VIRTUAL ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

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Ōtepoti | Dunedin, a small city in Te Wai Pounamu | the South Island of New Zealand, is defined by the well-preserved collection of Victorian and Edwardian buildings that characterise the central city. This paper investigates that which lies beyond this visibly recognised core, focusing on a local, non-iconic heritage landscape. Located on the fringes of the city, this site establishes its significance through an assemblage of structures linked to both tangible (colonial interventions) and intangible (indigenous oral narratives) histories. The site of enquiry, Hereweka | Harbour Cone, is an area of rolling hill country perched above the Otago Harbour to the north-east of inner-city Ōtepoti. Described in literature as a ‘relict landscape’, the block is layered with archaeological traces and Kāi Tahu oral histories, and subsequently defined by the clearing of native bush to establish settler boundaries and road alignments in the mid-19th century for settler farming and industrial activities. Architecturally speaking, the area is characterised by remnant farm buildings in varying stages of decay. This cultural landscape actively embodies notions of memory and identity for both Māori and Pākehā New Zealanders. Using digital documentation techniques (3D scanning), archival research, and visual records, the paper analyses the remaining farm buildings as a palimpsest layer alongside pre-colonial Kāi Tahu oral narratives. The study argues that by acknowledging both the ephemeral settler footprint and the enduring oral history, sites such as these become powerful anchors of memory. Ultimately, Hereweka is presented as a critical theoretical case study for re-evaluating heritage value through traces of past use, not purely architectural form.