UNESCO Welcome

Thursday 28 June 2007

Acknowledgements:
Tumu te Heuheu,
Mrs Susan te Heuheu
Distinguished guests

It's my pleasure to be here today to welcome you to Christchurch, New Zealand. We like to describe ourselves as a small but sophisticated boutique city nestled in the South Pacific.

My thanks to the New Zealand Government for inviting us to host this event in our City.

Thank you to the Department of Conservation and Tumu te Heuheu, Chair of the World Heritage Committee 31st Session meetings, for the incredible work that has gone into coordinating this spectacular series of meetings.

My thanks also to the World Heritage Centre and the team of workers that have supported the meetings, and of course a special thanks to all the delegates who have come to Christchurch for the meetings. I hope you get a taste of our city and what it has to offer.

The focus of 31st Session of the World Heritage Committee is on that bit of geography that is the "Pacific". The Pacific and its countless islands and many different peoples are under represented in terms of World Heritage and we are delighted this theme has been chosen for your conference.

This week in the city we are celebrating the BECCA Heritage Week which we timed to coincide with the UNESCO World Heritage meetings and, in an alignment with the UNESCO meeting, the theme chosen for Heritage Week is Pacific Pathways.

It was important for us to showcase our unique place in the Pacific. Banks Peninsula/Te Pataka o Rakaihautu, for example, is recognised as one of New Zealand's outstanding landscapes. This is in terms of both its natural and cultural heritage. It also has a long and complex pre-European cultural history.

History tells the story of our past, and part of our story is about journeys across the Pacific by Maori, whalers, explorers and settlers, and of the homes and businesses they built.

The UNESCO World Heritage organisation recognises the importance of the interaction of people and the landscape and ensuring the preservation of what is unique areas for our children's children.

This is all about building sustainability into our planning for growth. Making sure that as our population increased we don't lose what is precious to us. As a Council, for example, we have purchased large blocks of land along the crater rim of the Port Hills. This is an area which forms an outstanding back drop to Christchurch and is now saved for future generations.

As you walk out of the art gallery onto Worcester Boulevard you will see another example of Christchurch's commitment to preserving its heritage. On one side of the street are a number of original small, some single story dwellings that have protection under our City Plan and this has become one of our boutique areas with the houses transformed into new uses such as cafes, restaurants and accommodation.

In start contrast on the other side of the street is what was once our university, when the university moved to a much larger site the city had to find a new use for it to ensure the original gothic revival buildings, that cover almost a city block, were saved for future generations. These buildings have now been rejuvenated into a vibrant arts centre, and is home to all sorts of arts and crafts, including theatre and ballet, pottery and design studios.

I hope that while you are here you are able to enjoy some of these attractions.

As you leave tonight please do collect your copy of the "City and Peninsula". This book celebrates the rich and diverse heritage of Christchurch, Lyttelton, Akaroa and Banks Peninsula. It has been written by one of our local historians, John Wilson, and photographed by photographers Kerry Walker and Duncan Shaw-Brown. This is a gift from our Christchurch City Councillors and myself.

Welcome to Christchurch and my best wishes for your conference.

ENDS