Kōrero: Coastal erosion

Natural cycles of erosion and accretion have seen the beach at Wellington’s Oriental Bay change from rocky boulders to sand. This photograph shows the bay in the 1920s. A concrete sea wall was built to protect the promenade and road, but it also restricted the area of beach, especially at high tide. The beach was first re-nourished in 1944, when about 10,000 tonnes of sand were brought in to make the area more attractive.