Lincoln University Digital Thesis Copyright Statement The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). This thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: you will use the copy only for the purposes of research or private study you will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate you will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis. An analysis of the development of Chinese heritage sites in New Zealand and their potential for tourism A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Tourism Management at Lincoln University by Yue Huang Lincoln University 2011 Abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Tourism Management. Abstract An analysis of the development of Chinese heritage sites in New Zealand and their potential for tourism by Yue Huang There has been an increasing interest in (re)developing Chinese heritage sites in New Zealand over the past decade, particularly since former Prime Minister Helen Clark made a public apology in 2002 for discriminatory laws imposed on Chinese immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This renewed interest is apparent in a range of initiatives, including the proposed addition of ten Chinese gold rush-era sites to the Register of Historic Places Trust in 2003, redevelopment of Arrowtown Chinese settlement in 2004, the plans to reconstruct the Lawrence Chinese Camp and the recently opened Chinese garden in Dunedin. Most recently, in July 2008, a Chinese heritage trail for Otago has been proposed. This research is based on three case study sites of the South Island: Chinatown of Shantytown on the West Coast, Lawrence Chinese Camp and Arrowtown Chinese settlement in Otago, which are at different stages of development and have differing management foci (for example commercial vs. conservationist). This thesis reports on findings of the research from interviews conducted with stakeholders involved in these sites and with Chinese group tour guides and outlines the history, the (re)development background, the management and marketing approach, the current visitation and stakeholders‟ view of each of the three sites. Particular focus has been given to exploring the tourism potential of these Chinese heritage sites to domestic and international tourists, including Chinese group tourists. Based on the findings and informed by heritage and heritage tourism literature and research, this thesis discusses the rationale for the current (re)development of Chinese heritage in New Zealand, ii its tourism potential and markets, the challenges faced in interpreting and promoting these sites. Finally, suggestions are made regarding how this Chinese gold mining heritage could possibly be best (re)developed and interpreted to visitors. Keywords: gold mining heritage, heritage tourism, Chinese tourism, New Zealand. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone who helped and supported me during my study toward the Degree of Masters of Tourism Management, including my supervisors Professor Harvey Perkins and Dr. Joanna Fountain, my editor Janette Busch, all my participants, the staff members of Environment, Society and Design Faculty of Lincoln University, my family and friends; especially, my mother who has always supported me in every possible way. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to extend a special thank you to my main supervisor, Dr. Joanna Fountain. Not being a native English speaker, writing my thesis has not been an easy journey for me. I would not have been able to achieve this without her continued support, encouragement and guidance through my difficult times. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v List of Tables ix List of Figures x Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Research aims questions and objectives 3 1.3 Structure of the thesis 4 Chapter 2 Literature Review 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Definition of heritage 6 2.3 Politics of heritage 8 2.4 Managing heritage for tourism 9 2.5 Heritage tourism and its growth 10 2.6 Development of cultural heritage tourism in New Zealand 12 2.7 Interpreting heritage for tourism 13 2.7.1 Who is a heritage tourist 18 2.8 Gold field tourism 21 2.9 'Edgy' interpretation of the gold rushes 22 2.10 Chapter summary 23 Chapter 3 Research Methods 24 3.1 Introduction 24 3.2 Case study sites selection 24 3.3 Qualitative research approach 27 v 3.4 Sample selection 28 3.5 Interview schedule design 29 3.6 Interview process 29 3.7 Data analysis 30 3.8 Chapter summary 31 Chapter 4 Context 32 4.1 Introduction 32 4.2 The Chinese gold mining history in New Zealand 32 4.3 The (re)development of Chinese heritage sites 37 4.4 Reasons for the increasing interest in Chinese heritage 43 4.4.1 Increasing interest in history and heritage 43 4.4.2 Strong voice of Chinese New Zealander‟s 43 4.4.3 Increasing number of Chinese migrants 44 4.4.4 The 2002 government apology 44 4.4.5 Free trade agreement 45 4.4.6 Increasing numbers of the Chinese visitors 45 4.5 The Chinese Tourist Market to New Zealand 46 4.5.1 The Chinese tour groups 49 4.5.2 Semi-independent and fully-independent Chinese travellers 52 4.5.3 Gold mining heritage components of Chinese group tours 53 4.6 Chapter Summary 54 Chapter 5 Results – Shantytown's Chinatown 55 5.1 Introduction 55 5.2 Shantytown description 55 5.3 Shantytown Chinatown 57 5.3.1 Development of Chinatown 61 5.3.2 Rationale for the redevelopment of Chinatown 64 5.4 Management of Shantytown 65 5.5 Overview of visitors to Shantytown 66 5.5.1 Visitors to Chinatown 66 5.6 Marketing of Shantytown 67 5.7 Chinese tour groups at Shantytown 69 5.8 Chinese tour groups‟ responses to Chinatown 70 5.9 Chapter Summary 71 Chapter 6 Results – Arrowtown Chinese settlement 72 6.1 Introduction 72 vi 6.2 Site description 72 6.2.1 Brief introduction to Arrowtown 72 6.2.2 Arrowtown Chinese settlement 73 6.2.3 2003 redevelopment project of the site 76 6.2.4 The Lake District Museum: Chinese display 79 6.3 Management of the site 82 6.4 Marketing of the site 83 6.4.1 Department of Conservation 83 6.4.2 Destination Queenstown 84 6.4.3 Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association (APBA) 85 6.4.4 The Lake District Museum 86 6.4.5 Section summary: a historical site versus a tourist site 88 6.5 Visitors to Arrowtown Chinese settlement 89 6.5.1 Visitors to the Museum 90 6.5.2 Chinese group tour visitors at Arrowtown 91 6.6 The future development of the site: stakeholders' view 95 6.7 Chinese tour guides' perspective 97 6.8 Chapter Summary 98 Chapter 7 Results – Lawrence Chinese Camp 100 7.1 Introduction 100 7.2 Site description 100 7.3 History of Lawrence Chinese Camp site 103 7.4 Lawrence Information Centre and Museum 109 7.5 Current Visitors to Lawrence 112 7.6 Current visitors to the Chinese Camp 113 7.7 Stakeholders' view of potential visitors to the Camp 115 7.8 Chinese tour guides' perspective 116 7.9 Chapter summary 117 Chapter 8 Discussion 118 8.1 Introduction 118 8.2 The value of Chinese heritage 118 8.2.1 Social and political values 120 8.2.2 Economic values 122 8.3 Management of Chinese heritage sites 124 8.4 Interpretation of Chinese heritage sites 126 8.5 The tourism potential of Chinese heritage sites 130 8.6 Potential market of Chinese heritage 132 8.7 Chapter Summary 135 vii Chapter 9 Conclusion 137 9.1 Introduction 137 9.2 Revisiting the research questions and objectives 137 9.3 Summary of research findings 138 9.4 Implications for the tourism industry 143 9.4.1 Interpretation of Chinese heritage sites 143 9.4.2 Management of Chinese heritage sites 147 9.5 Research limitations and further research 147 9.6 Conclusion 148 References 150 Appendices 166 A.1 Interview Schedule 166 A.2 Email Template to Contact Prospective Participants 168 A.3 Research Information Sheet 169 A.4 Consent Form 171 A.5 Map of South Island, New Zealand 172 A.6 The Travel Route of Chinese Group Tour 173 A.7 On-site Interpretation panels of Shantytown Chinatown 174 A.8 On-site Interpretation panels of Arrowtown Chinese settlement 190 A.9 Blue Print of Lawrence Chinese Camp 201 A.10 Camp Development Plan Camp Injected Life into the Tuapeka Area 202 viii List of Tables Table 1: Underlying principles of tourism 14 Table 2: A typology of industrial attractions 21 ix List of Figures Figure 1: Street scene of Sovereign Hill, Ballarat, Australia 18 Figure 2: Map of Zhujiang Delta, China 33 Figure 3: Chinese miners and their hut 33 Figure 4: Remain of Chinese Empire Hotel, Lawrence 34 Figure 5: Chinese headstone, Lawrence cemetery 35 Figure 6: Chioe Sew Hoy in his mandarin's robes 35 Figure 7: Shantytown map guide 56 Figure 8: Entrance of Chinatown, Shantytown 58 Figure 9: Buildings and vegtable garden of Chinatown, Shantytown 58 Figure 10: Gold mining machinery of Chinatown, Shantytown 59 Figure 11: Glass display cabinet inside Chinnese Den, Shantytown 59 Figure 12: Inside view of General Store, Shantytown Chinatown 60 Figure 13: Miner's hut of Chinatown, Shantytown 60 Figure 14: Wall display panel of Chinatown, Shantytown 61 Figure 15: The brass book-like Chinese panel, Shantytown 63 Figure 16: The English version of the panel, Shantytown 63 Figure 17: Street map of Arrowtown 73 Figure 18: Entrance signage of Arrowtown Chinese settlement 74 Figure 19: Ah Lum's Store, Arrowtown Chinese settlement