Constructing the Identities of Place
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CONSTRUCTING THE IDENTITIES OF PLACE: AN EXPLORATION OF MĀORI AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE PRACTICES IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND By Elizabeth Dale Pishief A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Museum and Heritage Studies Victoria University of Wellington 2012 Fig. 1: Map of New Zealand showing major settlements. i ii Contents Page Map of New Zealand i Abstract v Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations ix List of figures xi Introduction: Exploration of place, person and performance 1 Chapter one: Māori land-based heritage within the settlers’ discourse 55 Chapter two: The imperative of science: the archaeological discourse 81 Chapter three: Te Ao Māori: the Māori discourse 129 Chapter four: Place, performance, person and ‘the Connect’ 177 Conclusion 229 Glossary 237 Bibliography 241 iii iv Abstract This thesis examines a problem in current heritage practice, namely, the statutory management of archaeological sites separately from other heritage places with the consequent loss of many sites of importance to Māori. It explores places and the different meanings and practices of heritage constructed around them by archaeologists and Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand where such questions have not been critically examined in great depth. The study responds to this gap in the literature by setting out to develop a theory of heritage practice that enables the effective translation of peoples’ heritage aspirations into a workable model of heritage management in place of the current framework. The research has used an interdisciplinary theoretical framework developed from the literature of heritage studies and related fields, which builds on Laurajane Smith’s work on archaeology and the authorised heritage discourse, but also includes writing on governmentality, phenomenology, kinaesthesia, agency, and material culture. The research design employed a qualitative, interpretivist methodology. Discourse analysis of the evidence gathered from secondary sources, including legislation and policy; and an ethnography of current professional practice in the form of interviews and participant observation, all produced rich findings about heritage, place and practice that are fundamental to understanding the complex issues examined in this study. The main finding that emerges from the research is a refined theory of heritage. I argue that heritage is comprised of three tangible elements: person, performance and place, which create what Māori respondents refer to as the ‘Connect’, a contemporary Māori heritage practice related to customary concepts. Heritage is the Connect. The research has led to the formulation of a more appropriate trans-cultural, bi-national governance model of heritage. As one of the first sustained pieces of critical analysis of heritage management in New Zealand, this thesis thereby makes a significant academic contribution to critical heritage studies and the history, theory and practice of heritage management in this, and other post-settler nations. v vi Acknowledgements Many people have helped me during the years since I began this thesis. My first heartfelt thanks go to my supervisors, Dr Conal McCarthy and Dr Gavin McLean, for their support, and wonderful encouragement, guidance and advice throughout the whole process. I also thank the distance staff of the library at Victoria University for their dedication and efficiency with all my requests. This study would not have been possible without the kindness and assistance of the people who were my interviewees and whose thoughts, ideas and experiences have enabled me to undertake this research. I thank Kevin Jones, Kiri Petersen, Dan Witter, Jeremy Habberfield- Short, Rick McGovern-Wilson, Mark Allen, Cathryn Barr, Pam Bain, Karen Greig, Robert Macdonald, Rose Mohi, Darren Botica, Te Marino Lenihan, Cherie Williams, Frankie Williams, and Billy (Waitaha) for their time and interest in this topic. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to these colleagues and tangata whenua. Some of these people are my long-time friends and they have given me considerable support over many years. I particularly want to thank Pam Bain for her insightful comments and invaluable understanding of our ‘East Coast.’ I cannot thank her enough. Karen Greig, too, has been a wonderful friend and commentator for years, and our weekly telephone calls have greatly invigorated me as we discussed our experiences of the process and shortened the distance between Dunedin and Napier. Rose Mohi, Cheryl Brown, Sharon Dell, Mark Allen, and Patrick Parsons have provided much encouragement, advice and trans-cultural views throughout. I particularly want to thank Robert Macdonald whose comments and world view have greatly contributed to my own understandings of Aotearoa New Zealand. Finally I want to thank my friends and family in Napier and Wellington who have put up with my reclusive behaviour and supported me throughout the experience, especially Ann Herbert, Raewyn Burke, Anne Loan, and Beverley Fullerton-Smith. I thank Becky, Rese and Chris Gray for their generous hospitality whenever I have come to Wellington. I thank my father Peter Bloomer and my dear mother the late Hilary for their love and encouragement. I thank my wonderful children and children in law: Justin, for always being on hand to help with the vii computer, and Shelley; Kate for her daily love and support; Alex for looking after me in Wellington and being such a great help with the proof reading and formatting; Evelyn and Pete; Matthew and Shirley; and the three little boys, Cairo, Caleb and Joshua for delighting me. viii Abbreviations ADG Assistant Director General AHD Authorised Heritage Discourse AJHR Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives ANZ Archives New Zealand ANZAC Australia New Zealand Army Corps ARC Auckland Regional Council B&CA Burial and Cremation Act 1964 BVCCT Bay View Community Charitable Trust CA Coroners Act 2006 CfE Commissioner for the Environment CFRT Crown Forestry Rental Trust CHM Cultural Heritage Management CRM Cultural Resource Management CVM Cultural Values Model DoC Department of Conservation EPA Environmental Protection Authority GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System HPA Historic Places Act 1993 ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites IHD Iwi Heritage Discourse MCH Ministry for Culture and Heritage MHC Māori Heritage Council NIWA National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd NZAA New Zealand Archaeological Association ix NZFS New Zealand Fire Service NZHPT New Zealand Historic Places Trust NZTA New Zealand Transport Authority Opus Opus International Consultants Ltd PCE Parliamentary Commissioner of the Environment POA Protected Objects Act 1975 PVC Pro Vice-Chancellor RMA Resource Management Act 1991 RSA Returned Servicemen’s Association SPA Scenery Preservation Act 1903 SRF Site Record File SRS Site Recording Scheme TCPA Town and Country Planning Act 1977 Te Papa Te Papa Tongariro/Museum of New Zealand The Treaty The Treaty of Waitangi The Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal The Trust The National Trust (NZHPT prior to 1963) TPK Te Puni Kokiri TTWMA Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation x List of figures Fig. 1. Map of New Zealand i Fig. 2. Coastal pā at Moeangiangi 46 Fig. 3. Map of Hawke’s Bay 48 Fig. 4. Part of Heipipi Pā Historic Reserve overlooking the settlement of Bay View, Hawke’s Bay 49 Fig. 5. The entrance to Otatara Pā Historic Reserve 50 Fig. 6. Otatara Pā Historic Reserve showing terracing and pits 50 Fig. 7. Otatara Pā Historic Reserve 111 Fig. 8. Hakikino Pā, Waimarama 140 Fig. 9. Patrick Parsons and Robert Macdonald at Hakikino 163 Fig. 10. Darren Botica standing on the ridge ‘pā rekereke’, recorded as W19/282 170 Fig. 11. The agency of place – un-named coastal pā at Moeangiangi, Hawke’s Bay 188 Fig. 12. The agency of setting – Moeangiangi, Hawke’s Bay 189 Fig. 13. A cultural landscape: view looking north from the top of Hakikino Pā showing terraces running down slope 217 Fig. 14. A proposed model for a trans-cultural bi-national structure for heritage governance 225 Fig. 15. Chart showing relationship of local to national governance structure 227 xi xii Introduction: Exploration of place, person and performance In 2006, Roy Piahama spoke of the frustration, disenfranchisement and sadness felt by his tribe, Ngāti Tamatera, over the legal destruction of one of their ancestral sites: Gardens, house pits and midden sites (indicating tribal occupation) on the land block next to the RSA at Waihi Beach were discovered. A recommendation to HPT [New Zealand Historic Places Trust] that these sites should be recorded and then destroyed was a total disappointment for Ngati Tamatera! We had not witnessed such sites as these before and maybe never will again! Fortunately we had recorded these sites on video and had our kaumatua interviewed on Te Karere. The applicant was annoyed and accused Ngati Tamatera of trespassing. A last minute appeal to the Maori Heritage Council to review the decision failed.1 He then compared this incident with the care taken to preserve another heritage place: the old pump house in Waihi. The Waihi Cornish pump house, built in 1904 was moved at the cost of $3.2 million-plus because it was located on land that was unstable. The pump house is Waihi’s most prominent building and has overlooked the town since the days when the Martha mine was one of the world’s most important gold