'An island story'? Maritime heritage in Aotearoa/ New Zealand: A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Geography in the University of Canterbury

Abstract

This thesis explores the concept of heritage within the context of the maritime environment of Aotearoa/ New Zealand. Three case studies, The New Zealand National Maritime Museum in Auckland, TSS Earnslaw which operates on Lake Wakatipu from a base in Queenstown and the Port of Lyttelton, Canterbury, are used to investigate the relationship between the international literature of heritage and the expression of maritime heritage in Aotearoa/ New Zealand. The research is focussed through the investigation of the presentation, and management of maritime heritage. The relationship between the concept of heritage as a global phenomenon and its expression in relation to the maritime heritage of Aotearoa/ New Zealand is discussed using the information obtained through fieldwork. The themes of mobility and conflict are identified as significant in the explanation of the role played by maritime heritage in the interaction between society and its maritime past.