Story: Camping

Alfred Walsh was a keen camper as well as an artist. While working as a teacher at the Christchurch School of Art, he painted this peaceful scene of a recreational camp at Cave, South Canterbury, in 1894. Two tents stand beside the Tengawai River as one camper prepares food beside the fire in the background. The well-used washing line to the right suggests this was a camp of some duration. Recreational camping became increasingly popular in New Zealand from this period.