In 2006, a photography project idea on New Zealand Heritage Trails took us up the Mokau River to see the stunning native forest there, but when we came across the amazing sight of rows of whitebait stands lining the riverbanks, undergoing repair for the coming season, all thoughts of settler trails and forests quickly faded from our minds. Thus began an exploration of a slice of New Zealand culture which has become firmly embedded in/ an integral part of/ the national psyche.

With it came endless miles in wet socks and gumboots, working together and separately, wending our way along spray worn coastlines, rugged gravel tracks and flooded riverbanks to catch sight of whitebaiters.

Whitebaiters Never Lie is available at all good booksellers and at:

A journey underwritten by luck, or lack of it – often meant arriving at the end of a tide, dealing with spring weather bombs which deemed flooded rivers un-fishable, roads blocked by trees, waning moons, sudden sou’westers and lingering winter waters. No bait, no baiters! Three trips to Greymouth found only despairing hopefuls. Gisborne rivers were barren after days of relentless rain. In the Far North and Waikato, whitebait had bellies and it was all over.

Trapped on a stalled boat spinning in the swirling waters of a flooded Waikato River, gave us plenty of nail-biting thrills and great images of whitebaiters’ huts, but sadly, none of baiters’. A gripping landing in a tiny two-seater aeroplane on the beach at Big Bay and likewise a failed departure from the Cascades after fog forced us back for a scary wet airstrip landing.

Other problems such as the Rahui (fishing ban) on Bay of Plenty rivers, and inaccessibility of other river mouths, meant that image capture was sometimes impossible. We were also limited by the short window of time that whitebait season falls in during the fickle-weathered spring. Thus we regret a few key rivers were unable to be photographed.

We decided to start the book at probably the most famed, and fabled, whitebaiting region in the country — Big Bay at the southern end of the Wild West Coast, continues to the Top of the South, the Rivers of the Plains and returns to the deep South. Waikato and King Country begin the North Island section, then to the Lower North, the Rivers of Plenty and ends in the far North where Maori souls depart this land. Each region offered distinct environments, fishing styles and whitebait, keeping the project interesting at every turn.

Over and above all the disappointments, the joys were immeasurable. We became immersed in a unique culture that personifies the do-it-yourself ‘number 8 wire’ mentality of average and wonderful ‘Kiwis’. We felt endeared to the characters, their camaraderie and their sensitivity to the wellbeing of the flora and fauna of the land and rivers. Through them we learnt about the moods and patterns of the waterways, birds and bush, cycles of the moons and tides, and our rich Maori and pioneering heritage. Most of all we discovered what drives whitebaiters to do what they do, by sharing time with them on riverbanks and in boats and baches. On every river we left new friends behind. What impressed upon us were the generational connections to this pastime, the sadly changing nature of it, and the absolute secrecy of the catch.

What tall and true tales we were told! Whitebaiters never lie? Yeah right!

Anita & Murray
Whitebaiters Never Lie