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Literary sightseeing

North Shore Literary Walks (Devonport, Stanley Bay, Takapuna, Castor Bay)

Writers have been attracted to Auckland's North Shore since the 19th century, and in the middle years of the 20th century it became a meeting point out of which a New Zealand literary identity began to emerge.

Some of New Zealand's most enduring short stories, plays, poems and novels were written on, and to some extent inspired by, the North Shore. Today North Shore City continues to be home to many of the country's leading writers.

The North Shore City Council’s booklet on the area’s literary heritage contains a history, maps and commentary for literary walks around Devonport, Stanley Bay, Takapuna and Castor Bay. It can be viewed here on the Takapuna City Council website or found at the council’s visitor information centres, area offices or libraries.

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Frank Sargeson House, Takapuna

Frank Sargeson Cottage, Esmonde Road, Takapuna, Auckland, is certainly modest but it stands for a far-from-modest milestone in our literary life. As the roadside sign announces, it is where 'a truly New Zealand literature had its beginnings'.

It's a basic, down-at-heel, fibrolite bach - the sort that used to dot our coastlines, symbol of the do-it-yourself, Kiwi spirit.

Frank Sargeson lived here from 1931 until his death in 1982. Most of his literary work was written here: the short stories which became his strength and included 'Conversation with my uncle and other stories'; 'A man and his wife'; and 'That summer and other stories'. He also wrote three novels, two plays and three volumes of autobiography.

It is certainly a poignant place. His black berets, that became his signature, hang on their wall pegs in the bach and his checked woollen dressing gown is thrown over a battered old chair. On the mantlepiece over the fireplace, a light bulb has been placed in the lid of an old jam jar.

Some of his collection of books are in the bookcases that line the walls and on the small table is a well-thumbed Virgil, full of Sargeson's notes and comments.

His old Olivetti is here and so is a sea trunk (he visited Europe in 1927) and the sickle he used to attack the grass round the bach. He was an avid grower of vegetables and often sent his friends away armed with cabbage or lettuce.

Sargeson became a mentor to a whole generation of New Zealand writers - most notably, Janet Frame , who wrote her first published novel, Owls Do Cry, in a hut on the property. The hut was removed when part of the land was sold after Sargeson's death, but the patchwork quilt that Janet Frame cobbled together for Frank's bed is still there.

The focus of the room is the smooth wooden bench that divides the living and the kitchen areas. Here Sargeson would pour welcoming cups of tea for friends. It was also his soapbox - or pulpit - at times, when he expounded on matters literary, political or social.

Sargeson willed his home to his literary executor, Christine Cole Catley, who decided to restore it as it was in his lifetime. The Sargeson Trust was formed to administer the property.
'We hope to train local people to act as guides so that the history of the place and its importance gets across to visitors,' said Graeme Lay [author], secretary of the Trust.

To visit the Frank Sargeson Cottage, make a booking at the Takapuna Library which is ten minutes walk away.

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The Michael King Writers’ Centre, Auckland

The Michael King Writers' Centre is the first full writers' facility and literary centre in New Zealand.

The centre is based in the historic Signalman's House on the slopes of Mt Victoria in Devonport, Auckland, and was established to honour the memory of author and historian Michael King. After his death in 2004, a number of his fellow writers and friends formed a trust with the aim of establishing a centre to assist writers and to promote the literary arts in New Zealand.

Following a major renovation of the historic house, the centre was officially opened in May 2007. Facilities include accommodation for two writers, a writer's studio, an administration base and meeting rooms. With the assistance of Creative New Zealand, the trust offers a stipend for a writer-in-residence, who is funded to live in the house and use the studio.

For more information, visit www.writerscentre.org.nz.

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Haiku Pathway, Katikati

The Haiku Pathway is a meandering river stroll punctuated by boulders engraved with poems in the small Bay of Plenty town of Katikati. Officially opened in June 2000 as one of New Zealand's Millennium Projects, its 24 engraved river boulders along the Uretara Stream make it the largest collection of "haiku stones" outside Japan. Visit the New Zealand Poetry Society website.

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Wellington Writers' Walk

The Wellington Writers' Walk is set in one of the world’s loveliest urban land-and-seascapes. It combines a stroll along Wellington’s waterfront with the discovery of sculptural quotations from New Zealand writers – like a series of intriguing pronouncements - often in surprising and unexpected places. The concrete plaques have been designed by the internationally renowned typographer Catherine Griffiths and the benchmarks, three of them seats, by well known architect Fiona Christeller. The walk celebrates and commemorates the place of Wellington in these writers’ lives, and their place in the life of Wellington.

The walk currently commemorates nineteen authors, both past and present, including poets, novelists, playwrights and writers of prose. Besides providing recognition to some of New Zealand’s top literary authors, the walk promotes New Zealand literature to a wider public, including tourists and visitors to the capital. International comedian and raconteur Billy Connolly featured it in his televised tour of New Zealand and it is listed in the Automobile Association’s One Hundred and One Things to Do in New Zealand.

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The Plaques

Commissioned in 2002
Katherine Mansfield (novelist, short fiction writer)
James K Baxter (poet)
Robin Hyde (novelist, journalist)
Bill Manhire (poet, essayist)
Bruce Mason (playwright)
Patricia Grace  (novelist, short fiction writer)
Maurice Gee (novelist)
Pat Lawlor (novelist, journalist)
Vincent O'Sullivan (poet, playwright, novelist)
Lauris Edmond (poet, biographer)
Denis Glover (poet)

Commissioned in 2004
Barbara Anderson (novelist, short fiction writer)
Alistair Te Ariki Campbell (poet)
Fiona Kidman (novelist, short fiction writer)
Eileen Duggan (poet)

The Benchmarks
Commissioned in 2006
Michael King (historian, essayist)
Marilyn Duckworth  (novelist)
Sam Hunt (poet, raconteur)
Louis Johnson (poet, editor)

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Katherine Mansfield Birthplace and Heritage Garden

The Katherine Mansfield Birthplace is the childhood home of one of the world's best known short story writers, and New Zealand's most famous author.

Situated at the North end of Thorndon, the oldest suburb of Wellington city and an area still closely associated with Mansfield, the house provides a background for the enjoyment and understanding of a large part of Mansfield's writing. Her memories and experiences here were recreated in her most famous short stories including 'The Aloe', 'Prelude' and 'A Birthday'.

The house at 25 (previously 11) Tinakori Road was built in 1888 for Mansfield's father, Harold Beauchamp, an aspiring young merchant who was to become a successful businessman and was later knighted for his services to commerce and banking. Three generations of the Beauchamp family lived together in the house from 1888 to 1893.

25 Tinakori Road has been meticulously restored and furnished with antique furniture of the era and replicas of original wallpapers, creating an authentic atmosphere in keeping with the family's social status.

Permanent and changing exhibitions are a feature of the Birthplace and include 'A Sense of Living', a collection of period photographs with excerpts of Mansfield's writings.

The Katherine Mansfield Birthplace is classified Category 1 on the New Zealand Historic Places Trust register. It is open 10am to 4pm seven days a week. There is a charge for admission.

The Birthplace is administered by the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Society Inc, a non-profit charitable organisation. The Society exists 'to acquire, restore, maintain and re-use, for the benefit of all people, the birthplace of New Zealand's most internationally famous writer, Katherine Mansfield, and foster an appreciation and understanding of her work'.

Heritage Garden

The garden at the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace was first planted in 1888. It is recalled by Mansfield as 'small and square with flower beds on either side. All down one side big clumps of arum lilies aired their rich beauty, on the other side there was nothing but a straggle what the children called "grandmother's pincushions"'.

The garden has been faithfully recreated by a team of volunteers following the evidence provided by eye-witness accounts, original photographs, archaeological investigation, and by Katherine Mansfield's stories and letters.

'Oh how I love flowers!' Mansfield wrote to her sister Chaddie. 'It's strange we should all of us Beauchamps have this passion for flowers...'.

Related Information

  • Katherine Mansfield Birthplace website: www.katherinemansfield.com
  • See the Katherine Mansfield page for more information about this distinguished author.
  • The BNZ Katherine Mansfield Short Story Awards [mansfield award] celebrate the work of New Zealand's fiction and non-fiction writers.
  • The Meridian Energy Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship [mansfield prize] sends a New Zealand writer to live and work in France each year.


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Christchurch Writers’ Trail

The Canterbury Settlement, right from 1850, was notable for its exalted ideals. The settlement's early colonists lugged ashore libraries, musical instruments, paints, easels and plans for a grammar school and University. The published memoirs, letters, journals and poetry left by these pioneers established a robust literary tradition in Canterbury, particularly in poetry and non-fiction. From the 1930s to the early 1950s, during Denis Glover's [author] association with The Caxton Press, Christchurch was a focal point of New Zealand's artistic life. Its cultural and literary importance continues today.

The Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors has, with support from The Community Trust, has laid 32 plaques in various parts of Christchurch. The Christchurch Writers’ Trail Booklet available to download from Christchurch City Libraries, includes a map of these plaques, as well as biographies, photographs and a list of other Canterbury writers. All of the writers featured have a close connection with Christchurch and the plaques have been placed on sites of personal significance.

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Dame Ngaio Marsh House, Christchurch

The Ngaio Marsh House in Cashmere, Christchurch, offers a glimpse into the life, personality and wide-ranging interests of one of our most charismatic New Zealanders.

Dame Ngaio, world-famous detective writer and legendary theatrical producer, lived in the house from the age of 10 until she died at 86.

Bought and run by the Ngaio Marsh House and Heritage Trust, it was opened in late 1997. Although the house was let after her death in 1982, her furnishings, furniture and books remained on the site, mostly in storage.

Now many of her personal possessions plus programmes, costume sketches and props from her Shakespearean productions have been collected as well, thanks to friends, family and admirers. Added to her extensive library (including the original editions of all 32 mystery novels), they bring to life her twin careers in the theatre and detective fiction.

Ngaio Marsh House is open by appointment, every day except Monday. Phone (03) 337 9248. There is a small charge for visitors.

For more information, visit the Ngaio Marsh House website: www.ngaio-marsh.org.nz

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Dunedin Writers’ Walk

At the heart of this most literary of cities can be found the Dunedin Writers' Walk - a series of brass plaques set into the brick pavement that curves around the upper Octagon. Each plaque bears a quote about Dunedin by a published writer. The aim of the walk is to entertain and enlighten passers-by about Dunedin and its literary heritage.

Most, but not all, of the authors have strong links to Dunedin. They include Thomas Bracken, Denis Glover, James K. Baxter, Lauris Edmond, Janet Frame, Witi Ihimaera , Dennis McEldowney , Frank Sargeson , Christine Johnston , Robin Hyde , John A. Lee , Joan De Hamel, Ruth Dallas, Charles Brasch, John Barr, Roger Hall, John Hamilton and A.H. Reed.

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Janet Frame Walking Tour, Oamaru

The Janet Frame Walking Tour is a 90-minute walking tour of sites in Oamaru that were important to Janet Frame and that she used in many of her books.

The walk begins at the Visitor Information Centre at 1 Thames Street, and takes in places mentioned in Owls Do Cry, The Envoy from the Mirror City, Face in the Water and To the Is-land.

The Oamaru Information Centre, corner of Thames and Itchen streets has free information leaflets (with map) for the Janet Frame Trail. The centre is open seven days, 9-6pm weekdays and 10am to 5pm weekends and public holidays. Ph (03) 434 1656 for more information.

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56 Eden Street

56 Eden Street was home to Janet Frame from 1931 - 1943. It is open to the public from November 1 to April 30 each year, 2.00pm - 4.00pm daily. $5 suggested donation. Information on 56 Eden Street is available at the Oamaru Visitor Centre, phone (03) 434 1656 or from Tourism Waitaki

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Phone 0064 4 801 5546
Level 4, Stephenson & Turner House, 156 Victoria St, Te Aro
Wellington 6011, New Zealand