KEY POINTS:
Why are we asking this now?
Summer's here and it's time to start hitting the waves. We know Kiwis live in the sun and sand over the Christmas break but how did our love of the beach start?
The Herald explores New Zealand's beach traditions.
Early beach expeditions:
When Maori travellers discovered New Zealand, between 1250 and 1300, they stepped on to a beach.
There are more than 70 places where Maori waka first landed, and some areas still supposedly bear marks of the landing.
Boulders at Moeraki Beach, on the South Island's east coast near Oamaru, are said to be the remains of kumara that scattered when the Arai-te-uru waka capsized.
Pakeha landing points have also been commemorated. These include beaches Captain James Cook visited, such as Ship Cove in the Marlborough Sounds and Cooks Cove near Tolaga Bay.
Beach travel:
Using the beach was an easy way to travel for early settlers as unexplored inland routes were often mountainous or swampy.
When cars arrived in the early 20th century, the flat sand was ideal to travel on. Later, some beach highways became official roads.
The first car races were held at Muriwai Beach in 1921, and sand dunes were the grandstands.
Early aircraft also used beaches as runways.
Motorbikes, beach buggies, four-wheel drives and tractors towing boats are a common sight today.
Ninety Mile Beach in Northland frequently carries tourist buses.
Beach attire:
When swimming became a widely accepted activity in the early 20th century women wore heavy costumes that covered them from neck to knee and men wore tops and long johns.
In the late 1920s smaller one-piece suits for women were accepted, still with a skirt, but in bright colours.
By the late 1930s sunbathing was common. Women's swimsuits were cut to expose their backs and men bared their chests.
After World War II, synthetic bathing suit materials appeared and in 1946, the bikini - named after the atoll where US atomic bomb tests were done - was invented. But it was not until the 1960s that the garment became common in New Zealand.
Beaches and food:
The sea was an important source of food for early Maori settlers.
Men traditionally fished from canoes and the women cleaned the kai moana (seafood).
Women would gather shellfish such as pipi, tuatua, mussels, paua, cockles, kina and seaweed. Seals and sealions were also captured and killed for food and a stranded whale would be slaughtered and its bone carved.
Picnics on the beach, with sandwiches and tea on the menu, became popular in the late 19th century. In the 1950s barbecues on the beach were common, and sausages, tomato sauce and white bread went down a treat.
Often after the home-made food was eaten, people would go to a nearby general store for ice-cream and soft drinks, which is still common today. Fish and chips on the beach is also popular.
Beach recreation:
Early Maori children would swim, jump from rocks, compete in races and play in waka.
But it was not until public baths were built in the 1920s that swimming at the beach became widely accepted among other New Zealanders.
Until then, usually only young children paddled with their trousers rolled up. Men and women did not swim together.
City-dwellers took trams to the beach, and New Zealand began to promote its sun and sand to tourists.
Buckets and spades to dig trenches and build sandcastles were as popular as they are today.
In recent years, boating, kayaking, surfing, boogie boarding, waterskiing and wake-boarding have become common at the beach.
Cricket and volleyball are also played and people collect driftwood and shells to use as art in their homes.
Beach romance:
From the 1930s the beach became a place to show off one's figure and beauty contests were a common part of Boxing Day or New Year's Day beach carnivals.
People lay for hours tanning under the sun, as the dangers of UV rays were not widely known until late in the 20th century.
The beach has long been associated with romance and sex.
It is also now a favourite spot for teenage parties on New Year's Eve. Concerts are held, bonfires are lit and alcohol is consumed despite liquor bans at many beaches.
Beach holidays:
For more than a century Kiwis have flocked to camping grounds and baches over the summer. About half New Zealand's holiday parks are at beaches.
Initially there was little regulation of baches, but when the local Government Commission established regional councils in 1989, beach areas were bought under the jurisdiction of regional and district councils.
The Resource Management Act (1991) and the Coastal Policy Statement (1994) sought to protect beach areas from subdivisions that might harm the environment.
