98) The rich history of the Hokianga was marginalised by the Local Government amalgamations of 1989. Someone who knew nothing about the Hokianga, but was obsessed with delusions of power, decided that destroying the rich texture of small-scale activity would lead to economic efficiency. A whole vernacular culture was forced underground as the land was occupied by an invasion of “globalised” power.
99) Once everyone in the Hokianga had built their own houses. Globalisation changed all that.. People became dislocated from their heritage.
100) Only in Auckland or Wellington do people assume that you need a developer from somewhere else, who is only concerned with making money, to build an affordable house. Everyone else knows that if you want an affordable house you build it yourself.
101) This is a governance issue. Empowering the local people is essential if life is to be breathed into what otherwise would be mere architectural pastiche.
102) In so many other ways Hokianga communities have been disempowered. The planner and the building inspector moved away from Rawene. Banks and post offices closed down. The “local” disappeared out of government.
103) However the brilliance of a subversive Hokianga was that the community survived. The Hokianga Film Festival, for example, must be one of the best in the world. Most people eat on the marae and many stay there as well. Directors, producers, actors and film lovers share endless conversations over kai before heading off to watch another film. Guidance and inspiration is freely given. The Festival builds community.
104) In Kohukohu the Kauri Festival led to tours of kauri buildings as well as exhibitions and talks. The failure of electricity with the resulting failure of water and the abysmal weather only made the wood range oven scones seem more exquisite.
105) Taking governance away from the Hokianga was the intellectual head action of a written culture. The built form of Kohukohu in contrast results from heart action giving form to an oral culture of storytelling,
106) Empowering the local community, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2002, which states very clearly that the purpose of local government is to enhance the well being of the community, is an essential first move in giving life to any Historic Precinct.
A Heritage Precinct needs to be seen as slow theatre.