Skating. Past

Just 10 metres or so behind the skateboarder is a very busy road; Jervois Road in what is now called Herne Bay. Now, because originally Herne Bay referred solely to the harbour side of Jervois Road, and this side was part of Ponsonby. For 30 years our home was at the far end of the next street along off Jervois Road, running parallel to this one. At some point in those years, our mail address changed to Herne Bay.

When we stayed in this area, this concrete block wall may even have been unpainted; it was certainly undecorated. The back corner of the row of shops (with accommodation on a second, higher, level) is seen behind the parking sign. Built of brick in the late 18th century, this row of buildings (a terrace really) is still fully occupied with businesses and the upstairs accommodation is still used. For New Zealand this is an old building; over 100 years old.

Behind this recent addition remains the alley way, which originally went along the full length of the back of the shops to the next street. Set on the side of that alley is a separate building now used as a liquor store (Herne Bay Cellars). Its roof can be seen, and the iron rail and hook for the attachment of a rope and pulley. The horses and the furnaces in the mural suggest that a blacksmith/farrier was here abouts, possibly in that building behind. There is also reference in the mural to the development of restaurants and cafes in this area in recent years.

The skate boarder is in the present, as is the mural. The mural is of the past (with acknowledgements of the present), which he is going past and most likely barely noticing. A scene well worth interrupting today's run for, and pausing to take a photograph.