Writers' Trail ~ Marlborough
Katherine Mansfield/ Anakiwa
WRITER’S FAMILY CONNECTIONS ARE RECOGNISED AT ANAKIWA
There are two bricks in the circular courtyard at Outward Bound School at Anakiwa that honour the writer Katherine Mansfield. One has her name and the years of her birth and death and the other is her often-quoted saying, ‘Risk, risk anything’, which seems appropriate for the students who attend courses at the school. Katherine Mansfield’s great uncle Cradock Beauchamp and his wife Harriet settled at Anakiwa at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound in the 1860s. After their first home burnt down, Cradock built a house nearer the hills and planted English trees around the homestead – oak, chestnut and walnut – to make Harriet feel less homesick. Katherine Mansfield’s family, when visiting their grandparents in Picton, would often go out to Anakiwa. A cousin, Ethel Beauchamp Hazelwood, who was an aspiring writer herself, wrote: ‘a frequent visitor to Anakiwa was Katherine Mansfield’. In one of her letters Katherine Mansfield recalls time spent with her brother, Leslie, and how much he enjoyed the trips to the Marlborough Sounds. She used material from these visits in her short stories. In the 1920s Ethel started the guesthouse known as Anakiwa Homestead. For two summers she used the Beauchamp Homestead, then built a guesthouse on land near the beach. The old homestead fell into disrepair, but the stand of English trees can still be seen on an adjoining property. The Hazelwoods sold the property and in 1962 it was purchased by the Outward Bound Trust. Officially opened as the Cobham Outward Bound School in September that year, it still operates today, giving students confidence while experiencing outdoor adventure. The Outward Bound School runs courses throughout the year, and at times it may be inappropriate for you to enter the school. However visitors are welcome – please check at the office before walking around the property. Note: Katherine’s grandparents, Arthur and Mary Beauchamp, and her great uncle Cradock are buried in Picton Cemetery. There is only an inscription for Harriet because she returned to England after her husband’s death. Written by: Julie Kennedy |
GETTING THERE
Anakiwa can be reached from both the Havelock and Picton ends of Queen Charlotte Drive. The turnoff is at Linkwater and is clearly marked. At Anakiwa there is plenty of car parking, a picnic area and beach and a jetty. |