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Story: Beach culture

Collecting cockles

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Collecting cockles

Children dig for cockles at Paihia in the Bay of Islands in 1969. Māori continued to collect seafood along the beach through the 20th century.

Using this item

Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: AAQT 6539/A89,083

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Beach culture – The beach and food, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9105/collecting-cockles (accessed 14 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 2 March 2009.