North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report ... - Auckland Council

Introduction
This review was commissioned by North Shore City Council (now Auckland Council) in 2009. It
represents the successful completion of actions contained in the North Shore City Historic Heritage
Strategy [2009] to carry out a thematic assessment framework review of the existing District Plan
schedule and systematically identify additional historic heritage items and areas for scheduling.
The review had a number of broad objectives. These are:
To prepare a thematic overview of the historical development of the North Shore. While a number
of local area histories have been written, until very recently, no general history of the North Shore
was available to assist those seeking to better understand and appreciate the development of the
area as a whole. The overview collates information gathered from a number of secondary sources,
but also introduces new information obtained from an examination of primary materials.
To review the range of buildings, objects and places currently identified in the District Plan, and
identify any potential heritage resources (buildings, objects and places) that have previously been
overlooked.
To identify areas or precincts on the North Shore of distinctive character, and evaluate their
potential heritage values.
To further research and assess heritage resources that embody identified themes, and make
recommendations regarding their sustainable management, particularly in relation to protection
under the District Plan.
The thematic framework approach chosen for the review is widely used in New Zealand and
internationally, and is promoted by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as the best practice
approach. It is a useful way of identifying buildings and places of heritage significance, and the people
and events associated with them, in an historical context. Such an approach is also helpful when
locating heritage resources within a local, regional, national and even an international context,
determining the comparative significance of resources, and thereby facilitating decisions about
statutory protection and management.
The thematic overview should not be considered as a comprehensive history of the North Shore;
neither should the lists of places that represent themes be considered exhaustive. For example, the
project team recognise that there are likely to be gaps in the narrative relating to Maori association
with this area, and this will be reflected in the identification of places relating to specific themes. In
part, this gap is due to the lack of robust information about the history of Maori on the North Shore
that is available in the public domain, but it is also because it has not been possible for the project team
to fully engage with tangata whenua in the preparation of the review.
It is important to understand that the identification and evaluation of heritage resources is a work in
progress. The history of places, and the people and events associated with them, is not static; it is
continuously being told and retold, in the light of new information, new perspectives, and the passage
of time. Inevitably, there will be places whose stories have not been revealed through the research
associated with the review. The Council will need to continue to update the information it has
gathered in the course of this review, especially in relation to those places of heritage significance that
warrant district plan protection.
Completion of the thematic review report is the first, critical stage of an ongoing process to better
identify, protect and appropriately manage the historic heritage resources of Auckland’s North Shore.
The resources identified through this review as having the potential to be protected in the district plan
require further analysis and assessment before recommendations for inclusion can be considered by
Auckland Council, and decisions made about initiating changes to the district plan. The further
analysis and assessment of specific sites and areas, and any recommendations regarding district plan
protection are still under consideration, and are therefore not available for inclusion in this thematic
review report.
The report is comprised of three sections:
Section A contains the thematic historic overview that identifies key themes in the development of the
North Shore – Land and People, Infrastructure, Building the City, Work, Government and Ways of
Life. Using this thematic framework (see below), the overview explores the history of the North Shore,
telling the stories of important places and the people associated with them, and placing both within a
regional and national context.
North Shore Heritage - Thematic Review Report
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