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Chinese site ‘important’ BY SUE NEWMAN
SUE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
The importance of Ashburton’s Chinese village goes far beyond the Ashburton District, it has significant value to all of New Zealand, says archaeologist Frank van der Heijden. The Heritage New Zealand senior archaeologist was on the Allens Road site yesterday, discussing
with Ashburton District councillors a project that is likely to see the area declared an archaeological site by the national organisation. It’s a project that’s exciting and one that’s captured his imagination, van der Heijden said. “This area has high historical and agricultural values, especially because there are buildings still here. There were hundreds of these
settlements around New Zealand but, as far as we can tell, this is the only one of its kind left in the country with buildings and that makes it very exciting from a Heritage New Zealand point of view.” The site already has heritage A status in the Ashburton District Council’s district plan, but with the agreement of descendants of those settlers, Heritage New Zealand
proposes declaring the settlement an archaeological site, he said. The declaration is generally reserved for areas pre-dating 1900 and it is rare for Heritage New Zealand to make exceptions for sites younger than this. The Chinese settlement will join just seven other post-1900 sites with a declaration. “This process not only recog-
nises this locally, it gives it national status and tells people that this site is important nationally. The declaration would also help the council when it sought funds for work on the site’s buildings, van der Heijden said.
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