We wish to acknowledge Ngāti Manuhiri as tangata whenua of our local area.
Tangata Whenua Originally from Kawhia, a group of Ngāti Awa, led by Maki, settled the coastline from Takapuna to north of Mangawhai in the 1650s, becoming known as Ngāti Manuhiri after the death of Maki’s eldest son, Manuhiri. Te Awa and his son Maeaea were their most famous fighting chiefs in the 1700s, living and building waka in this area, rich in resources, kaimoana and in particular the muri, or sand shark. Their lives were disrupted by Crown confiscations and purchases during the 1800s.
European Settlement European settlers arrived in the area during the 1840s, and Brick Bay became a thriving little community, with its own post office, store, hotel and boarding house. A brickworks was set up on the foreshore using the local clay, and even today partial bricks are still revealed at low tide even though the pottery is long gone.
Kauri forests originally stretched right down to the beach, which at one stage hosted an encampment of Dalmatian gum diggers who came searching for the prized resin. Much of that early forest was then felled as the land was prepared for farming in the 19th century. Extensive native bush fortunately still exists on the site with a second growth kauri forest forming part of the present day Sculpture Trail
The Didsbury Family Purchase
Early work In 1986, we fell in love with this 150 acre parcel of land with its coastal fringe, wide open spaces, glorious bush and great potential. Relaxing weekends in a large old caravan quickly turned into extended working bees with friends and family to clear thistles, fence the native bush to protect it from livestock, and plant thousands of native trees and crop species.
Planting, planting, planting Apart from planting many native trees and nurse crop species, we also established walnuts, macadamias and pecans. Plantings followed of oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins, persimmon, nectarines, plums, pears, bananas, cherimoya, feijoa, guava, tamarillo – even sugar cane was given a chance to flourish.
Waterworks! Richard, the engineer, indulged his passion for dam building creating 4 lakes on what was to become the Sculpture Trail, plus a further 3, one of which became a stunning lotus pond in 2000 as part of the artist Virginia King’s vision for her Koru earth sculpture, complete with three islands and a series of linking boardwalks.
Bounty of the Land Our first olive grove was planted in 1995 with largely Spanish varieties, but further plantings in 2003 and again in 2010 of Italian varieties have been more fruitful. From these several hundred trees our celebrated extra-virgin olive oil is pressed locally and now sold at The Glass House. Beehives were established in 2011 and in collaboration with other local beekeepers, give us supplies of our delicious honey.
Livestock Experiments An early venture in the 1980s with angora goats proved to be an expensive exercise; not only did they eat everything in sight but the market for goat meat was limited and the beautifully fine mohair produced, found itself in a depressed market due to South African stockpiling of this fibre! Cattle weren’t suited to the relatively steep contours of the property, so we eventually settled for sheep, who give us a lean and delicate meat to serve at The Glass House and provide great delight for all at lambing.
A Vineyard is Born In the meantime, the Matakana area was quietly developing as a promising grape growing region, and given our love of wine, it seemed only natural that this would be our next big venture. Vineyard plantings began in 1995, with our first vintage celebrated in 1998. Our daughter Anna, armed with a qualification in viticulture and a vintage in Burgundy under her belt, was keen to become involved. Given her fine arts background in sculpture, the next stage of the Brick Bay story was inevitable.
A Passion for Art Inspired by the splendour of outdoor sculpture and our relationships with New Zealand sculptors, we started to create a trail which meandered past lakes, swamp, vineyards, open pasture and native forest. Here we could offer sculptors magical sites for the placement of their artwork for sale. We envisaged combining this activity with a wine tasting room so the real experience of ‘terroir’ could be offered to our visitors. Thus the Sculpture Trail and Glass House were conceived and eventually opened in January 2007.
Into The Future As Brick Bay has grown, so have our people, with over 40 employees including a core full-time local team and seasonal backpackers from all over the world.
There is never a dull moment at Brick Bay as we continue to innovate and evolve, challenging and inspiring all who work with us and visit this special place. Viewing ourselves merely as guardians of this wonderful piece of land, we strive to enrich this resource and lead it forward into a sustainable future.
