The Star: October 11, 2018
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26<br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Thursday <strong>October</strong> <strong>11</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
Our People<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong><br />
Ross Gray<br />
Artist uses his work as a way of<br />
Former teacher, artist<br />
and heritage advocate<br />
Ross Gray is on a<br />
mission to protect the<br />
city’s historic buildings.<br />
He talks to Julia Evans<br />
before Heritage Week<br />
starts tomorrow about<br />
how he got behind<br />
the placard line and<br />
the importance of our<br />
history<br />
Tell me a little bit about<br />
yourself?<br />
So basically I grew up in the<br />
1950s in Wanganui, which still<br />
has a wonderful collection of<br />
heritage buildings and also<br />
has a very strong visual arts<br />
culture. I came to art school in<br />
Christchurch in the mid-1960s<br />
and trained and worked as a<br />
secondary school art and art<br />
history teacher. <strong>The</strong>n I worked<br />
as a tertiary drawing tutor,<br />
all the time maintaining my<br />
practice as an exhibiting painter.<br />
It was quite hard work. Having<br />
retired, I’m still trying to be the<br />
full-time painter, which I could<br />
never been throughout all those<br />
years. Although heritage matters<br />
do take up a lot of my time, my<br />
painting is actually quite closely<br />
related to this.<br />
How did you get into heritage<br />
conservation?<br />
From teaching secondary<br />
school art history, I’ve long had<br />
an interest in periods and style in<br />
architecture. My introduction to<br />
heritage activism and advocacy<br />
was in the mid-1990s when<br />
suddenly eight Christchurch<br />
heritage buildings were<br />
threatened with demolition. I<br />
joined others in a group called<br />
SOB – Save Our Buildings – and<br />
we protested vigorously. One of<br />
them was the Papanui Railway<br />
Station, which has been turned<br />
into a cafe, another was a house<br />
just opposite the Christchurch<br />
Art Gallery, which survived.<br />
Some were saved but shamefully<br />
others like the beautiful Kaiapoi<br />
CAMPAIGNER:<br />
Ross Gray has<br />
been painting<br />
since he got<br />
his first set of<br />
oils in primary<br />
school.<br />
Woollen Mills building, at the<br />
bottom of lower Manchester<br />
St, were demolished. During<br />
this time, as a board member of<br />
the Christchurch Civic Trust,<br />
I was involved in the retention<br />
of several heritage buildings in<br />
the square. But this activism<br />
was dramatically reignited<br />
post the September 4, 2010,<br />
earthquake with the imminent<br />
demolition of the wonderful<br />
Manchester Courts building<br />
and has continued pretty much<br />
unabated since then. That was<br />
the beginning of the full-on<br />
activism and has involved<br />
writing quite a few letters to the<br />
editor, being deputy chair of<br />
two voluntary groups, Historic<br />
Places Canterbury and the<br />
Christchurch Civic Trust. Also<br />
being a committee member of<br />
Restore Christ Church Cathedral<br />
Group, along with things like<br />
organising campaign rallies, for<br />
example <strong>The</strong> Majestic <strong>The</strong>atre<br />
and organising the running of<br />
the award-winning heritage<br />
display and info centre, Shop 7<br />
in Cathedral Junction. That was<br />
hard work, organising rosters and<br />
things, but I quite enjoyed it.<br />
What is it about heritage that<br />
is so important to a city?<br />
<strong>The</strong> meaning of heritage is<br />
broadening, as your article<br />
last week showed with the city<br />
council’s heritage strategy policy.<br />
But in terms of built heritage,<br />
a city without its architectural<br />
heritage is perhaps like, sadly,<br />
a mind without its memory.<br />
When people talk about a listed<br />
building, they mean a heritage<br />
building which related to<br />
Heritage New Zealand’s list of<br />
buildings. <strong>The</strong> city council also<br />
has a list of heritage buildings<br />
called the schedule and there<br />
is confusion between the<br />
two. Listed and/or scheduled<br />
heritage buildings are the taonga<br />
(treasures) which we should<br />
pass on to our descendants<br />
having inherited them from our<br />
forebears whose ideas, aspirations<br />
and skills are embodied in the<br />
buildings – the past linking to<br />
the present and to the future. A<br />
so-called city without the layers<br />
of architectural time, styles and<br />
associated memories is no real<br />
city. Heritage buildings are the<br />
most significant part of the city’s<br />
collective memory in my view,<br />
everyone shares in them through<br />
the public memory rather than<br />
the private memory.<br />
What impact did the<br />
earthquakeS have on<br />
Christchurch’s heritage?<br />
Unfortunately far, far more<br />
than it should have. Many of the<br />
heritage buildings which gave<br />
Christchurch its rich identity<br />
would still be here (along<br />
with all the new ones needed),<br />
restored or awaiting restoration,<br />
if the Government at the time,<br />
National-led, had shown more<br />
awareness of and sensitivity to<br />
our city’s cultural values once the<br />
immediate emergency was over.<br />
We’re evolving...<br />
Our latest neighbourhood, ‘<strong>The</strong> Borough, Faringdon’ has just<br />
been released and it’s got the great bones you need to build<br />
the home of your dreams. Titles early 2019.<br />
It’s just a few giant strides from Rolleston town centre and new<br />
schools, and has quality environmental design features unlike<br />
anywhere else in Canterbury.<br />
With sections between 400 and 887m 2 , prices starting<br />
at $169,000. Your future starts here.<br />
THE BOROUGH<br />
Call Bruce Harvey 0800 667 849 or visit www.faringdon.co.nz<br />
Visit our info centre, corner Goulds and East Maddisons Rds.<br />
Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm - 4pm.<br />
You’re home.