New Zealand Odyssey: Pakiri Beach

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by Don Donovan (who did the text and illustrations) and Euan Sarginson, who did the photography and design. In this series of blog posts, I will publish some of my drawings.

I was somewhat mortified to find this unfriendly private beach at Pakiri, north of Leigh on the eastern side of the north Auckland peninsula, I had fondly believed that the beaches of New Zealand were open to all - after all, in 1987, our population was little more that 3.5 million with plenty of space to share.

What made me even sadder was to see this crude warning attached to a fence that was rusty and in disrepair, an obvious indication that however jealously the beach's owners might have guarded their property, they didn't care much for it.

Our book was designed to present some typical aspects of our country and this scene didn't quite fit - but maybe I was making a protest!

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz