Scaled Down

Baches are an iconic part of this country's history and culture. In the middle of the 20th century, they symbolized the beach holiday lifestyle: sun-drenched days taken at a leisurely pace.

Baches gained popularity in the 1950s as roads improved and the increasing availability of cars allowed for middle-class beach holidays, often to the same beach every year. With yearly return trips being made, these small, simply constructed holiday homes sprang up across the country.

This attractive family bach near the beach at Waihi was distinctive for its bright blue paintwork and a design quirk that sees each of the four walls having an extended or recessed plane (or both!), preventing this much loved retreat from being a simple box. This bach, known to the locals as ‘the blue house’, has now been demolished to clear the way for a new and larger building.