The Iron-Bound Coast: Karekare in the Early Years.  By Wallace Badham. Edited by Bob Harvey.

The Iron-Bound Coast is a thing of beauty. Not just because of the New Zealand landscape of which it speaks, in all its public and private grandeur, but also because of the 215 photos which illustrate this life's-work, most never before published, making this book a treasure in every sense. 

Lingering over the illustrations I was reminded of the days after my Grandmother's funeral. She, a dour and whiskery-chinned matriarch had always terrified me into dislike¾ until we small cousins, invited by an Irish aunty to look through a handmade wooden box of crinkle-cut photographs, discovered that instead our grandmother had been quite a beauty, always surrounded by loved ones and, ever-present, the land. The past held out its arms to me and I became a part of it.

So too, Wally Badham's story of a life when the world was new on the coast of iron sands isn't just a tale of Karekare in the early years, it tells the lives of new New Zealanders (German, Irish, Dutch and Scots escaping the depression and looking for work clearing forest, on the gum fields, laying track, whatever) in remote settlements between the world wars. Like walking through the gallery of a natural history museum ringing with recorded birdcalls, The Iron-Bound Coast allows a peek into a world as rare, fleeting and near-extinct as remembered last glimpses of the Huia. 

A story of happiness in a hard time and a gorgeous object in its own right, The Iron-Bound Coast was discovered by writer and Waitakere City mayor Bob Harvey while researching Auckland's spectacular west coast; originally, the two manuscripts for the work were written in long hand with photos laboriously pasted in. 

"I realised this was truly a rich gem, a legacy of not only remote Karekare beach, but a grand story of this country." says Bob. "Wally speaks in a voice that reflects the time; a time that is now rapidly fading in memory and people." Setting out to preserve his crystal-clear recollections of early Karekare for his nieces, Wally has instead created a work of living history that speaks to all New Zealanders. 

Sadly, Wally did not live a happy life after the Karekare years. After a golden youth in his own personal Eden, much went wrong in the life of this enterprising and likable man. As he aged he became taciturn and estranged from his family, drifting into a lonely decline. This was how Bob Harvey came into his life¾to listen and to help tell his tale. Curmudgeonly, eccentric Wally had grown away from the person he was during those years in Karekare but thanks to his exceptional journals, the distinctive narrative voice of the jug-eared, beaming Wally of photographic record (in the best, happiest years of his life) shines through.

Wally as both a character and narrator is an Everyman for New Zealand in an oblivious past when a black horse could be called 'Darkie' and the enemy a 'Jap.' Brutally blunt, taking pleasures in small things, breathtakingly nosey, caring enough to ride ten miles by horseback to supply much needed yeast for bread and totally without guile, this is the way we were. With a cast of locals, visitors, hermits and early settlers this book paints a beautiful miniature of a small world of private pioneers, living an almost secret existence in the ranges, refugees from society.

Without power, water or basic services, (actually Karekare had electricity before Auckland did) often without medical help, despite this the inhabitants thrived in the little cluster of houses that were Wally's life, raising children, writing books, painting and cooking. Dogs swam ashore from cattle ships to be rescued on the beach and Essexes attempted to ford mud rivers up to their axle rims. Everyday activities required the commitment of physical labour and the friendship of your neighbours. Wally's unpretentious manuscript is an inheritance not only for remote Karekare beach but also a grand story of this country. Beautifully designed by Dee Murch, I'm sure I'm not alone in closing this exceptional book and hoping my own life could leave behind even a tenth such a legacy.

Check out Lisa Scott's other NZBM reviews as well as NZBM events in your area during October at nzbookmonth.co.nz.