Heritage

For those who are wondering why there is so much fuss about housekeeping, the key point of the whole Knox debate: the concern of present and former students has been primarily regarding those changes proposed by the Commission not directly relating to student welfare.

A new heritage trust will be of "huge benefit" to the district, Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden says.

The lack of a "strong heritage champion" around the table of the Queenstown Lakes District Council is a concern to the Queenstown and District Historical Society and agencies in the heritage field, the society says.

A heritage panel which would have input into resource consent applications affecting historical buildings and properties is being considered by the Waitaki District Council, amidst concerns it could make the process lengthier and costlier for developers.

People complain if "holes" appear in the city centre, which is why the Dunedin City Council requires building owners to retain or replace building structures, city development manager Anna Johnson says.

Slate roofs will be brought back to the University of Otago's historic professorial houses, in keeping with the original design, as part of a maintenance and restoration project.

Diseased heritage trees are being cut limb by limb during a three-day project to fell seven ash specimens from Wanaka's historic "avenue of trees" under a Queenstown Lakes District Council district-wide policy.

The first step in the restoration of the historic Phoenix Mill water wheel in Oamaru began yesterday with an archaeologist and conservation surveyor visiting its Old Mill Rd site to gather information for conservation and engineering works plans.

A family with a link to the Otago goldfields celebrated 150 years in New Zealand at the weekend.

The letter in which Gabriel Read shares the credit with Edward Peters for the discovery of gold in Otago 150 years ago has gone on show at Archives New Zealand, in Dunedin.