ICOMOS New Zealand NEWS Te kawerongo hiko o te mana o nga pouwhenua o te ao 8 September 2010 ISSN 0113-2237 www.icomos.org.nz Softly does it in the city at risk COMOS NZ is urging the Christchurch City Council to take I particular care in assessing damage to its heritage buildings, following Saturday’s devastating earthquake and to learn from the lessons of the 2007 Gisborne earthquake where a number of damaged heritage buildings were demolished when expert advice could have saved them. ICOMOS New Zealand takes the view that engineering advice that is sympathetic to heritage values is important and that the top-ranked heritage buildings that have come through the quake with only moderate damage are testaments to good engineering interventions of the last decade or so. As the diggers move in to Christchurch streets, Dr Ian Lochhead, (left) a board member of ICOMOS and Associate Professor of architectural history at the University of Canterbury urges the earthquake cleanup authorities to seek advice before making decisions on the fates of buildings. “Many buildings that look in a grim state can, in fact, be saved. There should be no precipitous clearing or removal of heritage buildings or structures, and priority should be given to stabilisation, repair, and reconstruction.” He said “Christchurch has a rich Damage to the octagonal room makes it region. ICOMOS considers undue stock of architecturally significant the second time round for Cranmer haste to get back to normal should buildings. The city‟s built heritage is Square’s 1875 former Normal School, now not be allowed to compromise the Cranmer Court, which lost two towers an important part of the city‟s long-term objectives of repair and identity and attraction, and ICOMOS after an earthquake in 1928. Photo: Ann Devereaux reconstruction of heritage. urges owners of heritage places that have been damaged to undertake Ian Lochhead advises “Material that appropriate action and seek want anyone taking any pre- has fallen from buildings should also appropriate advice.” emptive action because they think be carefully assessed because what a building is unsafe. What we want initially appears to be rubble can ICOMOS is reassured by statements to do is protect those buildings as contain valuable, reusable material from the Christchurch City Council much as we can.” ICOMOS that, when reinstated, will help to Policy and Approvals manager, confirms this approach should be preserve the heritage value of Steve McCarthy who said “We don‟t followed throughout the affected damaged buildings.” So what does it mean if we put a comma after ‘reconstruction’? A moment for Crown Minerals Act - The discussion document also serious reflection for members of the notes that there will be further Charter Review Group. Schedule 4 investigations (not currently The government confirmed recently subject to section 4) in the that it no longer plans to remove Coromandel Peninsula, the Dun Charter approved - any land from Schedule 4 of the Mountain area, mesothermal Crown Minerals Act for the purposes gold areas in Otago, the thanks for the of further mineral exploration or Longwood complex and parts of extraction. Stewart Island. All these areas feedback! contain significant historic mining ICOMOS NZ made a submission to sites and/or pre-European stone he ICOMOS Board met last the Minister of Energy on this quarries or both. important issue, as the land Saturday in circumstances contained in Schedule 4 of the Act T memorable as much for the If there is to be a mitigation fund contains many archaeological sites, steady update of texts from quake- from mining royalties then it including many areas of historic gold ridden Christchurch as for the final needs to include cultural mining. approval of the revised ICOMOS heritage within its scope and New Zealand Charter. administered using appropriate ICOMOS made five key points: cultural heritage expertise. Following the June 2010 Board that there was no mention of the Charter approved - meeting the draft charter was importance of historic heritage in circulated to all ICOMOS members the discussion document issued inviting a final round of feedback on by the Ministry. the text. The Board sends its thanks all those who provided comments We were disappointed at the Annual2010 on the penultimate draft. lack of adequate consideration given in the discussion document The charter review group met on 21 to the existence of significant general September 2010, considered all the historic heritage in many of the comments of members and the areas mentioned for Schedule 4 Meeting changes proposed by them, and protection removal, particularly acted upon members‟ proposed on Te Ahumata Plateau (Great changes, making amendments to Barrier Island), the Coromandel Tauranga Peninsula and in the Inangahua the draft revised charter. Section (Paparoa National Park). The draft revised charter has now Friday 5 – Sunday 7 been approved by the Board and There was no mention in the November 2010 discussion document of the will be circulated to members and other key users shortly in PDF form. A protection mechanisms of the printed version and Maori translation RMA and HPA. Details follow will follow. ICOMOS NZ News September 2010 Page 2 Christchurch heritage@risk Above left and right: Damaged and scheduled for demolition is Christchurch’s first high rise, the Category I Manchester Courts, formerly the NZ Express Co building, (Alfred and Sidney Luttrell, 1905-6). Below: Damaged. The Category 1 Community of the Sacred Name in Barbados Street, (J.G. Collins, 1911-12, with earlier sections by B.W. and C.J. Mountfort), has sustained damage front and rear. Photos: Ann Devereaux ICOMOS NZ News September 2010 Page 3 Clockwise from top: Damage to the gable end of the 1905 nave extension, Holy Trinity, Avonside (Category I); detached facade, Empire Hotel, Lyttelton; the only fire- damaged building in the CBD in Worcester St; and one of the lucky ones in Hereford St. Photos: Ann Devereaux ICOMOS NZ News September 2010 Page 4 The original vegetation of the ring of mutual fear that fuelled the Cold islands was zones of mixed War. World Heritage News broadleaf forest of low stature with a climax forest of Neiosperma and The later thermonuclear (hydrogen Pisonia grandis (a very tall tree). bomb) blasts nearly blew a gap in Herbaceous plants such as some the perimeter reef that can be seen bunch grasses may have been in NASA photographs. dominant in dry interiors and in seabird colonies. About 10 species The ownership of the ships on the of seabird breed on the Marshall lagoon floor was transferred to „the Islands and seven pelagic roaming people of Bikini‟ under the Compact species pass through the area. of Free Association between the USA and the government of the Republic The land area of Bikini Island is of the Marshall Islands (RMI). abandoned land because of radiation risk and still has restricted The sunken fleet assemblages on the use. Its vegetation was largely lagoon floor will retain their symbolic destroyed by the thermonuclear an archaeological significance. On tests in 1954 but has since the world scene, apart from the recovered. Japanese fleet of support vessels sunk at Chuuk, there are other The events of Operation Crossroads sunken fleets, notably the WW I had high significance at the end of German fleet scuttled by German WW II and also in the opening crew after their surrender at Scapa Nuclear weapon test Romeo at Nam phases of the Cold War. Flow in the northern UK. Island, Bikini Atoll, 28 February 1954. Photo: U.S. Dept of Energy The target area in the Bikini lagoon is The people of the RMI and Bikini in about 5 km south-east of Bikini, a particular were removed from these small island about 5 km long and no islands so that the tests could Bikini Atoll and more than 1 km wide. proceed. Today they are determined that this aspect of the Australian Convict There were two atomic blasts: the imperial and Cold War programme first, Able, an air blast, and the represented at Bikini should not be Sites on the World second, Baker, underwater. From forgotten. The islands have also the US point of view they destroyed become an important symbol for Heritage List symbolic vessels of a defeated peace and anti-nuclear enemy and demonstrated the movements. Kevin L. Jones capability of atomic weapons against a substantial assemblage of naval vessels - equivalent to the fifth he 34th session of the World largest national fleet on the Heritage Committee meeting in international scene. T Brasilia has added Bikini Atoll and a serial list of 11 Australian The ships that are now sunk on the convict sites to the World Heritage lagoon floor following the tests of list. 1947-1954 were vessels of great symbolic importance in the naval Bikini Atoll history of WW II. In 1946, Bikini Atoll, the northernmost They include the battleship Nagato of the Ralik Chain, was the site of an (Japanese flagship for the attack on early series of atomic bomb tests Hyde Park Barracks Sydney Photo J. Bar Pearl Harbour in 1941), the USS named „Operation Crossroads‟. Bikini Saratoga an aircraft carrier and the Australian Convict sites is also the name of one particular USS Arkansas a battleship. The island nearest the site if the tests on German cruiser Prinz Eugen, Included in the Australian convicts the north-east of the atoll. damaged but not sunk by the sites listing are the following: bombing, was eventually towed to Kingston and Arthur`s Vale Historic An atoll is an irregularly ring-shaped Kwajalein and driven ashore there Area, Old Government House and reef with a chain of islands built up by a storm.