Corsair Bay/Motukauatiiti #2
At the end of my last post, the 'Corsair Bay Recreation Reserve' had just been gazetted and a jetty and shark-proof swimming enclosure constructed. A bay that had been home to an abattoir, a lime kiln and a boat-building business was soon to become the seaside playground of the Canterbury public, despite the fact that, round the corner in Cass Bay, the abattoir emptied its waste directly into the sea.
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| The swimming enclosure and women's bathing sheds, 1909. Canterbury Historical Association collection, Canterbury Museum |
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| A closer view of the enclosure and bathing sheds with a refreshment booth at lower right. |
Almost immediately there were problems. In June 1907 heavy south-west winds washed away a portion of the approach to the new jetty. The swimming enclosure – or ‘salt water baths’ - had been reserved for the exclusive use of women and children from 9.00am to 5.00pm, meaning that if men wanted to swim in an enclosed, shark-proof area they had to do so in the early morning or evening. Letters to the editor expressed disappointment at the unfair treatment. Reports of men entering the women’s enclosure, and even getting into the bathing sheds, resulted in the building of dressing rooms for men on the east side of the bay in 1908. No sooner had the men’s sheds been built than there were complaints about graffiti and ‘foul language’. Also complaints that boys and young men were ‘in the habit of bathing without proper dress at Corsair Bay.’
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| The new jetty and the men's bathing sheds. Aldersley publication, Southland Museum collection, Canterbury Museum |
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| Lyttelton Times, 8 January 1910 |
SS Purau began a regular launch service to the bay in 1909. In December 1913 the Christchurch Star reported that “of late the traffic has grown to such an extent that motor launches and ferry steamers maintain a fairly constant service.”[1] Corsair Bay hosted the Christchurch Rowing Regatta, school swimming sports, an inter-schools boat race, a ladies’ swimming club, the Lyttelton Sports Club and many other fixtures in addition to being the harbour beach of choice for many visitors. In 1918 James Loader was appointed caretaker for the bay which was rapidly becoming "one of the most popular holiday resorts near Christchurch”[2] Loader supplied visitors with hot water and milk. The following year a raft was secured in the centre of the bay for swimmers.
By 1920 the Lyttelton Times could report that
for those who prefer swimming no more delightful spot can be found near Christchurch than Corsair Bay, Lyttelton, which is sheltered from all winds except a sou’-wester and offers a paddling beach for children as well as bathing sheds for men and women...[3]
And the Press in 1929...
The main attraction is a fenced-off bathing area with a gently-shelving beach of golden sand, and by way of accommodation there are dressing sheds for men, women, and children, as well as a raft moored a short distance from the shore, and a diving platform which is usable at all tides. Picnic parties have every facility at hand, also a spacious shelter in which they may avoid the summer sun or a sudden change of weather. Access is by way of land or sea, as there is a frequent launch service in season, and the short run from Lyttelton is in calm water for the complete distance.[4]
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| Press, 2 December 1922 |
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Corsair Bay bathers, pre-1930. Lyttelton Museum
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However its very popularity was always a problem for Corsair Bay.
Corsair Bay was crowded, the number there being estimated at 2500, the crowd travelling by launch and on foot to that favourite watering place. The bathing and sanitary accommodation there proved utterly inadequate to meet the requirements of the vast crowd. The heat of the day drove the majority of the holiday-makers into the water, and the bay was black with bathers, many of the younger generation undressing in any available corner.[5]
In a single week in March 1926 Corsair Bay was the destination on consecutive days for 320 pupils from Christ’s College, 550 from Boy’s High, 600 from Girl’s High and 500 from the Technical College for Girls. Schools from outlying areas of Canterbury travelled to picnic at the bay, including Southbridge School whose 650 pupils arrived in Lyttelton by special train.
In 1922 the beginning of a motor bus service between Lyttelton and Corsair Bay marked the beginning of the end for the ferries. On Sundays the bus would meet the train from Christchurch, making an easy transition at the port for visitors. The following year changing sheds for boys and girls were added to those for men and women. The Corsair Bay Swimming and Life Saving Club was also formed and its members were involved in a surprising number of rescues over the years.
The Lyttelton Borough Council struggled to maintain and update facilities. In January 1929 heavy seas caused the collapse of part of a retaining wall and the concrete steps leading down to the beach. Wooden seats on the beach were also washed away. Four years later southerly gales carried away decking and railing on the launch jetty and part of the approach to the jetty was washed out by the sea. Fresh deposits of sand and shingle formed banks near the jetty. The following year the bay experienced further erosion and the raft was torn from its moorings and stranded on the beach.
There had been warnings about the diving platform. In summer 1930 a young man dived off at low tide and broke his neck. He later died in hospital. There were problems with men diving from the top of the jetty at the men’s bathing sheds at low tide. A decision was made to extend the jetty 30 feet into deeper water by building a ramp and a low level platform for diving. However the new springboard broke just after it had been installed when a swimmer ‘of rather above the average weight’ was making a running dive.
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| Press, 13 December 1924 |
The Lyttelton Borough Council struggled to maintain and update facilities. In January 1929 heavy seas caused the collapse of part of a retaining wall and the concrete steps leading down to the beach. Wooden seats on the beach were also washed away. Four years later southerly gales carried away decking and railing on the launch jetty and part of the approach to the jetty was washed out by the sea. Fresh deposits of sand and shingle formed banks near the jetty. The following year the bay experienced further erosion and the raft was torn from its moorings and stranded on the beach.
There had been warnings about the diving platform. In summer 1930 a young man dived off at low tide and broke his neck. He later died in hospital. There were problems with men diving from the top of the jetty at the men’s bathing sheds at low tide. A decision was made to extend the jetty 30 feet into deeper water by building a ramp and a low level platform for diving. However the new springboard broke just after it had been installed when a swimmer ‘of rather above the average weight’ was making a running dive.
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| The men's bathing sheds with extension and two rafts. CCL 193? |
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Men's bathing sheds with platform extension. Photo posted by Dave Howell on
Lyttelton, Ain't No Place I'd Rather Be Facebook page, 8 March 2019.
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| Press, 22 December 1934 |
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Press, 22 December 1934
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Rivalry between launch services was fierce. In January 1933 competiton was so keen that fares were halved and, in at least two instances, passengers were carried free. “An attempt at ‘touting’ for passengers from the trains on the railway crossing and in the railway yard was quickly stopped by the Railway Department.”[6] This rivalry could have unfortunate consequences. On one occasion two launches were moored at the Corsair Bay jetty. A third launch arrived and requested the others to move and allow him to moor. They refused. To alight the passengers had to climb over other boats and in the process one woman slipped and injured her ankle. The incident ended up in court.
In 1945 the jetty, which had been declared unsafe, was demolished and rebuilt using black pine decking and railing from the old Colonists’ Hall in Lyttelton to contain costs.
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Corsair Bay Jetty plans 1944. Lyttelton Harbour Board, Archives NZ/ECan
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Today, when recreation options are so much more diverse, Corsair Bay is a shadow of its former self. The bathing sheds and swimming enclosure are gone, as are most of the picnicking facilities. Passenger ferries have long since ceased calling. But the beautiful, sandy beach remains a summer attraction and the jetty is still there, used by visiting boats, by fishermen and by walkers on the coastal track.
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Corsair Bay Jetty, May 2019, with what remains of the men's bathing shed platform centre foreground
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[1] Star, 31 December 1913
[2] Star, 31 December 1918
[3] Lyttelton Times, 6 January 1920
[4] Press, 14 February 1929
[5] Press, 27 December 1921
[6] Press, January 1933
Some of those launches/ferries were grossly overloaded. A sudden southerly would likely have had tragic consequences.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. All the ferry pics show people shoehorned in. I don't know of any bad accidents. There were a few collisions though, some apparently deliberate!
ReplyDeleteOh got some sun burn there my parents had a dairy farm.at Cass Bay and some acreage above the road at Corsair Bay I went to.school in CHCH from STD one to std 6 Ellwood spending only my primer years at west Lyttelton miss Burns was our teacher
ReplyDeleteMany fond memories of that time
And yes walked home from.school 2.4 miles
That's a long way to walk home for a youngster! Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDelete