New roof keeps heritage
The women’s ablution block at North Piha Campers Club is sporting a bright new Marseilles tile roof. The old tiles were leaking, and the Campers Club, which runs the membership only [ Read More ]
An astonishing rescue at Karekare
In 1935, not long after the Piha surf club was established, a young nurse called Hazel Bentham got into trouble while swimming with a lilo at neighbouring Karekare beach. Pulled [ Read More ]
History of the Piha Bowling Club
The Piha Bowling Club was established in 1955 in the Piha Domain. The greens were bulldozed by Tiger O’Brien and the first president was W Hall. Frank Barnett, from Garden [ Read More ]
Ted Le Grice and the Piha Boarding House
Ted Le Grice built the Piha Boarding House in about 1922, and it has long stood as a prominent landmark at Piha. So who was Ted le Grice and where [ Read More ]
History of the Piha Domain
In the early part of the twentieth century a Piha Domain was gazetted on what was then called the West Coast Road (now the Piha Road). Comprising 146 acres, it [ Read More ]
North calls in at Piha and talks to Sandra
Marcus Lush’s new programme North was passing through Piha on Sunday 27 February and who should show up on it, but yours truly. I got to tell two stories: The [ Read More ]
The story of the Tolu Vaa
In 1963, a trimaran called Tolu Vaa, sailing along the West Coast and with darkness falling, ran for shelter at Piha. With the help of the surf club, which saw the [ Read More ]
Early visitors to Piha
The West Coast was popular with tourists and visitors from the late 19th and early 20th century, but they tended to visit Karekare and The Gap rather than Piha beach itself. The [ Read More ]