Baxter Revisited

One of the amazing discoveries of our journey to New Zealand, was the poetry of James K. Baxter. Sadly this wonderful poet is little known outside New Zealand where he was born in 1926 and where he died in 1972.

One of Baxter’s poems that particularly touched us was his early poem “Poem by the Clock Tower, Sumner.” Baxter was only twenty-two years old when he wrote this stirring piece of poetry.

The Secret House – NZ 14

During our visit to Christchurch we are staying outside the city in the beautiful little seaside village of Sumner at the Sister Eveleen Retreat Centre, high up on Scarborough hill overlooking the sandy beach of the bay below. The Sister Eveleen Retreat Centre is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch. It is run ecumenically under the gentle guidance of Lyn and Kevin Gallagher.