Village By The Sea - Island Bay

The boy’s name is Sam and like thousands of children during the last century, he has grown up watching the fishing boats chug in and out of Island Bay. His mother, Lisa Brown also grew up there and recalls sitting on the same wall as a child watching the boats.

“There aren’t as many boats now compared to when I was young, but the kids today love it as much as we did 30 years ago. We grew up hearing stories from the sea and fishing just seemed to be part of everyday life. There’s something about Island Bay that never leaves you. It’s a unique community with a rich and colourful history. There’s something very special about it. You want to pass it on to your own children.”

This sentiment is widely shared by many of those who call Island Bay home. It is a suburb that flourished from humble beginnings and a unique mix of people.

In the early 1900s emigrants saw New Zealand as a land of opportunity, and none more so that those who hailed from the Shetland Islands. The Shetlanders were renowned for their seamanship and when some 250 of them arrived in Wellington, they got jobs working for various shipping companies as watersiders and stevedores and many became fishermen working out of Island Bay.

Local historian and author Patricia Hutchison says Island Bay was chosen for its proximity to the fishing grounds in Cook Strait. “The Shetlanders were great fishermen and the harsh weather and sea conditions that prevailed in Cook Strait were familiar to them.”

At roughly the same time, emigrants from Italy were also attracted to the seaside suburb. Having left the calm waters of the Mediterranean, the Italians were used to net fishing and were not familiar with the turbulent waters of Cook Strait. It is generally accepted that the Shetlanders taught the Italian fishermen the techniques of long-line fishing and they also introduced the use of hand-made canvas buoys which were better suited to strong tidal conditions.

“The arrival of the Shetlanders and Italians and the booming fishing industry was the start of the Island Bay community. The early days were not always easy and while the two cultures cooperated, there was little socializing,” Patricia says. “Partly this was due to a language barrier. It was the same in the schools. Initially we didn’t interact that much with the Italian children because they arrived at school not being able to speak any English. The Shetlanders blended in whereas the Italians stood out. Somehow, through playing together and going to church socials we connected and became part of each other’s extended worlds.”

Despite the cultural differences the community united. Patricia, who arrived in Island Bay at the age of four with her family, remembers a place that was friendly and welcoming. “It wasn’t crowded and there was a genuine sense of community .The same can be said for it now. The shopkeepers were all family people – the same families ran the stationery shop, the butcher and the dairy for years. We all went into the shops on a daily basis and everyone knew everyone and much of that remains today.”

Fishing was central to life in Island Bay and everything tended to revolve around the tides. “It was just the way it was. We grew up having a healthy respect for the sea and the men told stories of what happened out on the water. I remember so many beautiful days and nights at the beach. It was our playground although the water was so cold. It was easy to forget how stormy and rough the bay could get,” Patricia says.

“Even if your father wasn’t a fisherman, you still went down to the beach every weekend to watch ‘the haul’. It was great fun to go down and watch them bring in the nets in the evenings. I remember clearly leaning on the seawall and listening to old Italian opera music playing in nearby houses as we waited for the boats. Mainly it was bait fish but sometimes there would be a big fish in the nets and one of the fishermen would just hand it to someone of the beach to take home for their dinner – that’s the sort of community it was.”

Even today, Island Bay has a unique feel about it. Despite being only seven kilometers from the city centre, it seems like a world away from downtown Wellington. “It always had a different feel and being in a valley it was separated from other suburbs,” Patricia says. “This enhanced the sense of community. We needed each other and depended on those around us. We got to know the people around us and we all became part of each others lives.’’

It was the strong community spirit that saw the people of Island Bay unite through two world wars and the depression of the1930s. It also brought them together in 1933 when the launch Santina foundered in Cook Strait near Baring Head after suffering engine failure during a strong southerly. Its crew of four, including two Italians, were drowned and their bodies never found. A commemorative service was held out on the water for those who lost their lives. It was this tragedy that inspired the locals to adopt an annual Italian ceremony known as the “blessing of the boats”.

The tradition dates back centuries in southern Italy, where the boats would be decorated with flags and would file past to have holy water sprinkled on them while prayers were recited by a priest. The blessing was part of the religious belief that if the boats received the grace of God, they and the fishermen would be protected from the sea and the weather and would also reap the bounty of the sea. Today the blessing of the boats is a highlight of the annual Island Bay Festival.

Parish priest at Island Bay’s St Francis de Salle church Father Geoff Broad says the event is one the biggest of the year. “The entire suburb will turn out for it as it’s a big part of Italian life. The Italian connection is still very strong despite many of the originals having died. Half the parish, if not more is Italian and they have a strong and healthy relationship with the rest of the community. The Italian people have strong family ties and the second and third generation Italians have had this instilled in them from an early age – there is a great sense of pride amongst them as well.”

Father Broad has been the parish priest in Island Bay for eight years and says it is a great place to live. “It’s a unique community. The Italians in particular are very hospitable. You could become very overweight with all the pasta and crayfish they willingly hand to us.”

Wellington photographer and Island Bay resident Sal Criscillo says the Italian people take great pride in their culture and traditions and the early settlers worked hard to carve out a home for their families in a foreign land. “Physically very little has changed from those early days. There are more people and more houses but that has not altered the original lookalike Italian villages the early settlers created.”

The main body of Italian emigrants came from Naples and Stromboli. “The Napolitans were mainly the fishermen and those from Stromboli were into fruit and fish shops and market gardens. In the early 1920s there were 20-30 boats moored in Island Bay each worked by five-man crews which were a mix of Italians, Scots and Shetland Islanders.”

He says the arrival of the Italian families and the fishing industry was central to establishing the Island Bay community. “Trent Street which we live in was nicknamed “little Italy” as it was predominately populated by Italians. Most of the second and third generations followed in their fathers’ footsteps and continued fishing. Being born in the1940s I was probably one of the first to enjoy a decent education as most of our fathers and grandfathers had little formal education living off the land and the boats. Despite many of my friends moving away from fishing and into numerous business and creative fields, many have maintained their roots with Island Bay.”

Sal claims Trent Street was once 95 percent Italian families. Now, about a dozen Italian families live there but the spirit remains. “There is a style, a body language, a joy of family and living that is particular to Italians. Although watered down by their new homeland it hasn’t lost its original identity,” Sal says.

 Long-time Island Bay resident Angela Vinaccia agrees. “The Italians all ended up in Island Bay near the sea. It’s where they could create their own piece of Italy away from their homeland.”

With young children of her own now, Angela encourages them to take part and support the local Italian community. “We still have a lot of family living in Island Bay and we support the annual festival sand the school fairs. It is a very family orientated suburb. The same people still own the same shops as when I was young and there are so many families who are still living there generation after generation. It has changed and is developing but it isn’t full of yuppies and it hasn’t become too trendy. A lot of the houses and villas have been preserved which is really good.”

 The pioneering community spirit that Island Bay was built on is very much alive today. The Southern Bays Historical Society, of which Patricia is the archivist, is working on making the history of Island Bay more accessible to the community and there seems to be genuine interest its heritage from locals.

President of the historical society David Ryrie says for so long a lot of the archives and historical material have been “hidden away”. He says the society is in the process of opening it up and encouraging people to learn more about it. And more people seem to be returning to their Island Bay roots in the hope of passing something on to the next generation.

Despite living away from Island Bay for two decades, Grant Douglas is house hunting in the fashionable suburb and has fond memories of fishing with his father and grandfather in the bay. “My grandfather was a fisherman in Island Bay for a long long time. He taught my father how to fish and my father taught me. It’s purely recreational these days but I still feel a strong connection with Island Bay and hope to carry it on with my own children. It’s a great place to come back to. It is a timeless sort of place and if you close your eyes it could be 1960 again.”

Lisa Brown moved back to Island Bay with her young family five years ago. “I really wanted my kids to grow up here and experience what I did as a child. Although some things have changed there are still so many aspects of life here that are the same. Sam and my other children go to my old primary school and I have fond memories of church socials and other local events that were great fun. I was friends with a couple of Italian girls and I used to love going to their houses for parties and things. I remember trying  pasta for the first time and telling my mother about it because she never cooked it. I think it’s great that some of the local history is being preserved and made more accessible. I would love my children to know more about the place I grew up in and what a special community it is.”

And as for Sam, he is content watching the few boats that still dot the bay chug in and out. “I’m going to be a fisherman when I grow up and I’m going to catch big fish because everyone who lives here knows how to catch big fish.”