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Story: Taranaki places

Surf Lodge 45 mural

Surf Lodge 45 mural

This mural covering the Surf Lodge 45 backpackers building in Ōpunake features Māori imagery as well as the ubiquitous Mt Taranaki. More than 35 buildings in the town are adorned with murals recording aspects of local sport, culture and history. Most are the work of Dennis Lattimer, who was supported and funded by the Egmont Arts Council. His largest work, ‘Reflections of Ōpunake’, adorns the side wall of the local theatre. Surf Lodge 45 takes its name from State Highway 45, Taranaki’s coastal route – popularly known as Surf Highway 45 because of the world-class surf beaches it passes.

Using this item

Private collection

by Caren Wilton

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

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How to cite this page

Ron Lambert, Taranaki places – Cape Egmont, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25902/surf-lodge-45-mural (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ron Lambert, published 23 February 2010, updated 1 September 2016.

Comments

Anthony Dreaver
28 June 2011
Jock, Paekakariki is asserting its role as home to US Marines. You and our museum volunteer, Ellen Ellis, know a lot about that. A Marines exhibit that we installed recently is backed by a mural by my Raumati Beach neighbour, Grahame Harris, depicting what we now call Whareroa Farm but was then Camp MacKay – first and, I think, largest of the Marines camps. Grahame's mural falls into the category of your study. The site had been secured by the Health Department for a TB sanatorium, and the planning of water and power supply and sewage treatment at this facility greatly speeded up the construction of the camp. The task was completed by Public Works Department in six weeks.