Abstract:
Writers’ houses are curiosities. For authors, their books surely matter more than the places they were occasionally born in, usually wrote in, and sometimes died. And yet, they are ubiquitous. Writers’ house museums - found in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Antipodes - are conserved as sites of memory and meaning, places stimulating imagination and emotion, and for utilitarian purposes, such as national and local identity, and increasingly, tourism. This paper focuses on the Frank Sargeson House, Auckland, New Zealand. Sargeson (1903-1982) is recognised as New Zealand’s first Pakehā-European author choosing to remain in his own country, capturing the vernacular speech and melancholy emptiness of its men; and admired for mentoring many outstanding New Zealand writers, including women. His house, conserved after his death, is marked by a sign proclaiming Here a truly New Zealand literature had its beginnings. Today, it enjoys the highest statutory protection status. The paper examines the standing of the Sargeson house as a monument (subject to ICOMOS principles) and the ‘persuasive stories’ leading to its establishment and evolution as a site of national significance, albeit possibly the only “fibrolite literary memorial in the world,” and draws on archival records and interviews. It explores the significance of physicality (house and literature), versus the fluid and evolving stories it anchors and generates, acting as a touchstone for future generations to encounter the writer, his literary milieu, his homosexuality, and urban change. All coupled with their imaginings. While heritage preservation often focuses on materiality, this paper elucidates a more nuanced relationship existing between tangible and intangible values.