Devonport Writers Walk
Terrain: The steep lower slopes of Mt. Victoria; as well as level or descending terrain.
Duration: Minimum of 45 minutes.
Parking: Unrestricted along both sides of King Edward Parade, east of the intersection with Buchanan St.
Start at the ferry terminal at the end of Victoria Road, trun right and walk along the waterfront, King Edward Parade, to St. May's St. On the corner, 7 King Edward Parade lived...
A.R.D (Rex) Fairburn (1904-1957) Poet. polemicist, satirist and critic
Fairburn lived here from 1946 until his death. His house was a gathering place for writers, artists, musicians and once an entire Italian opera company visiting Auckland. In a letter to a friend, Fairburn wrote, 'I look out on a stormbound harbour. A black shag is fishing among the rocks on the foreshore, spray and spindrift wreathed about him.'
Walk up Mays St, turn right into Kerr St passing number 4 where novelist Tina Shaw lived from 1996 until 1997. Turn left into Church St. Shaw lived at 40 Church St from 1991-95.
Tina Shaw (1961-) Short story writer and novelist
Shaw grew up in the Waikato and Christchurch. She moved to Devonport in 1991 and stayed until 1997. Her first two novels, Birdie (1996) and Dreams of America (1997) were written while she was living in Devonport and have an Auckland setting.
At the end of the road turn right into Albert Rd. The villa at 46 Albert Td was the childhood home of...
After growing up in Devonport, Duggan became a member of the North shore's literary circle and one of the first 'sons of (Frank) Sargeson'. He married Barbara Platts in 1946 and they lived in Takapuna.
At the end turn right into Vauxhall Rd. The imposing, gabled villa at 47 Vauxhall Rd was the birthplace of...
James Bertram (1910-93) Poet and academic
This was the manse, home of Devonport's Presbytarian ministers for most of the 20th Centrury, and Bertram's father was minister at St. Paul's Presbytarian Church in Albert Rd in the early 1900s. The Bertram family moved to Australia in 1915 but returned to the Shore from 1929 until 1933, when James was a student at the University of Auckland. A Rhodes scholar, he took a first in English at Oxford, and in 1936 went to China, where he interviewed Mao Zedong. Bertram later worked in the English department of Victoria University.
Turn left into Burgess St, right into Cambridge Tce and right into Domain St. here live two leading New Zealand poets, Kevin Ireland (8 Domain St) and...
Michelle Leggott (1956-) Poet, critic and editor
For privacy reasons Leggott's house is not listed in this walk. However, she has lived in Devonport since 1985, when she took up a lectureship in the English Department of Auckland University.
Kevin Ireland (1933-) Poet, novelist and short story writer
Ireland, moved to Narrow Neck from Mt. Albert in 1938. The family later moved to Takapuna, and for a time young Kevin was Frank Sargeson's paperboy. He moved into the army hut behind Sargeson's house after Janet Frame moved out, and there began writing poetry. From 1959 he lived in London for 25 years before returning to the Shore to live in Devonport.
Turn left into Vauxhall Rd and continue towards the sea, to 3/17a Church St.
Noel Virtue (1947-) novelist
Virtue has lived on the Shore since 1988. There he can enjoy, as he succinctly puts it, 'isolation without being isolated.' Lady Jean (2001) is his most recent novel.
Turn right into King Edward parade and continue back to Victoria Rd. Here you can stop for a coffee, take a bite to eat or just browse the bookshops.
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