Kearns, RWiles, JColeman, Tara2013-06-182012https://hdl.handle.net/2292/20534The New Zealand population is ageing and policies continue to emphasise ageing-in-place. Accordingly, studies are needed that illuminate the ways in which experiences of ageing-in-place are formed and may create opportunities for, and constraints upon, the maintenance of daily life and wellbeing. In this thesis I address the interrelations between place, being aged, and wellbeing that shape the experience of ageing-in-place for seniors living on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. I employ a phenomenologically-inspired conceptual framework and pay particular attention to how seniors experience ageing-in-place in the context of Waiheke, as a bounded space within reach of a metropolis. This study draws upon in-depth interviews carried out with 28 seniors aged 65 to 94, as well as photo elicitation interviews and participant research journals conducted with 11 of these participants. Taking a Heideggerian approach to phenomenology, I investigate seniors’ experiences through description and ontological reflection. This approach brings seniors’ personal circumstances and the wider social contexts within which they are situated into view. Additionally, the research strategy draws attention to both the symbolic and material qualities of Waiheke and the home environments of seniors on the island. Drawing on my own research logbook, I also critically consider how the presuppositions, meanings, preferences, and experiences that I bring to the research have influenced the interpretations drawn. The study found that Waiheke poses unique challenges for seniors, such as distance, potential isolation, and a lack of advanced care. Yet Waiheke’s ‘blue spaces’, and characteristics of apparent boundedness and permeability, present resources that seniors can draw upon in daily life. Specifically, these characteristics incite a range of metaphors of ‘islandness’ and a particular sense of place and identity that offer opportunities to respond to, and integrate, challenges and change. The majority of seniors in this research interpreted ageing-in-place on Waiheke as a therapeutic experience, finding a sense of wellbeing through a secure sense of self anchored in strong affective ties to place.Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htmhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/nz/ThesisCopyright: The Authorhttp://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccessQ112889390