Wairarapa's sands of time

HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTION: Local writer Jim Graydon has captured the history of Wairarapa's coastal communities in his new book On The Edge, Wairarapa's Coastal Communities.PHOTO/CHRIS KILFORD.

Interviewing 83 people is a gargantuan task but for local author Jim Graydon, it was essential to capture the history of Wairarapa's magnificent coastline.

Speaking at the launch of his book On The Edge, Wairarapa's Coastal Communities, the ex-history teacher said it was important to record the memories of those who had made the coast their home.

"There was not a lot written on the history of the coast."

So he relied heavily upon people's memories to capture the lifestyle of the coastline, which stretches from the mouth of the Mataikona River in the north to Turakirae Head in the south.

"I think this is important, the detail of ordinary people's lives is so often forgotten.

"It's a fragile thing and if no one records these things about our culture and history, they disappear forever."

The rugged coastline has long attracted Mr Graydon to tramp and photograph it for over 30 years and it has taken him three years to complete the book, which chronicles the settlements and atmosphere of the small coastal communities. A selection of his photos of the 220km coastline feature in the book and is currently being exhibited at Aratoi in Masterton.

Mr Graydon, who has lived in Wairarapa for 35 years, said he and his family had always been interested in the area.

There were parts of the coast that he had never seen before writing the book.

"When I came to write the book I needed to know more about the whole length of the coastline."

Mr Graydon set out on the expedition, often not seeing anybody for days.

"But every now and then, I'd come across a community."

It was a time-consuming task but he had learned a lot, he said.

"The best thing about writing the book is all the people I've met all around the coast and I've ended up knowing a lot more about Wairarapa."

One such person featured in the book was Ngawi's Murray Nix, who spoke to the crowd at Aratoi's foyer on Sunday afternoon for the launch.

As a fisherman, he recalled pulling a craypot out to find a crayfish with a dress and glasses on it. "That's the type of community it was, it gives you an idea of what the coast was like." Jim has captured most of it in his book, said Mr Nix.

The book was published by local outfit Fraser Books, run by Ian and Diane Grant, which focuses on Wairarapa and the Wairarapa Archives.

Mr Graydon was very thankful to many people, including the archive's Gareth Winter.

The exhibition runs until November 24.