Beside the seaside
In 1925 the Melanesian Mission in Mission Bay subdivided a large part of its land and put it up for auction. This artist’s impression appeared on the reverse of the double-sided poster that advertised the sections for sale.
This bird’s-eye image acts as a crystal ball, offering a glimpse of the suburb’s idealised future. Seen here, Mission Bay Estate is an orderly oasis. Its curving streets leading to the foreshore suggest a tidy neighbourhood where the beach is part of daily life. The tennis courts next to Mission House and ‘proposed marine parade’ for pedestrians adds to the holiday mood. Tamaki Drive, the road that would eventually channel traffic along the foreshore, was still seven years away. | 
