A haven for generations to gather
BY FRITHA TAGG
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Torea Bay in the Marlborough Sounds has been a cherished retreat for the Carey family for three generations. Ed Laurence, whose mother was a Carey, talks about the family's Sounds connections.
Their links to the past are important for Ed and Sandy Laurence.
They live in the house in Torea Bay which was left to Ed's mother, Alisoun, by her father William Reynolds Carey after he died in 1957.
WR Carey, as he was often called, was an entrepreneur who loved boats and loved the Marlborough Sounds. He was general manager of the Kaiapoi Woollen Mills and lived in Christchurch, but he sailed and boated in the Sounds for years before he eventually bought about 800 hectares of land in and around Torea Bay in 1937.
As a result of the depression there were many places for sale and WR Carey purchased what was known as Rocks Farm, a sheep farm which had run into financial trouble. The farm was subdivided and sold.
Mr Carey liked the well-protected Torea Bay, which provided shelter and secure mooring in virtually any weather. He first built a bach and over the years added to it until it was a quite decent house.
In 1938 the "big house", or Te Kaianga, was built and was used by the large Carey family.
Much of the interior of was built to resemble the interior of a ship, featuring bunk beds in the original bedrooms.
As time went on more Carey holiday homes were built in the bay and the extended Carey family were regular visitors to Torea Bay, with several generations all gathering for holidays.
"They would come to the Sounds often. They spent a lot of time here," said Ed Laurence. He has early childhood memories of coming to the area with his family for extended family get-togethers. The beach, bush and sea made the area the perfect place for children to holiday.
"I think my entire childhood holidays were spent here. Dad loved gardening and he would spend hours in the extended gardens. He planted many of the trees which are the large mature specimens we have around the bay today," said Mr Laurence.
"My grandmother had a wonderful orchard out the back. Very much her territory, and there was a huge variety of fruit trees there.
"When this place was going full-blast it looked pretty immaculate. Grandfather paid a couple of men to come here from Christchurch. They stayed in one of the baches and they kept the place up to scratch.
"During the holidays we would stay in this bach – the first house built here," said Mr Laurence, referring to the house he and Sandy now live in for six months of each year. "Grandfather and grandmother were in the big house and other relatives in other houses built around the bay. It was always a busy social time.
"We had our own generator – an old Briggs & Stratton engine.
"Electricity didn't come to Torea Bay until 1979 and when it did, it transformed life there."
When WR Carey died in 1957 he requested one-third of the property was to go to charity, one-third to his children and one-third to his grandchildren.
This request was implemented after his wife, Cos Carey, died in 1967.
After a family conference it was decided the charity would be Outward Bound as it reflected the values and interests of WR Carey.
"He was a self-made man and Outward Bound was a good fit," said Ed.
Outward Bound Trust was gifted the "big house", boatshed and the section of land it is located on.
It is an important part of Outward Bound's operation and is used as its outpost location and for special courses.
Several other sections in Torea Bay were sold but other family members still retain land and houses in the Bay, including Ed and Sandy's property which was originally left to his mother and then to Ed.
Ed and Sandy spend six months in Vancouver and six months in Torea Bay, where they have been renovating and extending the original bach into a practical home.
In 2004 Ed demolished two-thirds of the original bach and in January 2005, with help from local builder Lawrence Pope, built the front part of the house, getting it to the lock-up stage before he and Sandy returned to Canada.
The following year the rest of the house was completed but, as Ed says, it is still a work in progress, with a large deck to be finished this summer.
"We enjoy doing the work, it's not so much a chore. We love it and we work well together."
In Vancouver the couple live in a fourth-floor condominium, which means when it is time to come to New Zealand they can just lock it up with no worries.
"Over the years it has got easier and easier to do the country swap.
"I've done it for more than 30 years now," said Ed, "collecting plenty of air miles along the way.
"We have simple tastes, but our lifestyle here is wonderful and it is a nice fit to still be here in Torea Bay, keeping up the Carey family tradition."
- The Marlborough Express
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