One DOC ranger's passion for heritage masonry
Matt Ainge is the heritage project lead for Te Tai Poutini the West Coast with Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai (DOC). His expertise in heritage masonry is making a big impact at several Tohu Whenua sites.
A new career in heritage masonry
Matt has been working for the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai for three years, after a previous 10-year career as a bricklayer. In 2024, Matt was given the Stephen O'Dea Award, given each year in honour of the DOC field centre manager who died in the Cave Creek disaster. Matt used the award to attend a specialist heritage masonry and building conservation training program at The Longford Academy in Tasmania.
In May, Matt jumped right into his new role as project lead–heritage by running a hands-on workshop repairing the Economiser Building at another Tohu Whenua site Waiuta. He taught DOC rangers from around Aotearoa how to assess masonry condition, repoint and make basic repairs. “It’s win-win, when you can pass on vital skills but also conserve an important heritage site,” says Matt.
Repairing the original Brunner Mine coke ovens
More recently Matt and his colleague Casey Rhodes, historic ranger for Greymouth, worked on stabilising and repairing the original coke oven at Brunner Mine, another iconic Tohu Whenua site.
“These were the original coke ovens from 1868, built next to the river and the barge landing site. But they were at risk of collapse and flagged as a visitor safety issue,” explains Matt. “We rebuilt the archway in two weeks, using traditional materials of local rock, donated original Brunner bricks, and lime mortar. And we were able to do it without closing the Brunner site to visitors, which was a real win.”
The project was challenging. “It was a cold project with wind and rain, but we set up a tarp which helped us hide from the weather. At times you’d get the smell of rotten eggs, which was the sulphur coming up from the old mine shaft.”
The new stonework needed to follow the original buckled and bowed lines of the original masonry. “We had to line up the stonework with the original twisted lines, which goes against your professional instincts. And when you’re doing the stonework you never find the perfect rock and you sit there going, ‘does that look good? Yeah, nah.’”
But the outcome was immensely satisfying for Matt. “At the end we stood back, took down the scaffolding and tarp, and it was a bit of art. This project was awesome. And we were able to cycle in other DOC rangers for a day or two to continue their heritage masonry training”.
More heritage masonry projects ahead
Matt has several more exciting projects in 2026. Later this year he will supporting project lead Casey Rhodes on a conservation project at Blackball. The works will shore up and conserve the masonry structure protecting a historic sirocco fan at the Blackball Mine site. Later in the year Matt is leading another heritage masonry workshop at the historic Chinese miners' cottages in Arrowtown. These cottages, managed by DOC, are a central aspect of Arrowtown’s Tohu Whenua must-dos.
Matt is stoked to be looking after heritage sites in the West Coast and sharing his masonry knowledge with DOC rangers, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga staff, and the community. “I’m an absolute lover of heritage so this role is a perfect fit for me.”
