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C l i c k h e r e f o r t h e l a t e s t n e w s u p d a t e s

G R E A T B A R R I E R I S L A N D

Great Barrier has always loitered on the edge of my consciousness; on a really clear day at Ngunguru, in Northland, if you could see the Barrier, you knew that rain was coming soon.

Peter Cook 2006 oil on linen 1350 x 200mm (Private Collection)		When I went to Great Barrier Island in 2006, I found that nothing was as I expected. Soaring needles of rock were sticking up like vertebrae all along the skyline of Hirakimata, the backbone of the island

Tiny Pitokuku stands like an ancient pyramid, with a single eye-like cave near the top. The core of an ancient volcano, the hill is known locally as Peter Cook.	Peter Cuckoo, Te Ihumata, Hirakimata 2006 oil on linen 1350 x 200mm (Private Collection)

Pitokuku Island & Sugar Loaf 2006 oil on linen 1350 x 200mm (Private Collection)		Pitokuku Island may or may not have been the subject of cruel target practise in the war years, from a cannon mounted on Pitokuku, the hill. Pitokuku Island is part of a group of three bush clad, broken rocks that huddle off Kaitoke Beach like a curious island family.

By contrast, Rakitu Island further up the coast is huge. Rakitu floats, hovering off the coast like a giant geological version of the cathedrals and villas of Venice.	Rakitu 2006 oil on linen 1350 x 200mm

Awana 2006 oil on linen 1000 x 600mm

C l i c k h e r e f o r t h e l a t e s t n e w s u p d a t e s