience, understanding, scholarship and knowledge he possesses of Aotearoa New Zealand’s architectural legacysmoothed by his ability to communicate articulately, always with wit and bon mots.”

Jeremy was called on by regional offices of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga to assist their cases to the Environment Court. He would often refer to these occasions as “getting a summons from the family.” On one such occasion and relevant to the housing zeitgeist of today, the case concerned the demolition and removal of houses in Auckland’s oldest suburbs. Under cross-examination by Counsel for the appellant, he was presented with an image of a dilapidated, derelict, severely neglected Ponsonby villa to which his elicited and expected response was that the house was beyond hope and ripe for demolition. “On the contrary!” he retorted, stating it was the resurrection of just such places that he had built his career upon. Considered one of the family, Jeremy consistently did a wonderful job supporting our staff in court.

It should be noted while Jeremy’s practice was primarily concerned with historic places, he would set his sights forward not back as was noted in his NZIA (New Zealand Institute of Architects) Gold Medal citation: “Jeremy is interested not only in the integrity of heritage places, but with how they are made fit and relevant for the present and future. He championed good contemporary design and the contribution it makes to the continuum of valued built environments. And not constrained to the conservation of buildings, the Waikereru (Longbush) Ecosanctuary, an initiative that he along with his wife, Dame Anne, founded to help re-establish indigenous vegetation and birdlife at their property near Gisborne, looks ahead to replenish the biodiversity of the place, setting an example for wildlife conservation, management, and education.

In 2007, Jeremy was awarded the Queen's Service Order. In 2018 he was awarded the NZIA Gold Medal, the highest award conferred by the architecture profession, and in 2021 was made a distinguished alumnus by the University of Auckland. These honours were richly deserved and represent a lengthy career of specialist and principled work, firmly embedded in the conservation and layered understanding of our built heritage landscape that will enable future generations of New Zealanders to enjoy.

The thoughts of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and our wide network of friends are with Dame Anne, Jeremy’s whānau and colleagues. n