Archaeology in the Community

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Hi All,

It has been a while since I last posted to this blog. Things have been all go - with research, writing, tutoring and also some "real-world" archaeological experience!

For the last couple of years I have been on the executive committee of the University of Otago Anthropology Society, a student society which runs a number of social events during the year, as well as anthropology and archaeology related experiences.

A particular goal of the society at present is to get out beyond the university environment and into the community, applying our developing skills where they may be of use. Recently, an opportunity arose to help out a charitable organisation, the Southern Heritage Trust. As noted on the linked website, the trust was established in 2002 and is devoted to the appreciation and protection of the social, cultural, architectural and industrial heritage of Dunedin and the Otago region of New Zealand.

This involved assisting with cataloguing pieces of equipment associated with the historic (19th century) Donaghy's Rope Walk in South Dunedin. Rope walks were long buildings used for the manufacture of rope. Strands of fibre the full length of the rope were laid before being twisted together by machinery. With technological progress long lengths of rope can now be manufactured in smaller factory spaces. As noted on the linked webpage, the ca. 300m long Donaghy's rope walk and associated equipment constitute a Category 1 Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand (i.e. a place of special or outstanding historical or cultural significance or value) because it "is thought to be the only surviving rope walk in New Zealand, and is historically and architecturally significant as it recalls the technology and buildings associated with the art of rope making in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Originally constructed in 1878 (and replaced in 1920) the rope walk was part of the Otago Steam Rope and Twine Works (later Donaghy Industries) which manufactured rope, twine and cordage for both the New Zealand and export markets."
The rope walk and associated equipment constitute a unique Category 1 heritage structure registered by Heritage New Zealand in 1994. - See more at: http://www.southernheritage.org.nz/?p=589#sthash.4MVmq4eQ.dpu be the only surviving rope walk in New Zealand, and is historically and architecturally significant as it recalls the technology and buildings associated with the art of rope making in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

devoted to the appreciation and protection of Otago’s social, cultural, architectural and industrial heritage. - See more at: http://www.southernheritage.org.nz/?page_id=21#sthash.1B8qZfo4.dpuf
devoted to the appreciation and protection of Otago’s social, cultural, architectural and industrial heritage. - See more at: http://www.southernheritage.org.nz/?page_id=21#sthash.1B8qZfo4.dpuf
As explained in more detail here on the Southern Heritage Trust website, the rope walk ceased commercial production in 2012, after more than 130 years, and Heritage NZ and the Southern Heritage trust had negotiated the rescue and storage of the associated machinery within the rope walk building.

The trust plans to preserve the building as a ''living'' museum, with working rope-making machinery. This will become a real heritage tourism asset to the city of Dunedin. But the initial priority was dismantling the machinery and storing it safely, as some of it was housed in another part of the Donaghy's plant, and the space was needed for more modern manufacturing operations.

See Funds sought to store rope-making equipment (Otago Daily Times, 01 March 2015)

I joined other members of the University of Otago Anthropology Society, along with Dunedin-based consultant archaeologist Dr. Peter Petchey of Southern Archaeology Ltd., in volunteering some of our time last week to catalogue and store the historic machinery as it was dismantled by a team of engineers:

(The following photos have been sourced from the Southern Archaeology Ltd page on facebook.)








The outside of the Rope Walk building

Looking along the inside of the Rope Walk building.
It was a great opportunity for those from the society who volunteered to get some experience of archaeological consultancy/monitoring work, and helped out a local charitable trust! It had the added bonus of getting a bit of exposure for the society outside of the university:

See Good progress made on rope walk (Otago Daily Times, 10 March 2015)


Thanks for Reading,

Nick.

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