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Hayes Engineering – the historic oasis at Oturehua in Central Otago and favourite stop-off for cyclists on the Otago Central Rail Trail – caters for all visitors from everywhere; even the four-legged kind.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga extends congratulations to well-known Palmerston North retired architect, David Chapple, who has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the New Year Honours List, for services to the community and to heritage preservation.
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George Low’s boat wasn’t built for speed – it was built more for stability according to his own exacting specifications. It also enjoyed a pride of place that many might find somewhat unusual.
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On 12-16 December 2022, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai held a pilot workshop in Waiuta township, West Coast, to pass on heritage knowledge and building/conservation skills to nine keen DOC rangers.
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Jeremy had many friends in Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. He had engaged with staff over decades of heritage projects, and his advice was keenly sought.
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A beautiful fully illustrated book telling the story of the restoration of Matangireia – the Māori Affairs Committee Room at Parliament – is now on sale through the online shop.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is proposing that the National War Memorial be recognised as a National Historic Landmark to conserve it for generations to come, and you get to have a say.
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Recently installed information panels at Kerikeri’s Stone Store is shedding new light on the stories of interactions between Māori and the Church Missionary Society missionaries who established the Kerikeri Mission in 1820.
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New, strongly woven weed suppressing mats have been created to handle the moving water of streams and waterways that feed into lakes.
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A landmark heritage building on Te Marae o Hine – The Square in Palmerston North, which has been empty since 2017, is about to get a new lease of life and to bring much needed business back into the city centre.
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With fondness, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff remember Alexander Reko (known as Mick) Hesselin, long-time Southland heritage advocate and architect, who passed away 21 December 2022.
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The government is inviting submissions on two bills proposed to replace the Resource Management Act (1991) – the Natural and Built Environment Act (NBA) and Strategic Planning Act (SPA).
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A Victorian-era agate banded pen used by then New Zealand Governor Lord Glasgow to sign the world-changing legislation granting women the right to vote into effect, was until recently archived in the Seddon Collection at Parliament hidden from the world.
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On 6 February we will again celebrate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - The Treaty of Waitangi, documents which are very important to the history, present and future of our nation.
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As a supporter of heritage, we appreciate that you may be interested in the opportunity to shape the future of how we plan our places in Aotearoa New Zealand. Through participation in the submission process, reform as significant as this lets you have your say on legislation that will directly impact heritage recognition, conservation, and protection.
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A unique collection of family papers spanning almost 150 years, and covering watershed moments in the formation of modern New Zealand, has been added to the UNESCO Aotearoa New Zealand Memory of the World register.
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Chairs Hon Marian Hobbs and Sir John Clarke are pleased to acknowledge two new appointments: Professor Rangi Mātāmua to the Māori Heritage Council and Rei Kōhere to the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Board.
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The Government has introduced the Natural Built Environment Bill and Spatial Planning Bill, which will replace the Resource Management Act. A third bill, on climate adaptation, will be introduced later.
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This momentous occasion marked the passing of 150 tumultuous years for Ngāti Maniapoto, including two world wars, two pandemics and economic hardships due to massive land confiscations.
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In January 1945, a German U-boat 862 entered Gisborne’s port searching for ships to sink in New Zealand waters. The submarine, which had earlier travelled into Poverty Bay on the look out for shipping, surfaced at midnight on 15 January and entered the harbour. It was in a tight space, in shallow water and it was a risky venture.
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Two pieces of vintage fabric whose designs celebrate New Zealand’s bird life have inspired new products now available online.
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Two more heritage Blue Plaques have recently been unveiled in Whanganui with great community support, the recipients being the St Paul’s Memorial Church at Putiki and St Mary’s Anglican Church in Ūpokongaro. They are Whanganui’s fourth and fifth heritage buildings to receive the plaques.
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Tohu Whenua marked a significant milestone in December, 2022, with the launch of its first landscape story-based site, Te Kopikopiko o te Waka.
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During the last few days of spring, 2022, a special carving restoration was underway at Ōākura Pā in Taranaki.
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Artist SwiftMantis has created a hyper-realistic feline artwork on Invercargill’s historic Strang Building as part of the 2022 South Sea Spray Exhibition, winning the event’s People Choice Award for their efforts.
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A well-attended centenary celebration was recently held at The Anzac Memorial Bridge in Kaiparoro. The Friends of the Bridge and local northern Wairarapa community held a commemorative service in December which was also attended by Wairarapa MP Kieran McAnulty.
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With the new Aotearoa History curriculum due to start this year, there are plenty of opportunities to find creative ways to introduce New Zealand history to students. Dunedin’s Anthony Breese is using the popular Minecraft game to introduce Dunedin students to heritage buildings.
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A place of special esteem, the Taihape Memorial Park Grandstand has been listed in the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero, as a Category 2 historic place.
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Visitors to the Thames School of Mines' Mineralogical Museum could be forgiven for thinking that the museum's treasures would all be about bright, shiny nuggets. But one of the most important and overlooked exhibits at the museum is a sample of gemrock absolutely unique to this country.
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Last week Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga was excited to announce the launch of a second round of Mātauranga Māori Contestable Grants.
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Heritage New Zealand staff are getting a lot of interest in events they are leading out on for Wellington Heritage Week(s), 24 October to 6 November.
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A Te Araroa cultural mapping project, involving archaeological information and mātauranga (knowledge) of the people to whom the sites are significant, took centre stage at Historic Places Tairawhiti's recent annual general meeting.
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At Alberton, in Auckland, we recently held a special event to celebrate Bet Jamieson being awarded Honorary Life Membership of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
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Late September, just over an hour’s drive from Christchurch, a hardy crowd gathered at the spectacular and wind-swept location of Kura Tawhiti/Castle Hill to unveil three magnificent new pou whenua at the recently upgraded site.
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Thirty-three thousand New Zealanders signed the Māori Language Petition calling for Māori to be taught in schools, interestingly, most of those signatories were Pākeha.
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Dr Richard Davies, husband of Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro, planted a rimu tree at Glenside’s historic Halfway House during Wellington Heritage Week on 2 November to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
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Heritage friends, noted New Zealand writers and historians, diplomats and city councillors, all gathered at Randall Cottage, built in the 1860s, in Thorndon during Wellington Heritage Week to celebrate 20 years of the Cottage being a writer in residence property.
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A large gathering of people including Heritage New Zealand Chief Executive Andrew Coleman, and Māori Heritage Council Chair Tā John Clarke, celebrated the unveiling of Whanganui’s first heritage ‘Blue Plaque’.
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“Who would have imagined eight years after the world’s first hydroelectric power scheme was built in Northumberland... that a hydro-electricity plant would be constructed in the South Island of New Zealand,” says Marion Borrell, a trustee on the Wakatipu Heritage Trust.
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Fyffe House has just the thing for people looking to carve out a bit of ‘me time’ amidst all the end-of-year events and parties, Christmas shopping and menu planning.
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The Whare Taonga, Waipuhi, at Takahanga Marae in Kaikōura was officially opened with a dawn blessing on Sunday 9 October. Over 100 Kaikōura whanau and specially invited guests attended the event.
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An art exhibition with a difference is taking place at the Honey House – the Kerikeri Mission Station cafe – and will run until Christmas.
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Many will be familiar with Myers Park in the centre of Downtown Auckland, notably for the historic Myers Park Kindergarten and the park itself; the expansive, undulating greenspace which graciously ascends to St Kevin’s Arcade that offers an elegant entry to Karangahape Road.
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Hayes Engineering – the historic place at Oturehua which became the cradle of ‘Number 8 wire’ innovation in the late 1800s – is coming alive again.
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“Come here and breathe out.” That’s Sarah Sharp’s advice to visitors pulling up at Hayes Engineering.
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After two years of Covid cancellations, the Bay of Islands A&P Show was back in force in November with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga present again – this time with a display illustrating Māori use of stone.
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This year’s ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) New Zealand and HPA (Historic Places Aotearoa) jointly organised conference was held recently in Auckland.
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North island brown Kiwi are doing well enough that some have been released back into predator-free rural Wellington.
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The Otago Southland Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is currently working on a heritage listing report for the Manor Place Conveniences owned by Dunedin City Council.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga’s Canterbury/West Coast team enjoyed hosting a stall at the New Zealand Agricultural Show, after a two-year hiatus.
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The much admired Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga offices in Princes Street Ōtepoti, Dunedin, proved the perfect venue to kick off the summer season with our Tohu Whenua partners this month.
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An exciting new map and walking guide incorporating many heritage highlights of Tauranga has been produced in time for an expected influx of visitors into the Bay of Plenty over summer.
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The Northland office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has relocated to 21 Hobson Avenue in Kerikeri.
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A month spent in the Hokianga as the first-ever creative in residence at The Church – Rawene has rewritten the script for Auckland-based playwright Geoffrey Clendon.
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By 1961 the original occupants were long gone from Antrim House, and their home was being used as a Public Service hostel for young single men who were employed by Government Departments.
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A panel of some our country’s leaders in religion, race relations, heritage, arts, business and Māoridom took to the stage during Taranaki’s inaugural Heritage Month in October.
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Wellington Heritage Week was extended to two weeks this year, which provided the opportunity for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff and members of the Tawa Historical Society to bring together a presentation on the history of Tawa, followed by a walk to several historical sites in the suburb on a magnificent sunny Saturday.
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There was a time when if anyone had a question about Tairāwhiti’s history, the answer would be ‘ask Sheila’.
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The post-earthquake restoration of Tiptree cob cottage has reached a major milestone.
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The wheels came off the machinery at Clark’s Mill the other day – along with a segment of its conveyor belt and other associated pieces of century-old technology.
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Nearly a century after Sir Charles Norwood, Mayor of Wellington, founded the service, Wellington Free Ambulance remains the only ambulance service in New Zealand that is free of charge and the only service operating over the greater Wellington region including the Wairarapa.
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‘Trailblazers and Troublemakers’ was the theme for this year's West Auckland Heritage Conference held recently.
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Historian Haureh Hussein from Germany recently found himself immersed in the middle of his field of research in the Bay of Islands.
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During Te Wiki o te reo Māori last month, a group of five Year 13 interns from Waikato were invited to Wellington to experience the heritage and cultural sector within government.
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Original items associated with Highwic, the historic house in Newmarket cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, have returned home.
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People who want to dive with a purpose and who are passionate about shipwrecks and other underwater cultural heritage may want to register for this GIRT citizen science project in 2023.
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Te Whare Waiutuutu Kate Sheppard House is hosting events and new exhibitions as part of Christchurch City Council’s 2022 Heritage Festival.
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One of New Zealand’s oldest manufacturers has started selling some of its products in New Zealand’s oldest shop.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff who worked with Warren & Mahoney partner and director, Roy Wilson, FNZIA, remember a man of great respect, of dedication to heritage preservation, and for his humour. Roy sadly passed away in Lower Hutt at the end of August, following a long illness.
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This year Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori marks the 50th anniversary of the Māori Language Petition which was delivered to parliament on September 14th 1972.
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The Secret Lives of Stencils is an exhibition that celebrates the life and 150-year history of the New Zealand wool bale stencil and aims to preserve the memory of an aspect of our pastoral heritage that is rapidly disappearing.
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The organisers of Wellington Heritage Week have extended their programme a further week, with this year’s event running from 24 October to 6 November.
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Historic Places Hawke's Bay is hosting a number of events in the area over September and October covering a range of topics and locations of interest to heritage buffs and the curious.
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Stone walls rock! That’s the message two fans of Northland’s dry-stone walls will bring as part of the Kōrero/Conversations section of Upsurge – an eight-day festival of the arts in the Bay of Islands region.
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Māori and English are regularly spoken within Matangireia, the former Māori Affairs Committee Room at Parliament, but recently the sounds of Italian were also heard drifting through the room.
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Funding supports interpretation signage for Raiatea, the new whare taonga (museum) at Motuti Marae.
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A well-respected senior kaumatua and passionate advocate for Ngāi Tamarāwaho, who was pivotal in safeguarding tribal interests, advancing Māori kaupapa and unpacking complex issues with pragmatism and diplomacy.
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A landmark historic building in Rawene, which has been brought back from the brink of decay and restored to life, hosted its first community engagement recently.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff were saddened to hear that renowned Christchurch architect Sir Miles Warren has died.
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Experience a special harvest of Kiekie in the first of our Matangireia mini-documentary series.
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Divers with a passion for history and exploring historic shipwrecks will have the opportunity to hone their underwater archaeological survey skills in a two-day workshop to be held in Whitianga early next year.
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The Northland office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has relocated from the Kerikeri NorthTec campus to UD/21 Hobson Avenue in Kerikeri.
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Amidst the backdrop of misty rain, a cosy party gathered inside the former studio of artist Ralph Hotere to celebrate the recent Category 1 heritage listing of Hotere’s studio on the Rārangi Kōrero/New Zealand Heritage List.
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We are saddened to hear that historian Richard Bradley passed away in July.
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The Richmond Lock-up at Washbourn Gardens, Richmond was first entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero in 1982 and recent new research by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has revealed that it was built in 1908 not 1860 as thought.
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One of the last sheep rostrum buildings in the southern hemisphere and possibly elsewhere in the world, is to get some key conservation work to preserve it for many more years to come.
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Contestable Grant funding supports Rongowhakaata historian to complete book.
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After being found to be earthquake prone in 2015 and closed to the public for several years, the St James Theatre in Courtenay Place, Wellington, has been strengthened and restored to its former glory.
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Irenee Cooper – granddaughter of Dame Whina Cooper – recently called into the Stone Store in Kerikeri just prior to a fundraising screening of the movie Whina.
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Winter heritage escapes - exclusive discounts for members of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
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In our latest video, Northland Area Manager Bill Edwards reveals the inner workings of a centuries-old fish trap.
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First uwhi trial at midway point of pest and weed control project.
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Whanganui District Council is demonstrating its leadership in heritage support in New Zealand with its commitment to the retention of its heritage assets.
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A unique artwork gifted to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is now on display at Te Whare Waiututu Kate Sheppard House.
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Historic beginnings have sowed the seeds for what has become almost a national religion in this country.
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A chance reading of a book recording the observations of a French mariner on an early voyage to New Zealand has highlighted rare, documented evidence of a plant brought to Aotearoa by Polynesian settlers.
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A new podcast focusing on Matariki produced by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is available for the first ever national public holiday celebrating Matariki on June 24.
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Volunteers Bridget and David Hallsworth are signing off after three years of dedicated service caring for the gardens of the historic Pompallier Mission and Printery in Kororāreka/Russell.
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This volunteer opportunity involves joining a great team committed to the care of an iconic heritage property.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga expresses great sadness at the passing of Don Neely, writer, historian, and top cricket administrator in New Zealand, aged 86.
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Our latest podcast episode is a collection of five interviews which will lift the covers on certain food traditions associated with Matariki. We will share some insights from our Māori staff about their experiences of Matariki celebrations.
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After years of careful and dedicated restoration, the former Forresters Hall (Railway Lodge) in Auckland’s Freemans Bay has been listed for sale.
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Ralph Hotere’s studio on Oputae/Observation Point in Kōpūtai/Port Chalmers has been entered into the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero as a Category 1 historic place.
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With the flu season at our door accompanied by the annual urgings to get flu shots and messages around Covid boosters, it is interesting to see a piece of New Zealand medicinal history back in the media gaze.
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Each year construction companies across the country compete in the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards, which includes a category dear to our hearts – the Heritage and Restoration category.
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This year’s Arbor Day (5 June) will have special significance for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga when the first ever Rākau o te tau / Tree of the Year Aotearoa will be announced.
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Zealandia gifts kiekie to the nation through first-ever harvest.
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Rosemary Baird interviews recent PACE intern Laura Bythell.
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The former Earnscleugh homestead in Central Otago has new owners.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff from the Christchurch office enjoyed a recent visit to the newly restored Dorset Street Flats.
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Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga will miss the warmth and mana of Dame Aroha Hōhipera Reriti-Crofts.
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Applications for the National Heritage Preservation Incentive Fund 2022 close on 24 June.
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Māhia is the latest destination for Historic Places Tairawhiti members interested in learning about the people and places of Te Tairāwhiti.
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Wellington’s landmark cinema, Courtenay Place’s Embassy Theatre, opened in 1924, is to receive in excess of a million dollars as a loan to the Embassy Theatre Trust.
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A respected and familiar figure who strode purposefully along our many corridors of power during almost six decades of dedicated service to the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
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A website giving access to a treasure trove of traditional knowledge, expertise and historical information on Pacific voyaging, which has never been assembled in one place before, was launched during New Zealand Archaeology Week (23 April - 1 May).
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A new addition to a popular podcast series on New Zealand archaeology throws a spotlight on little known wartime history of Northland.
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Matariki, the first national public holiday which recognises and celebrates mātauranga Māori will be celebrated on Friday 24 June 2022.
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Kerikeri heritage stalwart Grainger Brown has done it again. The Heritage Northland Inc. volunteer has combined his charting and navigation skills with a love of history to develop a map that accurately records the position of French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and his two ships – the Mascarin and the Marquis de Castries – during the five weeks they were in the Bay of Islands in 1772.
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With Aotearoa New Zealand beginning to welcome back visitors and international travel on the cards once again, it is timely that we remind you about one of your most valuable membership benefits – free entry to heritage sites overseas.
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The recent collaborative graffiti clean-up mission at the Hazelburn rock art site near Pleasant Point is a great example of practical problem-solving in action.
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Heritage stonemason Ross Miller is bringing his years of expertise to the repair of the Single Men’s Quarters at Hayes Engineering.
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Our mokopuna (grandchildren) are so busy these days with seemingly only enough time to look ahead or down, often as they seek information, affirmation, entertainment or enlightenment. Meanwhile their elders have knowledge that they sometimes cannot find an audience for.
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The project, ‘Nga Tapuwae - in the footsteps of our Tīpuna’ was launched on Friday 21 January 2022 in Wharekāhika Hicks Bay. Project Leads Hal Hovell and Michelle Wanoa are delighted to have received funding of $25,000 which will facilitate the purchase of mapping resources and getting onto sites.
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This year, for the first time, New Zealanders will celebrate our new public holiday, 'Matariki' - an ancient celebration connected to harvest cycles. This is the first in a series of stories as we count down to Matariki.
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The generosity of two people means a roof over Antrim House for a long time to come.
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E ngā mana o te motu, tēnā rā koutou katoa
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is pleased to announce the successful applicants of the 2021 Mātauranga Māori Contestable Grants.
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Large woven ‘uwhi’ mats laid by divers are being trialled as an alternative method to suppress growing weed problems at Lakes Rotoiti and Tarawera.
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To commemorate ANZAC Day we are looking at some of New Zealand's war memorials.
War memorials come in all shapes and sizes in New Zealand, and represent all sorts of stories of bravery and grit. Here are just a few...
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If your appetite for New Zealand archaeology has been whetted over Archaeology Week, we have some further recommendations for your viewing and reading.
