Interest in historic places

Press, 6 July 1977, Page 20

Interest in historic places

If membership of the Historic Places Trust is a reliable indicator of concern about historic sites and buildings, most New Zealanders could not, apparently, care less if archaeological sites are destroyed or historic buildings demolished. The trust is boasting that its membership has increased by 45 per cent in a year. This sounds impressive—but the number of associate members of the trust is still only between 5000 and 6000.

Other figures in the trust’s annual report suggest that a number of associate members is not a true measure of the concern of New Zealanders to preserve physical evidence of the country’s past Visitors to the trust's properties each year number in the tens of thousands, have increased in recent years and will doubtless increase further when the trust acquires, restores, and opens properties in parts of New Zealand other than

Auckland and Northland. When the numbers who visit historic buildings or sites not under the trust’s control are added to this total, evidence is of a widespread interest.

Such evidence of public interest should help the trust to persuade the Government to supply adequate funds for its work, and to impress upon local planning authorities the importance of sites and buildings which deserve recognition. The trust may be reluctant to use its limited funds for a membership drive when it has so many pressing projects before it. Were the Government to increase the sum available to subsidise the subscriptions of associate members, the trust would be given an incentive to make a determined effort to increase its membership and privately subscribed funds. The recent increases in membership and visitors to trust properties suggest that the time is ripe for such a drive.