New Zealand Odyssey: Strange Structures on the Coromandel Peninsula

'New Zealand Odyssey', published in 1989 by Heinemann, was authored by me, 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.

You notice that there's something slightly strange about the Coromandel Peninsula the moment you cross a narrow bridge that takes you from the Hauraki Plains to Thames, an old gold-mining town. Perhaps it's old gold fever, a hidey-hole for alternative life-stylers or an over-abundance of environmental saviours?

No odder than some of its residents are some of its buildings as at 1987. The upper one was a converted tramcar (ex Auckland I believe) in which humans lived a narrow existence. Below, a pair of corrugated iron lavatories on the beach at Kereta. One wonders whether the effluent might have made its way into the Hauraki Gulf wherein Captain Cook became embayed for three days because of a north wind. But that was long before public loos came into fashion.

© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz