Contents

THE GOLFER  |  The life (and death) of Peter Rouse who became a legend in his own lifetime as a golfing maestro as well as a much-loved and respected character in Gisborne and on the East Coast. (2010)

A PASSION FOR WAR   |  Terence White, at the time a self-styled photo-journalist from Gisborne, travelled the war zones of the world in the 1980s and 90s. In 1993 I wrote an account of his adventures to date in  New Zealand Adventure magazine. (1993)

A SURFING WAY OF LIFE   |  A nostalgic exploration of the surf culture that was embraced by a band of hardy locals and grew into a lasting lifestyle that in many ways continues to define the Gisborne ethos. (2009)

THE SHAPER  |  The story of Bob Rasby, an unassuming Australian surfer who came to live in Gisborne in the 1970s.  He worked with McTavish. He made surfboards for Lopez and Brewer. He was part of the global shortboard revolution.  (2009)

A PLACE BY THE SEA |  A long and detailed attempt to tell the full history of Wainui Beach from the arrival of the Maori until more recent times. (2009)

A TALE OF TWO ISLANDS |  Tuamotu, the island off Sponge Bay at the northern extreme of Turanganui-a-Kiwa is the remnant of what was once an archipelago of small islands that were mined for rock to create the Gisborne harbour. (2011)

COOKED CRAYFISH STRAIGHT FROM THE SEA |  A quartet of amateur models never lived down a hilarious photo used on the cover of the Photo News in the summer of 1968. (2011)

THE LIFE OF A SALESMAN |  The life story of Graeme Collier. A salesman by profession and a man of great character in the Gisborne community. (2011)

THE DAY THE WHALES DIED |  On 18 March 1970, 59 sperm whales became stranded at the northern end of Wainui Beach. Observers recalled that the sea was red with blood. None survived; a grave 150 metres long, 10 metres wide and five metres deep was excavated to bury them. (2009)

THE PLACE TO BE BESIDE THE SEA |  Built by an eccentric Swiss chef, the Chalet Rendezvous restaurant at Wainui Beach has a special place in New Zealand's history. Take a ride back in time to see what we found out about this fabled, often foibled, local establishment and the people whose lives it touched. (2009)

THE MYSTERY OF THE WINDMILL |  In attempting to uncover more detail about stories of a windmill that once stood sentinel on the dunes over looking the ocean at Wainui, I discovered that there were in fact two windmills, built by the same eccentric Dutchman. (2009-2010)

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MURIEL JONES |  Sadly but inevitably she has since passed on from this world. But the story of Muriel Jones is still worth knowing. She was one of those rare women born in the 1920s that quietly but emphatically challenged male dominance in New Zealand society. (2009)

THE RETURN OF THE LONGBOARD |  After being involved in the rennaisance of longboard surfing around the beaches of Gisborne in the 1980s I wrote this article for Southern Skies magazine in 1996.

THE TSUNAMI | On  Sunday morning, February 28, 2010 news spread that a potentially devastating tsunami was heading our way. The magnitude and the source of the earthquake that spawned the threat – 8.8 magnitude and off the coast of Chile – caused more than a little concern. (2010)

A GREEN-FINGERED GENIUS | Rob Bayly was a horticulturist, one of the early curators at Taranaki’s Pukeiti rhododendron garden. He came to Gisborne at the invitation of W. Douglas Cook to create a nursery at Eastwoodhill. (2011)

MRS NEW ZEALAND | The story of  Joan Coates from her childhood in India. her reign as the first Mrs New Zealand and her time as a New Zealand 1960s celebrity, to her later life volunteering her time and tending the garden at her cottage at Wainui Beach. (2010)

A DIVE IN A DUCKPOND | A travel writing escapade in the Nelson region where I get to scuba dive in a duck pond and drink pinot noir, for the very first time, with winemaker Tim Finn in the company of my photographer friend Gareth Eyres.

IRON STEEDS ON THE PAKIHI | In the early 1990s I was part of a group of mountainbikers who pioneered the now popular Pakihi mountain bike trail in the Motu wilderness area in the mountains between Bay of Plenty and the East Coast.

NO EASY ESCAPE ON THE MOTU RIVER | In 1982 I joined a group of friends on a rafting trip down the Motu River. It rained and it flooded, and our four-day whitewater adventure turned into a battle for survival.

RETURN TO THE RIVER | In 1993 I rafted down the Motu River again, but this time with the assitance of a helicopter and a jetboat on a trip so much different to the first.

ON THE RUN WITH COVID | In 2024 I found myself in a precarious situation after coming down with Covid while on holiday in Australia. But thanks to the kindness of friends it turned out fine.

A SONG FOR MAKORORI | A small tribute to Toby White, the one-time "Mayor of Makorori Beach", who wrote a song about the beach community that he loved so dearly.

MORE STORIES TO COME