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Heritage Rescue: Rangitoto’s protected baches

01 Sep 2016

Three kilometres off the coast of Auckland and only accessible by boat, the volcanic cone of Rangitoto is one of the iconic images of the city and harbour. Despite its beauty, it’s a harsh landscape of sharp volcanic rocks with no fresh water. That didn’t deter people in the first half of last century from building baches along the island’s coastline. This site won a Unesco Heritage award in 2008 and has been set up as a snapshot in time. But there is little information about the baches for visitors. Choice TV’s Heritage Rescue team have now done something about it.

For a handful of these little holiday homes, Heritage Rescue installed new information plaques made from timber and stained using Resene Woodsman Rangitoto, the perfect rich wooded green. The colour helps the posts blend with the environment and meets Department of Conservation specifications.

On the inside of a bach built for the caretaker and his wife in 1928, layers of heritage wallpapers were retained and protected by custom-made wooden information frames, painted in Resene Envy.

A 3D topographical map of the island was designed for the bach. Mostly stained in Resene Rangitoto wood stain, the roads were highlighted in Resene Blaze, walking tracks in Resene Bright Spark and bach locations in Resene Adrenalin. The harbour surrounding the map model was finished in Resene Toto and the table beneath the model was stained in Resene Mahogany to match the wooden architraves.

Here’s a glimpse of last Sunday’s programme, or to see more, see the episode here. For more heritage rescues, tune into to Choice TV this Sunday at 7.30pm.

 

Published: 01 Sep 2016