Member Profile

First Name

Michael

Surname

Kelly

PHANZA Joining Date

1997

Region

Wellington

Specialities

Heritage

About Me

I am an historian who has worked mainly in heritage since I graduated from university in 1983. I worked for the Historic Places Trust and Department of Conservation in the 1980s and early 1990s respectively, between which I completed a Diploma of Journalism. I have had my own consultancy since 1997, working for clients such as HPT and DOC, the Wellington and Hutt City Councils, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand Defence Force and many others.

I have written histories, heritage studies, conservation plans, heritage trails, heritage inventories, and many other documents. I prefer to work in collaboration with other heritage specialists, as I see that as the way to get the best outcome for clients and for heritage. I was the editor of Phanzine from 2000 to 2007. I also teach heritage conservation at the School of Museum and Heritage Studies at Victoria University.

I am married and live in Mt Cook with my wife Helen McCracken and my children Caitlin and Conal. In my (regrettably small) leisure time I like to play golf, taste beer and wine, watch sport, listen to music and ignore the garden.

 

Publications and Research

Although I have prepared many hundreds of reports, relatively few are 'published' in the literal sense of the word.  Some of those that have been are as follows:

The New Zealand Government Buildings: Past and Present, Department of Conservation, 1996

Inconstant Conservation Plan, Wellington City Council, 1997

Old Coach Road Conservation Plan, Wellington City Council, 1999

"The History of Old Coach Road" in Onslow Historian, Vol. 27, No.2, 1999

"Building a Case: Assessing Significance" in Trapeznick, Alex ed., Common Ground: Heritage and Public Places in New Zealand, Otago University Press, 2000

Aro Valley Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council, 1996 (with Tony Wilson)

Thorndon Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council, 1996

Old Shoreline Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council, 1996

Maritime Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council, 1996 (with Tony Wilson)

Northern Suburbs Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council, 1998, 2004 (with Helen McCracken and Jane Black)

Te Aro Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council, 1999 (with Helen McCracken and Jane Black)

Petone Heritage Trail, Hutt City Council (with Helen McCracken and Jane Black)

Karori Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council (with Jane Black)

Art Deco Heritage Trail, Wellington City Council

‘The Lung of the Capital: The Basin Reserve', in Gentry K. and McLean G. 2006, Heartlands: New Zealand historians write about where history happened, Penguin Books, Auckland

Wild animal control huts: a national heritage identification study, Department of Conservation, Wellington 2007

Royal Wellington Golf Club: A Continuing History 1995-2009, RWGC, Wellington 2009

 

History

Member for

3 years 36 weeks