Ohinemuri - Athenree poem

ATHENREE

By JACK KENT-JOHNSTON (Masterton)

On the wide Tauranga harbour, on its further northern reach

Is a lovely restful haven with a little sandy beach,

There's a little group of houses looking out across the sea,

And the name upon the shop-front says the place is Athenree.

There's a lovely grassy foreshore where the road comes to an end

And the harbour opens westward when you walk around the bend,

There the "Rosa" swings at anchor in the shelter of the Bay

And a quiet peace pervades you as you while the hours away.

You can hear the cuckoos calling in the many shady trees

You can smell the salt and seaweed on the gentle summer breeze,

There's the yapping cry of "Barkers" as they make their evening flight,

And the vesper hymn of thrushes as they roost up for the night.

Now my holiday is ended and I'm safely back at home

Where my job demands my interest but my thoughts are free to roam

And my mind can bridge the distance to that haven by the sea

And I'm back again in spirit with my friends in Athenree.

Athenree poem