Wellington's historic Lyall Bay Surf and Life Saving Club has just been given a paint job, but with sharks in rescue boats instead of the usual muted hues.
Street artist DSIDE is painting the club before it is demolished next week, and his work will be cut up and auctioned, along with 11 other artists' pieces, to raise money for the new club.
An example of street artist DSIDE's work on the Lyall Bay Surf and Life Saving Club before it is demolished. Photo: RNZ / Laura Bootham
The roar of planes is synonymous with the Lyall Bay club, as much as the crashing of waves.
It is the oldest surf life saving club in the country and the first club to control the beach.
The clubhouse was built in 1956 using rimu and cedar, but is now deemed beyond repair and will be torn down.
About 60 percent of its materials will be re-used in the new building.
Ian McIntosh, the club's fundraising head, said it housed many memories.
"It oozes history, it oozes tragedy, it oozes happiness and relief. It oozes all of the emotions that you could possibly imagine.
"There are people who've lost their lives out here. People have saved them.
"We were heavily involved in the Wahine rescue, it's a lot of history."
Street artist DSIDE goes to work on the Lyall Bay Surf and Life Saving Club. Photo: RNZ / Laura Bootham
DSIDE - sometimes known as Damin Radford-Scott - has created some of Wellington's most recognisable street art.
He spraypainted the entire building, causing people to rubberneck or stop and take photos.
"We've had local residents come over here from houses across the road to say 'this is absolutely brilliant', we've had people driving in from all parts of town to have a look at it," said Mr McIntosh.
"It's creating a buzz because they can actually see him doing it. A lot of people think this stuff is kind of graffiti, but it's not. If you can see an artist in action, it's something special."
DSIDE said painting at the beach beat urban alleyways, although getting the ladder steady in the sand could be tricky.
He said he was mindful of the building's history and its place in people's affections.
"Alongside there's the rowing crew which is the early days of how things were done and how they competed and then on another side there's the IRB. I've put some surfers in and tried to be respectful of the area."
Art on the walls of Lyall Bay Surf and Life Saving Club will be sold off after the demolition. Photo: RNZ / Laura Bootham
DSIDE said the club's history was never completely out of sight.
"I can only imagine how many different people have been in and out of this building and what they remember it as, so I'm quite honoured to be able to paint it.
"Normally I quite like painting over windows because you don't normally get to, but this time when I painted them it was a lot of thinking about how many people must have looked out of these."
The other artists taking part are Clare Matthews, Bruce Mahalski, Sean Duffell, Flox, Michael McCormack, Donna Cross, Juliet Best, Alfred Memelink, Brian Nelson, Bruce Luxford, Liz Ritchie and Jack Candlish.
The new club will cost $3.8 million, with $1.2m of that going towards creating underground structures that ensures it remains solid on the shoreline.
An artist's impression of the new Lyall Bay Surf and Life Saving Club. Photo: Supplied
