Category Archives: New Zealand

Architect Ron Pynenburg: New Zealand Hut Hero

Architect Ron Pynenburg: New Zealand Hut Hero

by Sam Demas

[black and white photos below excerpted are from Pynenburg’s thesis, included here with permission]

Hut design reflects cultural values and recreational preferences, and can become an expression of national identity.  This is certainly true in New Zealand, where Kiwi’s have definite opinions about and resonances with hut architecture.  Most love the older, smaller huts with open hearths. Some hard core trampers are disdainful of the newer “flash” (fancy) huts.  As I explored NZ huts, I couldn’t help wondering:  Who designs these new huts?  What design principles and preferences inform these designs? Where is the hut system headed?   And, as Andrew Buglass suggests, is there a two-tier hut system evolving in which lower-use backcountry huts are losing support in favor of high-use serviced and Great Walks huts?

Ron in Dingleburn, Courtesy Pynenburg

In addition to talking with Brian Dobbie of DoC, I had a chance to meet Ron Pynenburg, the architect of many recent New Zealand huts.  For me, learning a bit about Ron’s  early influences and about his perspectives on hut design, past, present and future — the topic of this profile — cast light on these questions.

European huts (OK, I know one really shouldn’t generalize across so many distinctive nations!) are mostly very “flash”, i.e. more like mountain hotels than primitive shelters.  For a Swiss architect, I’m told, a commission to design a hut is as prestigious as one to design and museum or a church.  The multidisciplinary high-tech project selected to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology , the design and construction of the New Monte Rosa Hut, is a remarkable monument to the place of huts (and Swiss hospitality, design and engineering) in that nation’s identity.

As an American, I was amazed to realize that every one of the 105 huts in the 18 U.S. hut systems has a higher level of amenities than every one of the 962 DoC huts, including those on the Great Walks.  Like the Europeans, but in our own “pioneer” ways, we Americans sure like our comforts!

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Brian Dobbie: New Zealand Hut Hero

Brian Dobbie: New Zealand Hut Hero

by Sam Demas

(Note: this is part of the larger work New Zealand Huts: Notes towards a Country Study)

Few have visited as many NZ huts, and even fewer know as much about the DoC hut system as Brian.  Working in the Recreations and Historic Unit, he is part of the team of DoC staff planning and managing the hut

Brian Dobbie, courtesy Brian Dobbie

system at the national level.  Since 1987 Brian has contributed greatly to shaping the development and operation of the world’s largest hut system.  His perspective encompasses a broad understanding of the genesis and infrastructure of the system as a whole, the attendant policy and budget issues, how huts fit into tourism and Kiwi culture, and a deep knowledge of the nitty-gritty of hut operations.  He seems to have been involved in every major controversy and policy decision related to DoC huts, wrote or helped to write the foundational operating documents and procedures, and helped figure out how best to respond to an endless series of budget cuts — and the occasional significant boost in funding — over the years.  And he loves huts: as of early 2018 he had visited 770 of the roughly 962 huts in the DoC hut system.

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Shelter from the Storm: dream team, genesis and impact

Shelter from the Storm: dream team, genesis and impact

Sam Demas, September 5, 2018

(Note: this is part of the larger work New Zealand Huts: Notes towards a Country Study)

{Photo above by John Rhodes, courtesy Shaun Barnett}

Shelter from the Storm: the story of New Zealand’s backcountry huts deeply influenced my understanding of huts and how they are — in addition to shelter — both evolving cultural reflections of the terrain and the society in which they exist, and also manifestations of human relationship to nature.  I was so excited when I first read the book that I wrote an extended review in hopes of increasing sales/readership in the USA.  While traveling in New Zealand I learned how profoundly the book has shifted Kiwi perceptions of huts as a treasured elements of culture and history.  As an offshoot of talking with the authors and the publisher I pieced together a little bit about the genesis of the book and its publishing history.  Talking with trampers all over New Zealand I heard repeatedly about how the book has shifted perceptions and the national conversations about huts.  I am now even more impressed by the book and am moved to share my deepened enthusiasm.

The full impact of this book has likely only begun to play out.  It is a classic.  While I am clearly not the best person to write about its publishing history, what follows is the germ of a story I really want to tell to my hut friends in the USA.  So, I am moved to jot here some threads about the publishing history of this book, musings about its impact in New Zealand, and some personal notions about the future of huts.

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Geoff Spearpoint: New Zealand Hut Hero

Geoff Spearpoint — Backcountry Tramper and Hut Advocate

by Sam Demas

(Note: this is part of the larger work New Zealand Huts: Notes towards a Country Study)

After a lifetime of tramping, Geoffrey Brian Spearpoint is steeped in the NZ backcountry, and in Kiwi hut and tramping culture.  Embodying this culture, he is known as a hard core back country tramper who is not the least bit elitist.  When asked about a logbook comment “looks like another hut lost to the tourists”, he looked genuinely pained. He said his priority is that everyone, Kiwi’s and tourists alike, have the opportunity to experience the joys of tramping and huts.  Strong and sprightly, small in stature, he has an elfin glow.  With a gentle demeanor, he is clear about his views while open to new ideas.  Clear-sighted, Geoff seems to think outside the box. I read an account in which he was praised for his work on a Search and Rescue Team for discovering the footprint that provided the clue to locating a lost child: Geoff is the only one on the team who crawled under the fallen log (everyone else went over it).  There, in a child-sized space, he spotted the small footprint, which clearly pointed the direction in which the lost child was finally found.  Everyone in the tramping community seems to know and admire Geoff; the most common terms used to describe him are “inspiring” and “authentic”.

Sam and Geoff

 

While traveling in NZ I kept hearing stories and reading about Geoff, and was delighted to finally get a chance to talk with him briefly at the end of my trip.  As an outsider looking in, this post is an amateur’s attempt to introduce to a U.S. audience a genuine and beloved exemplar of Kiwi huts and tramping.

 

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Shaun Barnett: New Zealand Hut Hero

 

New Zealand Hut Heroes: Profile of Shaun Barnett

(Note: this is part of the larger work New Zealand Huts: Notes towards a Country Study)

By far my best idea when planning a three month study tour of New Zealand huts was to read Shelter from the Storm and contact the authors.  All three members of this Dream Team (Rob Brown, Robbie Burton, Geoff Spearpoint) were helpful, but Shaun’s thoughtful and generous email exchanges were spot on in guiding me on who to talk with and where to go (i.e. what huts to visit!).  Finally meeting him in person — over a delightful four-hour lunch at his home in Wellington — was a highlight of our trip.  A gracious host and a wellspring of knowledge, there was so much to talk about!  Our rambling conversation helped me process lessons learned in my first month of tramping, and sharpened my focus, methods and questions going forward.   His advice on part two of our journey targeted my interests, expanded my horizons, and significantly advances my learning curve.  Wow!  I hit the jackpot by meeting New Zealand’s “go-to guy” for studying huts and tramping!

Shaun Barnett at summit of Mt Pureora, Pureora FP, King Country, 29 Dec 2017, courtesy Shaun Barnett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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New Zealand Hut Heroes: Rob Brown

Rob Brown: tramper, photographer, activist and diplomat

By Sam Demas

(Note: this is part of the larger work New Zealand Huts: Notes towards a Country Study)

We spent several hours talking with Rob in his Wanaka home (and enjoying the harmonious  background presence of his two lovely daughters), before heading out to stay in one of the many huts (Meg Hut) that he urged us to visit.  Clearly a gifted photographer and committed activist, he pursues his passions — for art, activism, and partnerships in support of the great outdoors — with vigor on a national scale.  These accomplishments — combined with his inherent  enjoyment of advocacy, policy and process — make him a  real player in the world of New Zealand huts and wilderness.

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Potton & Burton

New Zealand Hut Heroes: Robbie Burton

Robbie Burton: a publisher committed to making a difference

by Sam Demas

(Note: this is part of the larger work New Zealand Huts: Notes towards a Country Study)

As we rambled in the world of books and ideas, Robbie popped out of his seat every few minutes to grab a book from the shelves lining his office.  Few people can elaborate as many conversational threads by handing you a book they published on the topic!  While huts, tramping and natural history were our particular focus, I was fascinated to learn about Potton & Burton’s remarkable range of New Zealand non-fiction, childrens books, investigative reporting (six extremely popular and controversial works by Nicky Hager), graphic novels, calendars, as well as seminal books about huts and tramping.

To me the key facts about Potton & Burton are: 1. it is New Zealand’s only remaining independent publisher and widely recognized for a strong ethos of quality publishing, 2. this consistent quality grows out of a heartfelt commitment to cultivate a strong book culture in New Zealand, 3. their publishing list reflects Robbie’s tastes, instincts and willingness to take risks, and 4. the key role Robbie played in publishing Shelter from the Storm and in other unlikely publishing successes.  In a nutshell, the business is strong, publishing about 20 new titles a year, and they won the 2018 New Zealand’s “Publisher of the Year” award.  See the excerpts below for more information on Potton & Burton.  What intrigues me is how Robbie Burton, with no previous experience in publishing, came to be New Zealand’s premier publisher?  Turns out tramping played a role.

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New Zealand baches

The Kiwi Bach – New Zealand vernacular architecture

The Kiwi Bach

Photos and text by Janet Abbott, art historian and bach historian, Christchurch, NZ

“Build them yourself on land you don’t own, out of things you’ve pinched from somewhere.”  

(Paul Thomson, The Bach 1985)

Huts, cabins and shacks are most commonly called baches in New Zealand. Pronounced ‘batch’ as in bachelor, these tiny holiday houses, often by the sea, are held close to the hearts of many Kiwis. There is nothing so fine as to travel over a winding, dusty road with the kids in the back, a stop to pick up fish and chips, and then arrive at your bach. The door opens to that particular aroma that belongs to the ancient furniture and musty magazines, and together with the sounds of sea, the birds, the wind in the trees, this transports you back to the carefree living of endless golden summers past. You can feel the sun on your skin, the sting of the sunburn and the ever-present sand in the sheets of your bed.  The excitement of catching a fish, climbing the cliffs, boating into sea caves and tobogganing down grassy slopes plays at the edge of memory. This is the kiwi bach.

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A rough history of bach legalities

A rough history of bach legalities

by Janet Abbott, art historian and bach historian

Local and central government authorities have attempted to regulate and/or remove the informally-built baches at Taylor’s Mistake since 1911.  They succeeded in removing all of the cave baches between Boulder Bay and Taylors Mistake in the clearances of 1979.  Now 45 out of the 72 baches remain and are currently facing a new round of Council public consultation and decisions.

https://ccc.govt.nz/the-council/consultations-and-submissions/haveyoursay/show/182

An article in the Press on the third of January 1911 entitled ‘The Cave Dwellers, Charms of Taylor’s Mistake, Leading the Simple Life’ sets the scene for these baches. It describes the pioneer cave dwellers Messrs Kennedy and Bickerton who had settled in caves twenty years ago [1891], followed by Mr Archbold fourteen years ago [1897] and states that there were now more than ‘thirty dwellings, no less than a dozen new ones having been started last year’.

Baches

Baches at Taylor’s Mistake, courtesy NZStuff

The article goes on to summarise the land ownership issues at the time which must have been seen as favourable enough for at least twelve families to invest in building huts.

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New Zealand Huts : Building blocks of the national hut system

New Zealand Huts Department of Conservation (DoC) System —

 Part A: Six Building blocks of the national hut system

(Note: this is part of the larger work New Zealand Huts: Notes towards a Country Study)

Introduction

This is the first in a series of posts (Parts A – E) providing an overview of how the NZ Department of Conservation (DoC) operates New Zealand’s collectively owned system of 962 huts.  The series includes:

  • Part A: Six Building Blocks of the DoC Hut System
  • Part B: How Many and What Kinds?  A Tally and Taxonomy
  • Part C: Operational Costs and Revenues
  • Part D: Notes on Ten Selected Operations
  • Part E: Great Walks Huts

Part A looks at what I am calling ‘Six Building Blocks, i.e. six of the key DoC documents that laid the foundations for creating a cohesive national hut system for NZ, the world’s largest. DoC’s policies and operational methods are well documented online.  The intent of this summary is to provide the reader a broad overview and links and pointers to more in-depth information.

First, a quick look at the NZ Department of Conservation as a whole.

Broad Overview of DoC

New Zealand Huts

NZ Department of Conservation Logo

DoC is the NZ government agency which operates the largest hut system in the world.  The agency was established under the Conservation Act 1987, which consolidated parts of several agencies, including the huts, tracks and other infrastructure for outdoor recreation, conservation and scientific work.   Prior to 1987 the organization of NZ land management agencies was based on those in the U.S., i.e. separate agencies for various types of federal lands.  The 1987 Conservation Act moved to consolidate many functions in one agency with a clear conservation mandate driving all land management policies and programs, and in the hope of better coordination among formerly distinct agencies with overlapping missions.  See Historical Perspectives for historical context on the development of DoC.

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