Takapuna Writers' Walk

Terrain: Over Takapuna Beach, gently sloping and level ground, and two busy roads at intersections. Most of the route moves through the lattice of quiet streets between Lake Rd and the beachfront. A short section of Burns Ave is the one section of the walk which is steep.

Duration: Minimum of 45 minutes

Parking: Available in some of the streets off Lake Rd, such as Hauraki Rd, Ewen St or Napier Ave.

Nowhere in Takapuna is far from its beach, and most of the writers who lived in the town chose homes within easy walking distance of the glorious sweep of sand which extends from The Strand to Hauraki Corner.

Start at Hauraki Corner on Lake Rd. Walk along to 6 Hauraki Rd.

Keith Sinclair (1922-93) Poet and historian

Sinclair lived here from 1960 until the early 70s. Inspired by Auckland's land and seascapes in his poetry and prose, he claimed to comprise, along with his friend and fellow-poet Kendrick Smithyman, the 'mudflat school of New Zealand poetry', and allusion to the tidal mangrove flats which are a landscape feature around many parts of the Waitemata Harbour.

Continuing along, 41 Hauraki Rd was the site of the home of one of Takapuna's founding writers...

Susie Mactier (1854-1936) Poet and novelist

Born Susan Seaman, she was sometimes called 'The Takapuna Lake Poet' although she only published one volume of poetry. Mactier's property occupied one acre of what is today among New Zealand's most valuable real estate.

At the end of the road, turn left onto the beach and walk along to the next street. 26 Ewen St was the childhood home of...

Bruce Mason (1921-1982) Playwright, critic and fiction writer

Mason lived in Ewen St from 1926 until 1938. The setting inspired his most famous work, the one-person play, The End of the Golden Weather (1959) .

Turn right into William St and left into Rewiti Ave. Here, at 9 Rewiti Ave...

Kevin Ireland (1933-) Poet and Novelist

Ireland (see also the Devonport Walk) lived here during the 1940s. Takapuna Beach played a large part in the writers' childhood.

Continue along to Lake Rd. Turn right, cross at the traffic lights and continue along to 14 Esmonde Rd. This fibrolite house is regarded as the fountainhead of New Zealand literature...

Frank Sargeson (1903-1982) Novelist, short story writer and playwright

Sargeson lived and wrote here for half a century. Castor Bay inspired Sargeson's best-known short story, 'An Affair of the Heart'. After qualifying as a solicitor and travelling through Europe, Sargeson devoted his life to writing. In 1931, he moved into the family's Takapuna bach and lived there for the next fifty years.

For half a century 14 Esmonde Rd was a gathering place for writers and artists of all kinds, and Sargeson was mentor to dozens of New Zealand writers. The catch phrase 'son of Sargeson' was used to describe his literary proteges, who included Maurice Duggan, G.R. Gilbert, A.P. Gaskell, John Reece Cole, D.W. Ballantyne and Roderick Finlayson. Later 'sons' included Bruce Mason, Kevin Ireland and Maurice Gee.

Now preserved as a literary museum by the Frank Sargeson Trust, the Writer's house is New Zealand's most significant literary location.

Janet Frame (1924-) Novelist and poet.

Considered New Zealand's most distinguished living writer, Frame spent several periods of her life on the North Shore. In 1954, she was invited by Frank Sargeson to live in the old army hut at the rear of his house. Here, she worked on her first novel, Owls Do Cry (1957), before travelling to Europe. She returned to New Zealand in 1963.

Continue along, cross at the traffic lights into Burns Ave and walk past Tennyson Ave on the left. It is fitting that the streets in this part of Takapuna are named after famous poets (Burns, Byron, Tennyson) for at 24 Tennyson Ave lived...

R.A.K. (Ron) Mason (1905-71) Poet

Mason moved to a cottage in Tennyson Ave (since demolished) until he died. described by Allen Curnow as 'New Zealand's first wholly original, unmistakable gifted poet', Mason was also a classics scholar, teacher and a stalwart supporter and chronicler of the working class.

Graeme Lay (1944-) novelist, short story writer and editor

Lay lived in Tennyson Ave from 1972 to 1973. He later moved to Devonport.

Walk down the steep dip into the hollow in Burns Ave. At the top of the rise, turn right into Bracken Ave. On the corner, Bracken Ave, now a doctor's surgery, lived...

Karl Wolfskehl (1869-1948) German-Jewish refugee poet

Born into a wealthy Jewish family in Germany, Wolfskehl came to New Zealand in 1938 as a refugee from Nazi Germany. While in Auckland he developed friendships with younger writers such as R.A.K. Mason, Fairburn and Sargeson. Some commentators believe that his finest work was written during his 10 year exile in Auckland. One of the poems he wrote here was addressed to a Fiegenbaum, a Fig Tree, which like himself was a transplanted exotic.

Make your way towards Takapuna Beach by turning right into Lake Rd and left into Sanders Ave. At the end of the road, turn right onto the beach and walk along to Hauraki Rd where you started.

Allen Curnow (1911-2001) Poet, critic, playwright, journalist and academic

From 1951-1961 Curnow lived at 13 Herbert St, Takapuna. Curnow won many awards for his poetry and is considered one of New Zealand's greatest poets.