Kōrero: Historic places

From the mid-1960s a growing public interest in colonial history led to the creation of heritage theme parks. These comprised collections of historic buildings that were usually moved from other sites and assembled in a village-like arrangement. Some parks also made reconstructions of colonial-era buildings. The idea behind the theme parks was to give visitors a 'living history' experience – an impression of what it was like to live in colonial times. Staff often dressed in colonial garb and gave smithing, cooking and other demonstrations. Sometimes visitors could dress up too. This photograph of two 'settlers' riding in a gig was taken at Howick Historical Village in the 1980s.