Always Here: telling Queer stories through heritage

The importance of recognizing locations significant to New Zealand's LGBTQ+ communities on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero was the focal point of this presentation. The Rainbow List project led by Kerryn Pollock, senior advisor at Heritage New Zealand, sought to enhance the diversity of the New Zealand Heritage List by acknowledging places of importance to the LGBTQ+ community in a country with a heritage list that has historically mirrored the power dynamics and social priorities of the status quo.

The project takes a people-first approach, prioritizing social history over purely architectural value in its assessments. While heritage sites typically emphasize architectural significance, Pollock underscores the greater need to recognize human stories, particularly those from marginalized communities, to foster a sense of belonging and identity. The event highlighted the necessity of direct and intentional efforts by Heritage New Zealand to ensure that representation gaps in the heritage list are actively addressed.

Pollock shared examples of significant queer heritage sites: from the iconic locations associated with the legendary figure Carmen Rupe, a transgender entrepreneur and activist in Wellington's LGBTQ+ history, to the liberal-minded house of poet Ursula Bethell and their partner, Effie Pollen, in Christchurch – which reflected the deep personal connection between them independent of public views. Other notable sites included the Peterborough Centre, a covenant for LGBTQ+ socialization in Christchurch, and the historical Vinegar Hill site, hosting queer summer camps.

The project's impact is not merely to list buildings with queer associations, but to also bring to life the personal stories of individuals who influenced and were part of these places. For example, Morgan's Buildings became noted as a key part of Wellington's Red Light district and the sexual liberation movement, reaching beyond simple architectural classifications.

Pollock further elucidates that the significance a place holds within queer history doesn't solely warrant its heritage status; the location must embody historical, social, and cultural values resonant with pivotal themes in New Zealand's past.

The discussion extended beyond the Rainbow List project, as the importance and implications of physically visiting heritage sites were touched upon, providing a genuine connection to history that virtual experiences cannot replicate. The essence of heritage, in this sense, is more than the buildings themselves - it's the complex tapestry of human lives and narratives they keep intact. Heritage New Zealand's mission through this initiative is dual-faceted - preserving architectural forms and more critically, serving as an act of advocacy, recognition, and celebration of the diverse queer stories that form the pulse of New Zealand's societal fabric.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Kerryn Pollock Tina Williams

1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 2020s, a way of love (book), activism, advocacy, american lgbtq+ museum, aotearoa new zealand, aroha mead, ben garcia, berlin, blyss wagstaff, building, carmen's curio shop (second location), carmen's international coffee lounge, catherine healy, chanel hati, charles brasch, charles brasch's home, charles mackay, chen tan, china, chrissy witoko, club exotic, club exotique, colonisation, courtney archer, courtney archer and chen tan's home, dana de milo, diversity, diversity and inclusion, effie pollen, emmanuel papadopoulos snr, eric mccormick, evergreen coffee house, frank sargeson, frank sargeson house, gareth watkins, gay, gay liberation auckland, gay liberation front auckland, gay liberation movement, georgina beyer, germany, harry doyle, heritage new zealand pouhere taonga, homosexual monomania, jack stevens, james courage, kerryn pollock, lambda centre, lambda coffee house (christchurch), landscape, lesbian, manawatū-whanganui, meteor building, morgan's buildings, mātauranga māori, new york city, new zealand heritage list / rārangi kōrero, new zealand heritage pouhere taonga, new zealand needle exchange programme, ngahuia te awekotuku, nzpc: aotearoa new zealand sex workers' collective, pasi daniels, paul pascoe, people with aids collective, peterborough centre, pill doctor, pink triangle (magazine), place based history, pridenz.com, prison, queen victoria statue, rainbow list project, rewi alley, rewi alley and jack stevens' home, rise cottage, roger smith, sex work, sorrento coffee lounge, stilboestrol, striptease, surgery of dr thomas ongley, takatāpui, taonga, te kāhui whaihanga new zealand institute of architects, the balcony / le balcon, the cottage (carmen rupe), the purple onion, thomas ongley, tina williams, trans, united states of america, ursula bethell, vinegar hill / putai ngahere domain, walter d'arcy cresswell, wellbeing, wellington city council, wellington city gallery, whakapapa, whakawahine, whanganui

1880s, 1920s, 1980s, 1990s, acceptance, accessibility, affection, africa, agenda, albert park, architecture, arts, asian, auckland, audience, australia, authentic self, balloons, belief, benefits, biography, birthday, bisexual, breasts, broadcasting, bummer, cafe, camp, change, children, chinese, christchurch, civil rights, coffee, coffee bar, coming out, community, companionship, council, counselling, coup, courage, crying, cuba, cuba street, culture, data, death, design, dictionary of new zealand biography, dominant, drag, elders, environment, face, family, farm, fire, fish, france, freedom, friends, fun, future, gallery, gender, guidance, hapu, health, heritage, heterosexual, history, homophobia, homosexual, homosexual law reform, hope, human rights, humour, identity, individual, intersex, iwi, job, journey, knowledge, ladies, law, legacy, letter, liberation, library, listening, london, loss, love, lover, loyalty, manaakitanga, marriage, mayor, media, meeting place, melbourne, memorial, morality, movement, murder, māori, narrative, national identity, nature, opportunity, organisation, oscar wilde, other, out loud, pacific, partnership, passing, patience, people, period, poetry, police, power, powhiri, preservation, priorities, privacy, protest, queen, queer, queer liberation, rainbow, recognition, reflection, rehabilitation, relationships, representation, research, resource, roller, sad, safe space, safety, scene, school, sex, sexuality, social, social change, social history, soul, space, spaces, state sector, std, straight, strategy, strength, stress, suffering, summer camp, support, surgery, sydney, taranaki, teacher, tease, the cottage, ties, tikanga, time, tonga, top, touch, trans woman, transition, travel, trust, truth, tupuna, turkey, unashamed, understanding, values, victoria street, visibility, vivian street, water, website, wellington, wellington museum, willis street, women, work