A beach scene in January 1911 on Napier’s Marine Parade. The Municipal Baths can be seen in the background. Mixing bathing – as can be seen - was the envy of many in New Zealand at the time. Photo / Collection of Hawke's Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi, 3339
OPINION
Because of our recent string of high temperatures, I’m going to look back at how Napierites cooled down on Marine Parade beach.
The luxury of sea bathing in 19th century Napier was mostly, if not exclusively, for men.
Napier Borough Council wasn’t too keen on men bathing during the hours when ladies of Napier went about their business and might see males sea bathing.
This would breach the standards of public decency.
So the council passed a bylaw in 1881. There would be no sea bathing anywhere in the borough’s boundary between the hours of 7am to 9pm.
With much agitation against the bylaw, the council under pressure altered it in 1891. Men could now swim between the hours of 8am and 8pm – if you wore “a proper and decent bathing dress” ‒ but not within 365m of a public place or street. Other adjustments were made to when and where they could swim, but bathing near the public (so a lady couldn’t see them) was restricted.
A Frenchman living in Napier wrote to the Daily Telegraph in January 1894, questioning the council’s approach in this regard. Europe was more forward in its attitude to public bathing, he stated.
He didn’t think the ladies of Napier were opposed to seeing males sea bathing, and implied they might enjoy it.
He had seen many of them walking the esplanade (Marine Parade) and on the beach while “brutally immodest male creatures, attired cap-a-pie [head to toe] disported themselves in the sea”.
His last comments were: “Good old respectable Napier, when will you wake up to the fact you are years behind the times?”
Ladies could not sea bathe as there was no place for them to change on the beach, and they certainly couldn’t travel to the beach in a bathing costume. Their cries to create facilities for them, in a male-dominated world, went then, in the 1890s, unanswered.
A shark attack in December 1896, which killed 28-year-old Bright Cooper on the Marine Parade beach led to calls for the council to provide public swimming baths.
The morbid description of what was left of Bright after the shark attack understandably put people off sea bathing. (The Marine Parade beach has always been a treacherous beach for swimming, and while sharks were commonly seen in hot summer weather, it was the sea that claimed many lives. Note the steep drop in the photo.)
It would take 13 years until Napierites had a municipal pool.
In 1901, the council provided a marquee on Marine Parade for bathers of both sexes to change in and out of bathing costumes at a cost of one pence, and a towel for the same price. (When women and children were changing, the male attendant, who wore a “distinguishing badge” had to stand a reasonable distance away from the marquee, but close enough to be heard if they shouted for help if an accident occurred.)
Women and children could now bathe in Marine Parade and their times allotted were 1pm to 5pm daily, except Sunday ‒ much less than the men. When they were swimming, a red flag was hoisted on the marquee to warn men and youth to not wander down onto the beach.
Bathing costumes must extend from the shoulder to the knees – and could not be white or flesh-coloured. Absolutely no changing into and out of costumes could occur unless it was concealed on the beach.
In getting to the Marine Parade beach it was an offence to cross a public or private road or right of way in anything but “ordinary walking dress”. A £5 (2023: $1100) fine was payable for offenders.
Despite Napier’s prudish past, by 1908 it had become the envy of New Zealand when the council allowed mixed bathing on the Marine Parade beach.
An advert that year in the Wairarapa Age stated “Masterton for manners. Napier for mixed bathing.”
From accounts, many Napier ladies were in favour of mixed bathing, and the council with some dissention, was happy to oblige.
Other parts of society, such as churches, disagreed with mixed bathing, primarily related to carnal lusts of flesh being awakened. (As the council took the marquee down each night on account of its unauthorised use by couples, I think the churches were too late in some cases.)
When (finally) their Municipal Baths were opened (as shown) in October 1909, it allowed mixed bathing at set times – 7.30pm to 9pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.
The Municipal Baths could seat 800 spectators, and on mixed bathing nights, spectators far outnumbered the swimmers. This led to some observations that “watching” at the Napier Municipal Baths was a popular past-time on a warm summer’s evening.
In 1967, new baths replaced the 1909 Napier Municipal baths.
Ocean Spa replaced these and the old Swan Paddling Pools when it opened in February 2003.
Those going to Ocean Spa can do so now in the knowledge they won’t be fined $1100 for crossing the road in their swimming togs. That Napier bylaw has been long repealed.
Michael Fowler is a Hawke’s Bay historian and writer. You can contact him at mfhistory@gmail.com
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