Draft Heritage Strategy 2019 - 2029

Christchurch and Banks Peninsula have a rich and diverse heritage, and it’s a significant part of our identity. The places, memories and stories of all our cultures are treasures to be shared, celebrated and passed on to future generations. Valuing and connecting with our taonga provides many benefits and is a vital foundation for a vibrant, dynamic and sustainable 21st century city.

This strategy builds on a significant legacy. We have a long history of recognition and protection of our taonga by the Council, the six papatipu rūnanga and the community, which we owe to earlier generations of kaitiaki (guardians), heritage professionals and advocates.

The earthquakes had a devastating and unprecedented impact on the built heritage of Christchurch. The scale of loss and change in such a short time period is rare in national and international terms. As a result, the community has indicated that our remaining heritage is even more precious and valuable.

As a champion of the value of taonga to our identity, the Council has a leading role in heritage in the district.

The Council’s partners, the community and building owners also play vital roles. This strategy recognises our ability to achieve better heritage outcomes through working together.

In the spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi), the Council and the six papatipu rūnanga who hold mana whenua (jurisdiction over tribal land) rights and interests over the District are partners in this strategy.

Community input has been essential in shaping this strategy, through public and stakeholder engagement (online surveys, drop-ins, and workshops) in 2017 and 2018. The Council engaged with private owners, trusts, organisations, museums, archives and galleries, professionals, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (HNZPT), the Department of Conservation (DOC), ChristchurchNZ, and a number of resident, history, cultural and interest groups throughout the city.

This strategy acknowledges the vital role these groups, individuals and whanau (families) have in sustaining our heritage.

The community has told the Council that its concept of heritage is incredibly broad, with many dimensions, all of which are important to the district.

• Our Heritage, our Taonga connects us
  It connects us to places and to people, to the past and to those who will follow, to our culture and identity.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is tangible and intangible built and natural and comprises places, objects, stories, memories and traditions. It includes:
  Our Journey, Our Stories – we have all journeyed here, and brought our own stories, traditions, objects and memories.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is those things we inherit, care for and pass on.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is visible 
  (including tangible, physical evidence such as buildings, objects, etc.)
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is the invisible
  and may be intangible or hidden (includes knowledge, stories, smells, etc.)
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is culturally diverse 
  reflecting all the cultures in our community.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is varied in scale and type.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga includes cultural landscapes 
  the connection between culture, nature and landscape and intangible and tangible values within particular areas.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga includes built heritage 
  which represents different styles, materials, designers and eras, and the people, uses and stories associated with them.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is valued for different reasons 
  and is seen through different lenses by different groups within the community. 
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is more than history
  we live it.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is expressed, recorded and shared
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga has different levels of significance.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is shaped by local communities.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is shaped by the Canterbury Earthquakes.  
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is what we have lost 
  in the recent earthquakes, and throughout our history - and what has been saved and survived.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is ever evolving,
  and can be seen as a continuum from past to present to the future.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga is still being created and discovered.
• Our Heritage, Our Taonga weaves our stories together

Our Heritage, Our Taonga is important to the communities of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. Public engagement has told us that heritage is of value for the many connections it provides to people, place, culture, identity and the past. It is also beneficial to the wellbeing of individuals and the community.

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community will seek to:

• Work with its partners and the community to ensure heritage places, spaces and stories are accessible to everyone.
• Facilitate the development of a Heritage Charter (see Implementation) which will acknowledge the value of heritage and taonga to Christchurch and Banks Peninsula and make a commitment to work together to achieve positive heritage outcomes.
• Continue with an annual Heritage Week and support groups and communities to participate.
• Celebrate and promote the Council’s role as heritage champion.

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community, will seek to:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with the papatipu rūnanga and involve rūnanga representatives in decision-making on heritage and taonga.
• Include Ngāi Tahu taonga throughout the narrative for storytelling in the district.
• Provide a variety of opportunities for the community to connect with Ngāi Tahu and Māori heritage.
• Raise awareness of Ngāi Tahu heritage across the Council.

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community, will seek to:

• Highlight and promote the cultural diversity of heritage and taonga in the district, including ethnic communities.
• Acknowledge, respect and where possible enhance the heritage of the distinct communities and neighbourhoods which create a sense of place and local uniqueness for those who live there.
• Acknowledge the importance of anniversaries, traditional commemorations and events, and support communities to celebrate them.   

Mahinga Actions:

The Council, in partnership with the six papatipu rūnanga and together with the community, will seek to:

• Protect heritage.
• Investigate and promote funding sources for heritage projects available through other agencies, and provide information and support to communities to access this funding.
• Support the development of a more strategic approach to the collection, conservation and management of our moveable cultural heritage.
• Support owners of heritage buildings.
• Provide and facilitate accessible and centralised heritage advice, advocacy and information, including.
• Review the Council’s Heritage Conservation Policy and identify the need for any additional policy guidance required to support this strategy.
• Review project management processes to identify tools and systems to better provide for the identification, protection and promotion of heritage places, names, features, neighbourhood character, place-making and integrated storytelling as part of Council projects.

Rewind, at Ferrymead Heritage Park (the Bakery), 50 Ferrymead Park Drive:

Sunday 14 October 10am-2pm

Tūranga (new Central Library) in Cathedral Square:

Wednesday 17 October 10am-2pm

Akaroa Farmers Market, Madeira Hotel carpark, 48 Rue Lavaud, Akaroa:

Saturday 20 October 10am-12.00

Former Singlemen’s Quarters, Halswell Quarry Park, 179 Kennedys Bush Road:

Saturday 20 October 2-4pm

Orton Bradley Park Spring Fair, Marine Drive, Charteris Bay:

Sunday 21 October 11am-2pm

Matuku Takotako: Sumner Centre, upstairs, 14/16 Wakefield Avenue, Sumner:

Saturday 27 October 10am-12.00

Lyttelton Farmers Market, London Street:

Saturday 3 November 10am-1pm