Card-carrying members of bridge party

The Milford teenagers' escapades led to greater security on the harbour bridge.

One of the members of an infamous prank on the harbour bridge said their stunt transformed the security.

Wal Warehi Britton, now aged 65, revealed himself as the photographer of a picture the Weekend Herald ran, which featured four boys playing cards in the middle of the bridge.

In 1962 Milford teenagers took advantage of the quieter flow of traffic at night, sneaking on to the bridge to smoke, drink and play cards. Mr Britton's picture was published in the North Shore Times.

Mr Britton said the photograph caused a huge stir among the bridge patrol, whose relaxed security consisted of an hourly patrol by an officer in an Austin Gypsy.

"It made the bridge administration highly pissed off, because it made them look stupid. It became extremely apparent their security was non-existent and inadequate."

One card player, Tom Bowie, said the police tried to claim the photograph was a trick, which spurred them on to take a picture of a larger group "moonbathing" on towels.

Mr Britton said: "A couple of weeks later we did a more expansive picture. We rehearsed it in a Milford street. We could get all 10 of us out of the car, shoot the pictures, get back in the car, and get going in 29 seconds."

A police car driving in Herne Bay saw the camera flash and alerted the bridge patrol. The boys were given a dressing down, but were not charged.

"Soon after they had cameras put up and more security, purely as a result of what we did on that night. We did Auckland a favour by alerting them to how hopeless [the security] was," said Mr Britton.