Trail is a treat: Grahame Sydney

Grahame Sydney
Grahame Sydney
Some form of protection for Old Dunstan Rd - "one of the most important heritage trails in the country" - is long overdue, artist Grahame Sydney says.

Sydney is working on a documentary film focusing on the road, and it also features in his new book The Promised Land, being released next month.

The book is the story of the Dunstan gold rush, which also included the story of the road, he said.

This week, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust said it planned to register the road as a Category 1 historic place.

Registration is a formal recognition of the heritage value of a place or building.

"It's an excellent thing to do, and long overdue," Sydney said when contacted by the Otago Daily Times yesterday.

Old Dunstan Rd was an "absolute treat", and deserving of as much protection as possible, he said.

"It's a wonderful trail, because so much of its upland landscape is unmodified, so what you're seeing on the trail is the same as thousands of gold rush diggers saw in the 1860s.

"Being able to have the same visual experience as them is very rare."

The section of the road from Clarks Junction to Galloway Flat is the part which will be registered as Category 1.

Sydney said his first documentary film, about Old Dunstan Rd, was still a work in progress.

A rough cut was shown at the Festival of Colour in Wanaka in April, but more work was needed on the film, he said.

"I'm not happy with it yet, but for now I've had to take a step back from it and be an earner for a while."

Registering the road as a historic place was a mechanism that would signal its heritage value to the Central Otago District Council and Dunedin City Council.

"They should take steps to protect it."

The road also had great tourism potential, Sydney said.

lynda.van.kempen@odt.co.nz

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