Daily Photo – Brighton

One moment I was stuck in a heavy line of traffic on State Highway 1, the next I was heading over Scroggs Hill on a winding gravel road, free of traffic, towards the seaside community of Brighton.

It was here that New Zealand’s most successful defence lawyer, Dr. Alfred Hanlon, spent his last years. Having spent the best part of his life defending accused murderers such as Minnie Dean, Alexander McLean, and Mina McKellar, when he finally retired in the 1940’s, deciding he wanted a quieter life, he chose the peaceful surrounds of Brighton and nearby Ocean View.

In those days, Brighton was a popular seaside holiday spot, connected to Dunedin via the Brighton Branch Railway, and in many ways, not too dissimilar to what it is today. Brighton is the kind of place that comes alive in summer. During winter, it slips into a sort of semi-hibernation as the southerlies bite, but once spring arrives, the colours return and the days slowly warm, leading into the long weeks of summer. That’s when Brighton is at its best.

There’s the annual gala day to look forward to, or you can simply wander into the local dairy for the essentials of a Kiwi summer: a classic ice cream cone, a piping-hot pottle of chips with sauce, a pie, or a thick milkshake. You can hire paddle boats and drift lazily around the estuary, watch local kids leap from the town bridge into the river, clamber over the nearby rocks exploring rock pools, or spend time with the ever-growing sea lion population. And, of course, you can always just stretch out on the beach and let Brighton do what it does best – let you enjoy summer.

So you can perhaps imagine the sense of joy that came over me as I drove over the crest of a hill to find Brighton covered in sunshine. I wound my way down the hill through a series of suburban streets that looked lovely in the sunshine and were scattered with boats, surfboards, kayaks and other assorted items that suggested the owners spent a lot of time in the sea. 

I stopped at a t-junction and found a park close to a nice grassy clearing where I intended to soak up the relaxing atmosphere and inviting sunshine. This I did, before moving on my way. And, just  like that I was heading for Dunedin.