Historic |

I’m still standing – yeah yeah yeah!

Sarah Mankelow — 24/03/2011

All is not lost – we are keeping some of Christchurch’s historic stone buildings! One of my favourite places to visit is the Sign of the Packhorse Hut and I was really happy to hear that it had survived the latest Christchurch earthquake.

Sign of the Packhorse Hut

It’s a beautiful old stone hut in a great location; perched on a saddle offering a grand view of Lyttelton Harbour below and the curve of the Port Hills sweeping around its edges.

Happy memories are attached to that place – my daughter’s first overnight stay in a hut aged only two! The friends we took with us who had also never been tramping before. The bottle of wine we hauled up the hill to drink with our pasta meal, celebrating a new year’s arrival as the sun set. Staying up all night as the kids played up and took turns to keep their parents awake, finally dropping off at dawn for an hour or two of sleep.

Happy memories – my daughter’s first overnight stay in a hut

Sign of the Packhorse Hut lost its chimney and suffered some cracks in the September 4 quake, but it seems to have held it all together OK this time. Its open again to walkers coming from Kaituna valley or Gebbies Pass, but the track to Mount Herbert is closed pending a geotechnical survey.

This historic nine-bunk stone hut was built as part of a planned series of rest houses by Harry Ell for a proposed summit route from Christchurch to Akaroa. Only four houses were ever built, all from locally quarried volcanic stone.

Making memories

Fort Jervois on Ripapa Island has also survived but has suffered some damage and remains closed for now.

Ōtamahua / Quail Island is safe and open again, another great place for families to go and have an adventure, forgetting about troubles for a while. Most of the reserves on Banks Peninsula are also now open, but reserves on the Port Hills stay closed due to the risks of rock fall. Godley Head too, is closed – all tracks and even the road is a risky place to be until rock hazards can be managed so stay clear.

While we keep getting large aftershocks, rock fall danger is very real, so please, keep safe and keep out of closed areas. Updates on track and facilities can be found on the DOC website.

But there’s nothing like getting back to nature to shake off the stresses of every day living – especially in a town that keeps trembling – so get out and about and make some memories of your own.

In Canterbury, Historic, Huts Canterbury Earthquake, earthquake, Packhorse, Quail Island, Ōtamahua

It’s your place, have your say…

Andrew Lonie — 20/01/2011

Managing DOC land… How hard can it be?

Well, it’s certainly easier if people tell us what they think. If you’ve got a treasured family campsite, or favourite fishing spot you’d like kept unspoilt – or if you’ve got a gripe about the way wildlife or one of your special places is being managed, we’d like to hear about it.

4WD trip in Oteake Conservation Park. Photo: C Babirat.

4WD - a popular form of recreation on DOC land

In Otago and Southland, DOC is seeking comment on what you value (or don’t value) on conservation land by way of a Google Maps mashup. This is an early-bird chance to have input into DOC’s Conservation Management Strategies (more formal consultation will take place later in the year).

Hoiho - an iconic southern seabird - and chicks

It takes about 20 minutes – you can stick electronic pins with comments on a map, showing what you value in different locations and how you’d like it to be managed. There’s also a short survey to complement this and to tell us a wee bit about you.

Stewart Town, Bannockburn Sluicings, Central Otago. Photo: A Lonie.

Stewart Town, Bannockburn Sluicings - one of my own favourite spots

DOC is looking for feedback in other regions too, by different means – find out how in the Consultations section of the DOC website. But for the Deep South:

Tell us what you value on conservation land in Otago
Tell us what you value on conservation land in Southland

Have your say by adding comments to the Google map.

The Google map lets you mark and comment on places you value

Once you’ve completed the survey you’ll have the option of later receiving the survey results, and being kept up-to-date with DOC’s conservation management plans. And finally, we’d also love to hear from your family and friends on what’s important to them – please pass it on!

Blue Lake, St Bathans. Photo: R Suisted.

Summer family fun at Blue Lake, St Bathans

In Historic, Native animals, Otago, Recreation, Regions, Southland

Log-on to our history

Katrina Knill — 24/09/2010

An historic bush camp re-enactment will be one of the features of Log Fest on 9 October

Saturday October 9th promises to be a special day for anyone visiting the Karangahake Gorge, as the Victoria Battery gold mining site is transformed into Log Fest, a family event celebrating the timber heritage of New Zealand.

It is 100 years since the Kauri Timber Company’s first shipment of kauri logs from Waikino to Auckland. These logs were brought down the Waitawheta Tramline, an engineering marvel of its day, which is now part of the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park near Tauranga.

Events and promotions such as Log Fest are part of the day-to-day work for DOC’s Community Relations staff. Community Relations is the part of DOC responsible for local relationships and community involvement. DOC Area Offices around New Zealand have Community Relations teams that work with the local issues and people, so helping to inform and connect their local communities to the work of DOC.

Our Community Relations Ranger here in Tauranga is Pete Huggins, and he has been organising Log Fest as a celebration of the 100-year anniversary.

Pete has also been working with local media to try and encourage people to attend, saying: “We’d like to invite people from nearby towns and cities to come and explore this exciting piece of historic conservation land. DOC is working with local groups to put on a really special day. We have an historic bush camp where kids of all ages can try using traditional saws, cooking on an open fire, and trying woodturning. There will also be train and horse rides, both of which hark back to the grand old days of rail and horsepower. We also have some excellent talks and guided walks for those who want a bit more detail, and to discover the mining history and relics. It will make a great day out for the last weekend of the school holidays”.

Event details are below – come along and be a part of it!

Entry to the event is free, and extra parking will be available at the Waikino Station, SH2, Karangahake Gorge.

A special train service is running from Waihi on the day. For train times and bookings go to www.waihirail.co.nz.

Games and activities run throughout the day, but the following set times apply:

10.00am – opening of Log Fest
11.00am – unveiling of new tracks and displays
12.00pm – presentation on bush tramways by DOC expert Paul Mahoney
2.00pm – presentation on gold mining by DOC expert Paul Mahoney
4.00pm – close

For event details, visit www.doc.govt.nz and search “Log Fest”

For information about logging history in the Waitawheta Valley go to: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/historic/by-region/bay-of-plenty/waitawheta-bush-tramway/
For information about the history and significance of the Victoria Battery go to:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/conservation/historic/by-region/victoria-battery-site.pdf

In Bay of Plenty, Historic, Old Conservation Week posts, Volunteers

Historic heritage hit by earthquake

Department of Conservation — 15/09/2010

By Ian Hill, our Historic Technical Support Officer in Canterbury Conservancy.

We are still rocking here in Canterbury. Since the big 7.1 shake-up on 4 September we’ve had 577 shocks (to Midday 15 September), including the 5.1 quake which provided another really good shake up on Wednesday morning (8 September). This shake was centred 10km from the city (5km from my house), somewhere near Lyttelton, which had already been badly hit.

Lots of Lyttelton’s heritage buildings have been damaged e.g. Timeball Station (which has just had earthquake strengthening), the former Harbour Light Cinema and the Empire Hotel. On the home front, my place is well-off compared to lots of others in Canterbury, as you will have no doubt seen from TV news.

My chimney was dodgy after the 7.1 Saturday morning shake-up and I strapped it up and photographed it. After several big shakes around midnight on Monday (6 September), I could see it was not going to last, so I got some help to take it down. Doing that sure lowered the stress levels, but it is still very tiring with so many aftershocks.

I had the chimney taken down so it didn’t fall on my new garage!

When you return to Christchurch City you are going to see an entirely different city. Many heritage buildings have been damaged and demolition is going on as I write this. It is really sad.

Some light relief helps – one Christchurch small business’s website shows some earthquake humour: Alvarados Mexican Restaurant

Alvarados restaurant being demolished

Assessing the damage

Staveley Lime Kiln, c1890

As you can see, one of the worst affected DOC historic sites is the Staveley Lime Kiln. This kiln did have a crack in it but has now been significantly damaged by the earthquake with a blow out on one of its sides. The area remains closed to the public due to safety risks.

Staveley Lime Kiln – one side of the kiln has collapsed

Awaroa/Godley Head

Here, some of the coastal walking tracks have been blocked by rock falls and slips, including a major cliff face landslide at Godley Head at the end of the tunnel to the searchlights. The tunnel has remained intact but the path on the other side is impassable. The two searchlight emplacements are okay, which is surprising as one has been seriously undermined by sea erosion.

Cliff face landslide on the Tunnel Track at Godley Head

Some of the WWII concrete and brick military sites, such as gun emplacements and underground magazines, have extensive cracking and have been closed to the public. The buildings that housed staff from the NZ Army during the war have developed a few small cracks and dislodging of plaster ceilings, but are remarkably intact after such a jolt and several large aftershocks.

Ōtamahua/Quail Island

The wharf at Ōtamahua/Quail Island, situated in Lyttelton Harbour, has ‘parted company’ with the island itself.

At this stage the historic buildings on the island, such as those used by Scott and Shackleton, appear to be intact.

Ripapa Island

The historic military fortifications on nearby Ripapa Island have suffered structural damage to chimneys and buildings.

Sign of the Packhorse hut

The historic nine-bunk Sign of the Packhorse stone hut has lost some of its chimney and developed significant cracks around windows and doors. Luckily, the track heading to the hut had been closed for the lambing season, so there were no trampers staying overnight when the earthquake struck.

Remains of the chimney at the Sign of the Packhorse Hut

Hakatere Stone Cottage, 1862

The earthquake has further reduced the structural integrity of the Hakatere Stone Cottage by expanding some existing cracking. This has increased the urgency for some restoration work to begin on the building.

Hakatere Stone Cottage

Monavale School

Monavale School, a historic limestone block building, survived the earthquake intact.

Monavale School survived the earthquake

Inner city damage

It appears that Torrens House, which houses the Canterbury Conservancy Office, has withstood the earthquake well with only a few minor cracks found at this stage. However, it is surrounded by several heritage buildings that have not fared so well.

This building was new in 1987 and was built for the Ministry of Works. It was designed to be the Emergency Operations Centre in an event such as this and it even has a helicopter pad on the level 5 roof.

View from level 4 of the DOC Office across Hereford Street (the new IRD building is visible in the background

An inner city building – the old Normal School (now apartments) – has a Reserves Act covenant over the Montreal and Kilmore Street facades, and has not fared very well. Chimneys have toppled and lots of slate on the roof has gone. They are attempting to save this building but it will never look the same.

Rear of St Johns Church Latimer Sq and what is left of the bell tower

St Johns Church being braced after the earthquake

The other inner city complex which DOC is involved in, the Christchurch City Council-administered Canterbury Provincial Buildings, has come through with little damage thanks to the ongoing extensive earthquake strengthening work.

Links:

In Canterbury, Historic

Ohakune gets on its bike

Dave Conley — 04/08/2010

Prime Minister John Key opens the Ohakune Old Coach Road section of the Ruapehu-Whanganui cycle trail.

In Central North Island, Historic, Recreation

Archives For 30/11/1999

I’m still standing – yeah yeah yeah!

It’s your place, have your say…

Log-on to our history

Historic heritage hit by earthquake