Although we have spent some time on the beach at New Brighton, we had never quite made it over to the pier. When we heard that they would be closing the pier at New Brighton to repair the damage caused by the earthquakes here in 2010 and 2011 we decided we should visit. As is necessary for any trip to the beach, we picked up fish and chips one night after work and headed over to the suburb of New Brighton.
Although we have often seen the New Brighton Pier in the distance when walking on the beach, we were quite surprised at how modern the pier is. It turns out that whilst the original pier was constructed in 1894, it was demolished in 1964 and it wasn’t until 1997 that the modern concrete pier was built.
After enjoying our fish and chips whilst watching the seagulls break apart shellfish for their dinner we walked over to the pier. The pier itself is 300 metres long (almost 1,000 feet) and feels somewhat like walking along a motorway bridge. The pier is a lot more functional than the piers I am used to in England, but it was certainly well used. As we walked out along the pier we passed several groups of people fishing and even spotted someone hauling up a crab pot, complete with crabs.
We watched as the lights came on and reminisced about our visit to Brighton Pier in England. We both happened to be in Brighton in December of 2002 when the historic Palace Pier in Brighton collapsed in a storm.
The repairs to the New Brighton pier should be a lot simpler, than those that were needed in the UK. In New Brighton, they just need to repair the pilings that were damaged in the earthquakes, and so hopefully it will open again soon.