Petition to stop DOC demolition of Āniwaniwa Visitor Centre

Petition to stop DOC’s intended demolition of the Āniwaniwa Visitor Centre

Historic Places Aotearoa has launched a public petition to protest the Department of Conservation’s planned demolition of the former Te Urewera National Park Visitor Centre at Āniwaniwa near Lake Waikaremoana.
Gisborne architect James Blackburne, President of Historic Places Aotearoa, said petition organisers have been encouraged by the number of signatories. Within the first 24 hours more than 300 people have signed the online petition.

“We believe the Department of Conservation has misjudged public sentiment on this issue, just as it has misjudged its responsibility, over the years, to care for a significant work by one of New Zealand’s outstanding architects, John Scott,” Blackburne said.

“The Department is now justifying its intention to destroy the Visitor Centre by citing the building’s rundown condition,” Blackburne said. “This is rich. The Department is blaming its decision to demolish a Category One listed heritage building on its own negligence.”

Blackburne said Historic Places Aotearoa recognises there is a political context to the Department of Conservation’s decision to demolish the 1976 Āniwaniwa Visitor Centre, but believes there is still time to find a solution that will allow for the building’s preservation.

“As owner of Āniwaniwa, on behalf of all New Zealanders, the Department should be exploring options for saving the building, rather than putting all its efforts into advocating for its demolition. There are plenty of people and organisations ready to help.”

Department of Conservation Deputy Director-General Mervyn English has advised in a court affidavit that the demolition of the Āniwaniwa Visitor Centre is imminent.

Blackburne said there appear to be no legal options open to Historic Places Aotearoa or other groups advocating for the building, as only a Local Authority can seek an enforcement order from the Environment Court to stop the Department of Conservation’s intended action.

“Wairoa District Council appears unlikely to do this, so the only viable option to save the Visitor Centre at this stage is through community pressure and direct appeals to our elected representatives, including the Honourable Maggie Barry, who is minister of both Conservation and Arts, Culture and Heritage.”

“This is why we have started our petition.”

Blackburne said Heritage New Zealand’s 2012 listing of the Āniwaniwa Visitor Centre as a Category One Historic Place’s attests to the building’s important place in New Zealand’s modern architectural legacy and in the wider culture.

The building was designed by the late John Scott, the acclaimed Māori architect who is increasingly recognised as a unique figure in New Zealand architecture.

“The design of Āniwaniwa is an outstanding example of Scott’s bringing together of Modernist architecture and Māori design traditions,” Blackburne said. “The building was designed at a particular time for a special place.”

“It’s beyond ironic that the Department of Conservation wants to demolish the Visitor Centre when the Department’s own website boasts that ‘We are the government agency charged with conserving New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage.’”

“The Government and the Department of Conservation need to understand that our communities treasure our heritage and want it to be treated with respect so that it is available to future generations.”

The petition to save the Āniwaniwa Visitor Centre can be found on the website
www.change.org, under ‘Aniwaniwa’.

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