'Not many people know about Herbertville. It's a tiny place on the border of Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay named after the Herbert family, farmers who gave land for the school and post office. The Speedys became the big news of the district, however, owning three stations including Burnview, whose fine, listed homestead overlooks the sea a few kilometres down the coast. Steamers put into nearby Cape Turnagain, whose jetty was said to be one of the quickest-loading in the country, not surprising on this exposed coast. It was a busy little town once, and even when I first visited in the 1970s the hotel seemed to be half-pub, half-grocery store and a Saturday night there had to be experienced to be believed.
'The store remains more or less the same (the picturesque Wimbledon pub up the road is unchanged). It's a quiet place now, a suitable retreat for its most famous resident, the reclusive George Wilder, who became a folk hero in the 1960s by escaping from prison three times and eluding platoons of police and tracker dogs for eight months. Evidently the skill has since come in handy for dodging journalists and television.
'Another, more public resident is Barry Flint who started life here in a tent, camping with his twins. He moved up to a caravan and then, with a large number of other happy campers, bought the campsite. His bach seems to grow out of his old caravan, its towbar covered with a tangle of rope pieces he pulled off the beach so the seals wouldn't eat them.
Barry may be the most unusual crayfisherman in the country. No boats for him, no winches or fancy pots. He just puts a makeshift pot on his boogie board and paddles it out to the rocks. He seems as much a part of the place as the ngaio trees and he's a local favourite.'
Coast: A New Zealand Journey,
by Bruce Ansley and Jane Ussher
Publication date: November 2013
RRP: $75; hardback (Godwit)
