Abstract:
Historic heritage is recognised as an intergenerational resource delivering social, environmental and economic benefits. In New Zealand, protection is regulated under the Resource Management Act 1991 and through the activities of the national agency: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Tonga. This framework suggests that New Zealand values heritage, but institutions lack the capacity for the effective implementation of their mandates. This predicament has been aggravated by a series of major earthquakes over the last seven years, along with development pressures in the larger cities. The paper investigates the importance of built heritage in contemporary New Zealand. It argues for the need for nuanced planning, policy and funding models that take a long-term perspective striking a just balance between public and private interests in the protection and conservation of the past. This must have relevance in the present and space made for the new, but surviving elements become precious through rarity, affording historical insights while conferring distinctive urban identities and sense of place.
