A snapshot in time - Up The Coast

Photographer Stephen Jones (right) gifted his photographic archive to the museum in 2020. Up the Coast features some of the photographs from his collection. Picture by Dudley Meadows

From a photograph of a horse tied up outside the Tolaga Bay General Store in 1875 to Stephen Jones’ picture of the Cross Roads, the township then named Rua-a-Tōrea, Up the Coast is an exhibition that looks at some of the lesser known images in the Tairāwhiti Museum photographic collection.

The methods used to travel up the coast from waka to coastal steamers, reflect the development of the era.

Rivers and ports dictated where townships were established. Some such as Reporua and Tuparoa have experienced significant population decline.

A coastal coach route was established travelling often on the sand and rocks. Bridle tracks meandered narrowly to inland locations. A circuit road Highway 35 eventually reduced the need for many of the wharfs. However, this route is precariously  placed over young moving land and running over frequently flooded rivers.

Those who have made it up the coast to live or visit have found a unique part of New Zealand. The photographs within this exhibition showcase some of that uniqueness.

Tairāwhiti Museum curator of photography Dudley Meadows said he wanted to feature photographs from new collections the museum has been gifted including those from Dunstan and Kinge and Stephen Jones.

Starting in early 1890s and going into the 1980s, all of the photographs record a snapshot in time.

Many are of historical significance like the one of the Tokomaru Bay wharf in full use. A lighter is making its way to the wharf from one of the cargo ships or coastal steamers that worked the coast.

The tracks that can be seen on the wharf were part of a tramway that ran to the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works. A tram can be seen rolling to the vessel.

Another features The Chalet Rendezvous surrounded by farmland, which opened at Okitu on Wainui Beach in November 1957 and was New Zealand’s very first licensed restaurant. Initially styled as an authentic Swiss restaurant, at its peak, it could provide meals for 110 patrons.