Heritage

The Auckland region has a rich and diverse legacy of widely appreciated cultural heritage elements that help define ‘Auckland’. These heritage elements are valuable because they link us to past styles, tastes, customs, techniques, processes and associations; and because they represent a resource to be conserved and passed on to future generations.

Our cultural heritage includes:

• Built heritage - historic buildings or structures and their settings
• Archaeological sites
• Places of special significance to Māori, including wāhi tapu, urupā, and places of traditional importance
• Trees or other vegetation with historical or cultural associations
• Sites where past events have taken place
• Cemeteries and burial places
• Shipwrecks and other maritime heritage
• Landscapes and areas of heritage places.

Our heritage activities

We promote the conservation and protection of cultural heritage by:

• Ensuring the sustainable and integrated management of cultural heritage throughout the region through the Resource Management Act 
• Caring for our cultural heritage sites and features in Auckland's parks 
• Identifying and protecting significant cultural heritage sites and features through district and regional plan protection 
• Controlling the use, development and protection of  cultural heritage in the coastal environment, in conjunction with the Department of Conservation
• Promoting the preservation and protection of cultural heritage by supporting community initiatives
• Providing funding and grants for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage sites
• Maintaining a Cultural Heritage Inventory (database).

Regional heritage resources

Please use the links below to find out about the preservation and protection of Auckland's cultural heritage:

Maritime heritage

Heritage legislation

Funding and grants

Heritage places on regional parkland

Cultural Heritage Inventory (CHI).

Local heritage resources

For information on specific heritage sites and resources in your local area, please use the links below:

Auckland city

Franklin district

Manukau city  

Papakura district

Waitakere city

A history of the North Shore

This is a thematic history of the North Shore showing its development from pre-European times to the present day.

Filled with fascinating maps and rarely-seen photographs, the review shows how the growth of the North Shore’s neighbourhoods has been shaped by geography, individuals, and the circumstances of their times.

The review also contains a rich social history showing how people lived, played and worked in days gone by.

The report includes an historical overview as well as  more detailed area studies. 

North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report - volume 1 (9.3mb)
North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report - volume 1 maps (8.9mb)
North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report - volume 2 sections 1 and 2 (9.3mb)
North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report - volume 2 sections 3-5 (9.4mb)
North Shore Heritage Thematic Review Report - volume 2 sections 6-end (6.6mb)

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