The Jackson family decided to start having family holidays at Tāhuna Holiday Camp in the 1950s. Every Christmas the car and trailer would be packed up for two to three weeks of fun in the sun. The tent, canvas stretchers, food, Tilly lamp, clothes, games, etc were all packed, with not a inch of room left.
At first they stayed in the old fashion white tent with the green roof. Then, as the kids got older, they applied for one of the Army Huts that were starting to be built at the camp.
Warren and I met when we were 16 and I was not able to join them at Tāhuna as there was no room for me, but Warren used to write me letters every other day, which I still have. Then the new Kitchen Cabins came along and the Jacksons applied to have one of these, which they just loved.
On Christmas 1965 Warren and I got engaged and I then joined the family in Nelson for a holiday. New Year’s Eve on the beach was so much fun with our friends and then the next day we used to watch the car racing.
In 1967 we were married and our holidays were still in Tāhuna but we now had our own cabin, which was in the front row overlooking the back beach with a grass verge.
When the children came along they used the small tree as cricket wickets but now it is a wonderful climbing tree, and a great tree to relax under in the shade.
We are now in our late 60s and still just love coming to Tāhuna. The evenings finish with a game of mini golf and a walk around the camp to see who else has arrived throughout the day. We then retire for the night before another wonderful day. We have shared many happy moments with friends that we meet each year.