Winding south along State Highway One we thought we were somehow back home. The road, narrow, a single lane each way, hugged the escarpment which shot up high and to our right. Big metal mesh nets held back falling rocks. The ocean stretched out endlessly to our left, low and roaring. A train weaved along the edge of the mountains, dipping into brief tunnels. Each time we turned a bend we expected to see Sea Cliff Bridge emerge.
We weren’t coasting down Lawrence Hargrave but instead approaching the New Zealand's South Island village of Kaikōura. The similarities of our coastal village and our Kiwi cousin didn’t finish there. Like Thirroul, Kaikōura is laid along a single road, homes huddled into pockets of clearings between a vast mountain range and the ocean. The train line and a major creek runs through town. The village has two distinct halves of shops and houses either side of a sporting field.
Squint and you’re in Thirroul.
Kaikōura’s history is familiar too. It was settled as an industrial village for an industry long gone – for them, whaling, while we were formed for our coal deposits now extracted. The population is roughly a third of Thirroul with a little over 2,000 calling Kaikōura home.
Here the story pulls away from our own.
Over the years Kaikōura has transformed itself into a thriving eco-tourism destination. Whaling has made way for whale watching, protection of huge seal colonies and a Dark Sky Sanctuary. The sanctuary was created all in the past few years by a small group of locals later backed up by their local council.
The town’s infrastructure is set up for the visitors with low lying motels and B&Bs and back roads only the locals know. There’s a movie cinema, a local museum to hold their history, and even a skate park right in the middle of town. Māori culture and community is ingrained in the village.
Community spaces have been built with support by local businesses. A welcome guide sits in every B&B with local shops, fishing, camping, arts and event details.
The key here is the community decided the sort of place it wanted to be and they drove the change to make Kaikōura a beautiful and sustainable village.
We tell ourselves that there couldn’t be other places like here. But our Kiwi cousin is a powerful example that we can build the Thirroul we want.
About the writer
Elliot Stein is a fourth generation local, vice president of the Thirroul Village Committee and president of Thirroul Labor. He has worked in public policy, government and advocacy around Australia and the United States. He lives with his partner Meg and their indoor cat Augie.
