New Zealand Historic Places Trust
New Zealand Historic Places Trust (Legacy Page)
The Trust was replaced by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga in 2014.
The text below refers to the former NZHPT and is retained as a legacy page. The links may no longer work.
Commonly known as HPT or the Trust the Historic Places Trust is the premier regulatory body for the protection of New Zealand Archaeology.
The Trust has a broad mandate for advocacy and for the protection of historic heritage. It owns some properties but has not been active recently in acquiring new ones. It has a membership base but is largely funded by the Government which appoints most of the Trust Board.
It maintains a register of historic places, some of which are archaeological sites. Its powers in respect of buildings are mainly those of persuasion and in some cases of delay, but it usually cannot prevent the demolition of buildings.
Its powers in respect of archaeological sites are greater. Archaeological sites - generally restricted to those older than 1900 AD - have blanket protection and cannot be investigated or destroyed other than with the permission of the Trust. They can prosecute acts in defiance of these provisions. Sites do not have to be registered under the Trust Act to be protected. The NZAA Site Recording Scheme often acts as a defacto register for the Trust in respect of archaeological sites.
The broad history of heritage legislation can be seen here.
Organisation The Trust has its central office in Wellington. There are a series of regional and area offices. Both the central and the other offices have archaeological staff, who typically are involved in the administration of the regulatory role, advocacy and occasionally in fieldwork related to the Trust's role.
Generally heritage assessments and rescue archaeology are undertaken by private contractors working for the developers but the adequacy of these is regulated by the Trust.
The Trust has an important guidance document for those undertaking work originating from the Trust's powers - Its National Research Framework.
Note: Heritage New Zealand is charged under its new act with developing a statement of general policy. At such time as that is complete it is likely the above document will be replaced by one aligned to the general policy. In the interim the research framework is still relevant.
Other Government Agencies
Other agencies are listed [here].
External Resources HPT web site
