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Story: Drugs

Lambton Quay beatniks

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Lambton Quay beatniks

This cartoon shows several bearded beret-wearing beatniks leaning against a lamp post outside a coffee bar on Lambton Quay, Wellington. The caricature reflected the fact that, following the example of beats in the United States and Britain, a few young people in Wellington and Auckland did adopt the beat lifestyle, which involved experimenting with marijuana.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: B-074-080

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Drugs – Cannabis use, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/39565/lambton-quay-beatniks (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 15 November 2012.