Playshore of the Pacific

New Plymouth once listed 'the playshore of the Pacific ' among its attractions. This was the billing given to Ngāmotu Beach on New Year's Day 1917 when the two storey Palladium tearooms had recently been opened. While the claim may have been overblown, the beach was certainly a regional hot spot. New Year's Day picnics drew families from far and wide and as transport improved the Ngāmotu Beach crowds only grew thicker.

Ambitious fundraising carnivals began in the late 1930s and excursion trains brought people to events from as far away as Whangamomona and south Taranaki. After World War Two the attractions at the beach included a miniature railway, soundshell and crazy golf course. An annual Mardi Gras festival featuring marching displays, talent quests and bands added to the atmosphere. But from the late 1950s, with more cars and more counter-attractions, the beach began to suffer. The carnivals declined in popularity and the last was held in 1966.

This small milk jug, which was used at the Palladium tearooms, was found among the estate of Jack and Milly Nisbet by their nephew Graeme Johns. The Nisbets operated the tearooms during the 1930s and 1940s and were involved in various paid and unpaid roles on the beach until the mid 1960s.