Speech - Auckland Heritage Festival Opening, Auckland War Memorial

Speech notes prepared for the Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon Judith Tizard.

Kia ora koutou katoa and good evening

Thank you for inviting me to tonight’s festivities.  As Associate
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, and as a very proud
Aucklander, I am delighted to support the Auckland Heritage
Festival’s two weeks of celebration of the qualities that
make this city such a special place to live in.

Auckland is the sum of many things: its astonishing natural features,
the glorious coastlines and harbours, a long history of Māori
settlement, the social and built heritage, and the vibrant multi-cultural
communities of the present.

The Heritage Festival focuses on all these aspects, reminds us of
who we are, and how this fantastic city came to be. 

With this knowledge, I hope that we will have more awareness of the
need to be careful with what we have, and to preserve it for future
generations of Aucklanders to enjoy.

I would like to acknowledge the hospitality of Ngati Whatua o Orakei,
the tangata whenua of Tamaki Makaurau, who are again holding an
open day at Orakei Marae, as part of the Festival.

And I would like to also make special mention of the Rangitoto Island
Historic Conservation Trust, which will be providing tours of the bach
community on Rangitoto as part of the Festival.

I am able to announce today that the Trust has recently been awarded an
Honorable Mention in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards
for Culture Heritage Conservation. I understand this is the first time a
New Zealand project has received such an award.

The Trust received this award for the restoration of one of the
remaining baches on Rangitoto Island. For Aucklanders, this award
will be especially sweet, as Rangitoto is one of the defining iconic
features of our visual environment. 

It also recognises the significance of the bach tradition in New
Zealand life, and the importance of preserving the last remnants of
these wonderful examples of make-do and self-reliance.

Congratulations to all the members of the Trust who have worked
hard to restore the baches, and my thanks to the sponsors of this
work.

This work aligns with the aims of the Heritage Festival – to
celebrate, embrace and learn about Auckland city’s unique natural,
social and built heritage.

The baches that are being restored on Rangitoto Island are being
utilised for a number of purposes. I understand that some are
available for people to stay in, but just to keep things authentic, the
facilities have not been updated. That means cold water from a tank,
and long-drop toilets.  If Aucklanders want to experience the
authentic kiwi bach lifestyle, without a seven hour drive, then
Rangitoto will be the place to go.

If trips across the harbour to Rangitoto and other islands in the Gulf
don’t appeal, there is a huge range of other events on during the
Heritage Festival, which looks to have something for every taste, and
every budget.

If conservation is a passion, it will be possible to learn how paintings
are conserved, or to work on restoration of native pasture on
Maugawhau-Mt Eden.

Nostalgia buffs will be able to take high tea, or watch Bing Crosby
and Grace Kelly at the Civic. Those with an interest in geology and
the origins of Auckland’s landscape can follow this up at a number of
events, and many of Auckland’s most historic buildings will have open
days. The heritage pub tour sounds a winner, and there are dozens
of guided tours and activities all over the city.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum will play a central role in the
celebrations – to kick things off very shortly, Aucklanders will be
wowed by projections of historic panoramas of the last 168 years of
the city on the North Facade of this building.

I am sure we are all looking forward to sharing this unique spectacle.

As you know, arts, culture and heritage have been a particular focus
for this government, because we know how central they are to our
sense of identity.

A strong sense of community, an appreciation of natural and social
heritage, and celebration of our diverse communities will stand
Auckland in good stead in the future.

Congratulations to everyone who has had a part in making all of this
happen.