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LIKE ITS English namesake, the seaside town of Eastbourne, but this time just outside Wellington was popular at the turn of the century with families and beach parties on the golden sand beaches.
It was the coastline of Eastbourne that inspired Katherine Mansfield to write one of her best-loved short stories, At the Bay.
During the summer the shoreline was littered with changing sheds for bathers who were modestly dressed from head to toe for their sea dip. Picnics on the lawn, parties and balls were organised at Days Bay House, a smart 60-room which now houses Wellesley College.
By early this century the entertainment included a water chute, donkey rides, sideshows, boat hire and, for the daring, a ride in Captain Noah Jonassen's hot-air balloon.
Today, some charming examples of the old Kiwi bach remain. For Aucklanders visiting Eastbourne, it may feel like the Devonport of Wellington, surrounded by bush. As in England's Eastbourne, the middle-class jostle with the bohemian, the wharf is a popular place to eat fish and chips, visitors eat ice creams as they walk the promenade lined with cafes and galleries, and the tight community (population of the Eastbourne area is around 5000) is made up of fiercely loyal families who will probably never leave.
Like Devonport, the drive to the city is about 25 minutes, but a trial in peak-hour traffic. Many locals commute by catching the ferry into Queen's Wharf in Wellington, which takes about 30 minutes and costs about $14 return.
The East Harbour Regional Park, on the eastern side of Wellington Harbour, comprises the public land between Wainuiomata, Eastbourne and the coast to Baring Head. It has walks to the popular Butterfly Creek, and tracks around Lowry Bay, Days Bay, York Ray and Pt Howard.