Engineering New Zealand’s Otago Heritage Chapter presents the Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference – The Future of the Past.
The theme – The Future of the Past – focuses on heritage engineering and technology that has endured, been redeveloped, undergone restoration or repurposing to claim a place in the future.
Read more about the conference theme
Pre-conference tour: 11-14 November 2021
Conference: 14-17 November 2021
Location: Dunedin
For more information, visit the conference website.
Download the Heritage Conference, Dunedin 2021 flyer.
What’s in store?
Join us for an action-packed four days of engineering heritage, including two full days of inspiring sessions and keynote speakers, and a post-conference half-day tour of Dunedin’s most interesting engineering heritage sites.
Pre-conference tour
To whet your appetite ahead of the conference, experience a three-day pre-conference tour taking in the best of Southland’s engineering heritage across Queenstown, Milford Sound, the South Coast and Invercargill.
Find out more about the pre-conference tour
Download the full pre-conference tour programme
Conference
The Conference opens on the evening of 14 November at Toitū, Otago Settlers Museum, where delegates and partners will be welcomed by Mana Whenua.
Conference proceedings on 15 and 16 November will be based at the Dunedin Centre, part of the Dunedin Town Hall complex, located in the central city. It is within 10 to 15 minutes’ walk from the University, museums, the thriving warehouse precinct and a range of hotel and motel accommodation.
See the full conference programme
Find out more about accommodation, transport and sightseeing in Dunedin
Partners’ programme
We’ve got a fascinating partners’ programme lined up over the four days – so there’s something for everyone.
We’re delighted to announce our keynote speakers:
Takerei Norton (Ngāi Tahu), Manager of the Ngāi Tahu Archive and Kā Huru Manu, the Ngāi Tahu Cultural Mapping Project, which focuses on recording Ngāi Tahu histories, traditions, and place names on the Ngāi Tahu Geographical Information System.
Keith Paterson, Project Director for the restoration of Christ Church Cathedral which was severely damaged and closed by the 2011 earthquakes.
Matthew Churchward, Curator for Museums Victoria and closely associated with the restoration of the Great Melbourne Telescope.
Glen Hazelton, Director Organisational Development, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
Find out more about our keynote speakers
The Conference Dinner will be held after the first day of proceedings, featuring Sir Ian Taylor CNZM as the after dinner speaker. He has had a varied career as a rock musician, a children’s television presenter and an entrepreneur, and is the CEO of Animation Research Ltd which works at the cutting edge of sports television coverage
A half-day guided Engineering Heritage tour of Dunedin is planned for the morning of 17 November, which includes the Gasworks Museum, harbour reclamation, the cable car and the warehouse precinct.
Pre-conference tour
The pre-conference tour will start in Queenstown on 11 November with a twilight cruise on the TSS Earnslaw, the 108-year-old, Dunedin-built “Lady of the lake”.
The route for the next two days starts in Queenstown, travelling to Milford Sound then looping round the south coast to Invercargill and through central Southland to Dunedin. Tour highlights will include engineering heritage sites ranging from a state of the art alpine highway avalanche protection programme for a heritage tourist highway, to a restored and working flax mill. In Invercargill there will be an opportunity to visit Bill Richardson Transport World, a comprehensive road transport collection. On the way to Dunedin, highlights will include a visit to the Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre with its collection of de Havilland vintage aircraft. The tour will then travel via the Tuapeka punt over the Clutha river and arrive in Dunedin on the afternoon of Sunday 14 November.