Entries nearly double in second year of Awards

CHRISTCHURCH HERITAGE AWARDS CHARITABLE TRUST – ON PAUSE

The Christchurch Heritage Awards Charitable Trust celebrated its 10^th anniversary in June 2021. Over this time the Trust, in conjunction with its family of sponsors and supporters, has witnessed outstanding success of this biennial event. Each event attracted a diverse and exciting range of entries from cabins to mansions, from small to large commercial and public buildings, from rural to urban structures and country houses and the best of the best new builds as heritage of the future. The events were occasions where networking of like-minded heritage advocates and professionals from around Canterbury came together in celebration of this important social event.

The Awards were initiated by myself in 2010 and have been run as a not for profit trust. Their success can be attributed to invaluable sponsorship from several key businesses and organisations over the past 12 years. As the awards are totally reliant on sponsorship it has been increasingly difficult to continue without it. Therefore, the decision has been made to pause the awards for the time being. We are deeply appreciative of the support our previous sponsors have shown and understand entirely that in some cases their time has come to stand aside for others to step up and show the support required to run future awards.

This means a long-term pause for the Canterbury Heritage Awards, as we, the trustees, take time to re-think and re-imagine the awards in a manner that enables a sustainable future and of recognising those who have contributed to the protection and future of historic heritage in Canterbury.

Expressions of interest to support a future event as a key sponsor are invited. Please call Geoff Bone (Event Convener) on 0274 858 185 if you wish to know more.

So, in the meantime, on behalf of the trustees, keep up the good work. You have all either individually or collectively been complicit in keeping our history alive, to be remembered and cherished.

With kind regards
Dame Anna Crighton
DNZM, QSO, JP, PhD(Otago)

September 2022

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Entries for the 2012 Canterbury Heritage Awards are now closed and organisers are pleased to announce that entries have nearly doubled since the inaugural awards which were launched in a pre-earthquake Christchurch in 2010 (entry numbers 2012 - 42, 2010 - 25).

“We received over 80 nominations from the local community for buildings, facades and structures, cultural attractions, exhibitions and individual heritage advocates, who they felt should be recognised in this year’s awards. More than half of those nominated individuals/organisations submitted an entry; heritage values are still very strong in the region” added Christchurch Heritage Awards Charitable Trust Chair, Anna Crighton.

The Canterbury Heritage Awards recognise the achievement of heritage conservation in six categories including:
Heritage Retention (sponsored by Heritage Management Services) – building or façade retained post-earthquake.
Heritage Restoration (sponsored by Fortis Construction Ltd) – conservation/restoration of a structure including rehabilitation, adaptive re-use or continued maintenance.
Heritage Tourism (sponsored by Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism) – cultural tourist attraction.
Heritage Champion (sponsored by Christchurch Heritage Trust) – recognising individuals, companies and organisations for their dedication/leadership towards heritage retention.
Heritage Landscape (sponsored by The Press) – preservation of the natural environment.
Seismic (sponsored by Ceres NZ) - recognition of commitment, investment or a unique solution to earthquake strengthening.

The judging panel for the awards is chaired by Anna Crighton and includes international heritage expert Jim Gard’ner from Heritage Victoria, Jasper van der Lingen (Sheppard & Rout Architects Ltd), Di Lucas (Lucas Associates), Dr Terry Ryan (Te Rununga o Ngai Tahu), Grant Wilkinson (Ruamoko Solutions) and Shonagh Kenderdine (New Zealand Historic Places Trust).

Judging takes place in August with the winners announced at an awards ceremony to be held at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School on Thursday 13 September 2012. The ceremony will also acknowledge the significant heritage buildings that have been lost as a result of the 2010/2011 earthquakes – ‘Lost Christchurch – In Memoriam’. Tickets are available to purchase for the awards ceremony.

In addition to the awards, a Heritage Lecture will be hosted by Jim Gard’ner on Wednesday 12 September 2012. Sponsored by The Warren Trust, the public lecture titled ‘Finding a Future for Christchurch’s Post-quake Heritage’ will look at some of the ways Christchurch can recognise, celebrate and revitalise its heritage, both tangible and intangible. A limited number of tickets are available for the lecture.

For more information visit www.heritageawards.co.nz.