Guest: Anzac’s Brighton Beach, Gallipoli

On the Gallipoli Peninsula in north-west Turkey, there is a beach whose name echoes far from home. Known to soldiers of the First World War as Brighton Beach, it lies on a long curve of sand between the headland of Gaba Tepe and the narrow inlet of Anzac Cove. The name was never official but it stuck, a reminder of how men carried fragments of familiar landscapes into the most alien of settings. More than a century later the shoreline is quiet, its role in the campaign less famous than other places nearby, but it remains part of the story of Gallipoli.

To get there, walk south from Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, rejoin the main beach road and follow it for approximately half a kilometre. Ahead stretches the promontory of Gaba Tepe, and to your right lies the shoreline the ANZAC troops called Brighton Beach - originally designated ‘Z Beach’. In The Story of Anzac, Charles Bean recorded that the 3rd Australian Infantry Brigade - the intended Covering Force - was to land here on 25 April 1915 and advance inland to strategic ridges. But as history shows, the actual landings occurred further to the north.

The terrain facing inland from Brighton Beach was noticeably flatter and less rugged than the dramatic cliffs around North Beach and ANZAC Cove. It’s widely accepted that had the troops landed here, casualties would have been higher: the Turkish guns at Gaba Tepe and artillery further back at a location later nicknamed the ‘Olive Grove’ posed a grave threat to any incoming forces.

In the days following the initial landings, Brighton Beach became something of a logistical backwater. Under heavy shelling and sniper fire, men occasionally risked the water there, drawn to its relative serenity as a swimming area. A stores depot emerged at the mouth of Shrapnel Gully, heaped with supplies and hidden behind stacks of crates, timber, barbed wire and engineering stores. The Indian Mule Cart Company also established base here, transporting supplies inland under hazardous conditions. In one extraordinary incident on 22 May 1915, a white flag appeared at Gaba Tepe opposite Brighton Beach - prompting soldiers to improvise a truce using a beach towel raised as a flag.

Today, Brighton Beach stands in peaceful contrast to its wartime past. The shoreline is open and inviting, framed by gentle slopes and the distant headland of Gaba Tepe. Visitors can walk the same coast road used by soldiers and pause where stores once piled high against the dunes. It is now one of the few officially sanctioned swimming spots on the peninsula, a place where locals and travellers cool off in summer. Families picnic on the sand, tour buses stop nearby, and signs mark the site’s historic associations. The water is clear, the beach is quiet, and apart from the occasional memorial plaque there is little to suggest the noise and danger that once dominated this tranquil corner of the Dardanelles.

Guest beach: Brighton Beach, Duluth, Minnesota

Brighton Beach in Duluth, Minnesota, at the eastern end of Kitchi Gammi Park, is built on a rocky Lake Superior shoreline steeped in more than a century of history. The city established the area as its first dedicated tourism campground in 1922, offering auto tourists public lakeshore access. In the early 1930s, cabins were constructed - four in 1930 and five more in 1931 - to accommodate overnight visitors.

During the mid-20th century, as Duluth’s harbour shifted from an industrial zone into an area for leisure and tourism, Brighton Beach benefited from the same ethos, retaining its popularity as a local recreation spot. The 1960s saw several fierce storms that reshaped much of Duluth’s shoreline, including Brighton Beach, prompting later efforts at shoreline reinforcement. Plans for enhanced public access culminated in the 1980s and 1990s with the construction and eastward expansion of the Lakewalk, built in part from rocks excavated during the construction of Interstate 35. By 1991, the Lakewalk linked downtown Duluth to Brighton Beach, establishing it as a vital gateway to Lake Superior and a beloved picnic, ship-watching, and stone-skipping destination.

Though no longer a campground, Brighton Beach remains beloved for its cobblestone terrain, ideal for agate-hunting, wading, ship-watching and picnicking along the nearly mile-long lakeshore stretch that marks the eastern terminus of Duluth’s Lakewalk. 

Discussions about renovating the site began around 2015, but after severe storms in 2017 and 2018 caused major erosion and repeated damage to Brighton Beach Drive, planners shifted toward what officials called a managed retreat strategy in 2019: relocating public infrastructure inland and stabilising the shoreline rather than rebuilding in place. The City of Duluth embarked on a multi-year programme beginning in 2019, guided by a mini-master plan to rejuvenate the beach, extend the lake walk, relocate the road, rebuild shore protection and add resilient landscaping with native North Shore forest plants.

By 2023, shoreline restoration and most park improvements - including installation of picnic tables, grills, vault toilets, recycling stations, pet-waste stands, hammock stands and new accessible paths - were substantially complete. The relocated one-way road and separated pedestrian pathways were fully rebuilt by October 2024. Duluth then officially reopened Brighton Beach in a ribbon‑cutting ceremony at its historic stone pavilion, celebrating the end of the six-year, $6.4 million revitalisation. See the Duluth News Tribune and WDIO for more.

Back in February this year, MIX108’s Nick Cooper published photographs and a report about ‘waves of ice shards rippling along the shore’ of Brighton Beach. The waves, he said, were catching the last light of the day in the approach to sunset. Moreover, ‘the noise of the waves and ice shards in the water was pretty soothing and almost hypnotic’.

Guest: Brighton Beach, North Vancouver

Brighton Beach, tucked discreetly along the rugged western shore of Indian Arm in North Vancouver (Canada), is a boat-access-only enclave that feels worlds removed from the nearby city. This Brighton Beach bears no connection to the old Brighton Hotel or the Hastings Townsite that gave rise to Vancouver’s New Brighton Park. Instead, it is a small, secluded stretch of waterfront lots where dense forest tumbles down to rocky shores, and the only way home is by skiff or water taxi. Here, the community of roughly two dozen properties thrives on the very isolation that would deter most - a haven for those drawn to tranquillity, self-reliance, and the daily rhythms of tide and weather.

Residents who live haul groceries and supplies by boat, navigate steep woodland paths to reach their cabins, and rely on solar panels, rain barrels, and wood stoves. Real estate listings lean into this rugged romance, appealing to artists and adventurous spirits who crave an off-grid life with views of shimmering waters and distant snow-dusted peaks. One cottage, with its modest footprint and sweeping decks, was recently described as perfect for ‘a creative who needs a quiet retreat,’ the sort of place where inspiration might arrive with the morning mist.

Yet the tranquillity here is punctuated by episodes that underscore both the vulnerability and the tenacity of this community. In July 2016, Brighton Beach faced a dramatic trial when a fire broke out, consuming a cottage and a neighbouring home under construction. Firefighters had to be ferried in aboard a Vancouver fire boat, pumping ocean water at astonishing rates while a helicopter hovered overhead, dropping water to stop the flames from reaching the slopes of Mount Seymour. By some miracle and much effort, the fire was contained before it could leap into the forested backbone of the North Shore (see Castanet).

Quirky tales also ripple through Brighton Beach’s recent history. Paddleboarders and kayakers have recounted close encounters with seals and otters, but in 2023, local waters played host to a far grander visitor. A lone orca, soon affectionately nicknamed ‘Indy,’ spent time exploring the entrance to nearby Howe Sound and Indian Arm, thrilling residents who watched from weathered docks and bobbing dinghies. One paddleboarder even found himself eye-to-eye with the orca. (See North Shore News.)

Today, Brighton Beach continues to embody a certain coastal eccentricity. It is a place where stories are exchanged over driftwood railings, where grocery trips are dictated by the tide, and where the vastness of nature presses close on all sides. Unlike its namesake to the south - born of colonial nostalgia for British seaside resorts - this Brighton Beach writes its own narrative, one shaped by cedar, salt air, and the enduring allure of a life perched at the edge of wilderness.

Guest: Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York

Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, is arguably the second most famous Brighton Beach in the world. Named in the late 19th century by developers, it quickly took on a life of its own. The name refers not only to the beach itself but to the surrounding neighbourhood, a vibrant enclave that has evolved dramatically over time.

Originally marshland on the southern fringe of Brooklyn, in the 1870s, Brighton Beach was transformed - initially by the energy of entrepreneur William Engeman - into a fashionable destination. The grand Brighton Beach Hotel, built on 400 pilings driven into the sand, opened in 1878. It promised New York’s affluent classes an elegant retreat by the sea, with live orchestras, gas lighting, and fresh ocean breezes.

By the late 1880s, however, the hotel faced a serious threat: the Atlantic Ocean was steadily eroding the shoreline, bringing waves perilously close to the hotel’s foundation. To save the structure, in 1888, Engeman’s son (also William) invested in a remarkable engineering feat: the entire building, estimated to weigh eight million pounds, was lifted onto 112 railroad flatcars laid across 24 tracks and moved approximately 600 feet inland using six steam locomotives. The operation, completed over ten days, was hailed as the largest building move of the 19th century and ensured the hotel’s survival until its demolition in 1924. Much more about the local history can be found at this Coney Island website or Wikipedia.

Since 1878, the area had been linked by rail, making day trips to the beach feasible for the city’s growing middle class. Nevertheless, as the early 20th century progressed, the resort atmosphere began to wane, and Brighton Beach became more of a year-round residential community, though still offering summer relief to generations of families who could not afford more distant holiday vacations. The sandy shore, gently sloping into the Atlantic, was less garish than neighbouring Coney Island and drew a quieter crowd. The famous Riegelmann Boardwalk, dating from 1923, which connects Brighton Beach to Coney Island westward and Manhattan Beach eastward, became - and has remained - a place for promenading, gossiping, and people-watching.

Brighton Beach gained a new identity in the 1970s and 1980s with the arrival of thousands of Jewish immigrants from the collapsing Soviet Union. The beach was suddenly lined with voices speaking Russian, Ukrainian, and Uzbek. Delis and dumpling shops sprang up alongside the boardwalk, and signs appeared in Cyrillic. The neighbourhood gained the nickname ‘Little Odessa’, but the beach never lost its public character. It remained open to all, from families playing dominoes under beach umbrellas to sunbathers from across the boroughs. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 brought flooding and damage, but the community and city worked to restore the coastline, reinforcing dunes and shoring up flood defences.

Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play Brighton Beach Memoirs brought some attention to the locale. Published in 1982, it was set in the 1930s. In 1983, it received the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. Some 40 years later, in 2024, the beach stepped into a brighter spotlight with the release of Anora, an Oscar-winning film that made effective use of the location’s gritty warmth and visual character, with scenes filmed on the boardwalk and beach.

Check out Brooklyn Magazine’s Insider Guide to Brighton Beach if you’re planning a visit.

Guest: Brighton Beach, Dunedin, New Zealand

Brighton Beach, the fifth of this column’s guest beaches, is situated just 20 kilometers southwest of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. A rather idyllic settlement, Brighton offers expansive golden sands, gentle surf, and a family-friendly atmosphere as demonstrated by its annual Gala Day right next to the beach. As it happens, I have not only been to the place (diary entry below), but I have just learned that the renowned Kiwi poet James K. Baxter grew up in and around Brighton.

Brighton - with a population of about 1,500 - lies on the Otago peninsula within the city limits of Dunedin. It is connected by coastal road with the Dunedin commuter settlement of Waldronville to the northeast and with Taieri Mouth to the southwest. The settlement of Ocean View lies immediately to the east of Brighton, separated from it by a large bluff (simply known as ‘Big Rock’) which juts towards the ocean. The beach is popular for summer day trips from Dunedin; and, at low tide, visitors can explore tidal pools, and the nearby Otokia Creek which offers a scenic walking track through a nature reserve.

Nearby, the Beachlands Speedway in Waldronville offers stock car and saloon car racing events, while surfers can head to Blackhead Beach. In January, the Brighton Domain (a grassy area just behind the beach) hosts the community’s Gala Day, a family-friendly event featuring over 150 stalls, amusement rides, entertainment, and food vendors. 

The area around Brighton was not the site of permanent settlement by pre-colonial Māori, but was on their regular trails from their homes on Otago Peninsula to their traditional hunting grounds. Archaeological evidence suggests it was the site of seal and sea lion hunting, as well as hunting of moa. Stone tool making may have also taken place around the area. European settlement began in the 1860s. The town was named by an early resident, Hugh Williams, after Brighton in England. Early industries included coal mining, with lignite being plentiful at nearby Ocean View. 

As it happens, I lived in Dunedin for a year or so in 1975 (during my three-year long travels), and went to Brighton on two or three occasions. Here is a diary entry for one of those visits

September 1975: ‘Today I went for a little hitch-hike down a small coast road to a place called Brighton, a small village, and there I found a commotion as the people were standing around because a man in a power boat had been thrown out of it by the rough surf, for hours surf rescue teams and a sea place searched the rocky coast for the body and the tourists built up, cooing people and eager helpers, it all made me very sad. Then, when I got home, I had a phone call from someone who had found my kitten Ginquin because she had gone missing when I was away last week, so that made me happy again.’

While researching this article, I discovered that James K. Baxter grew up in the area. On his first day at Brighton Primary School (now Big Rock Primary School), he burned his hand on a stove, and, later, he used this incident to represent the failure of institutional education. Baxter is considered one of the preeminent writers of his generation, but he was a controversial figure (see Wikipedia), troubled by alcoholism and later converting to Catholicism and establishing a commune. He died aged only 46, in 1972, His Maori wife, Jacquie Sturm, collected and catalogued his prolific output of poems and plays, and managed his literary estate. 

During my travels, I was often to be found trekking along roadsides, hitchhiking, looking for my next ride, heading for the next unknown place. And I’d find myself reciting the same verse of poetry over and over.

Upon the upland road

Ride easy stranger

Surrender to the sky

Your heart of anger

High Country Weather (J. K. Baxter, 1945)

Guest: Brighton Beach, Possession Bay, South Georgia

Brighton Beach, the fourth of this column’s guest beaches, is an outlier in every sense. It is situated along the north coast of South Georgia, a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean some 900 miles east of the Falkland Islands. Discovered by Europeans in 1675, the island had no indigenous population due to its harsh climate and remoteness. Captain James Cook in HMS Resolution made the first landing, survey and mapping of the island, and on 17 January 1775, he claimed it as a British possession, naming it Isle of Georgia after King George III.

Throughout its history, South Georgia has served as a whaling and seal hunting base, with intermittent population scattered in several whaling bases, the most important historically being Grytviken. The main settlement and the capital today is King Edward Point near Grytviken, a British Antarctic Survey research station, with a population of about 20 people.

However, I doubt they head to Brighton Beach at the weekend! This lies between Zero and Adventure Points in Possession Bay, on the north coast of South Georgia. The name first appeared on a chart showing the results of a survey by Discovery Investigations personnel in 1926-30 - the Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean, funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London.

South Georgia is renowned for its rugged landscapes and abundant wildlife, including vast colonies of penguins and seals, making it a significant location for ecological studies and wildlife observation. Indeed, Brighton Beach was so named to reflect the abundance of fauna, as also found on our own Brighton Beach (when the sun shines!). Access to Brighton Beach and other areas on the island is regulated to preserve its delicate environment: the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands has designated specific visitor sites (with some locations closed due to environmental concerns). ​The outline map here shows the government’s designated visitor points, each one with a code number. The code for Brighton Beach (POS01) can be found in the partial data box, and with that it’s possible to identify where the beach is located on Google’s satellite map - should you wish to visit.

Bark Europa, a tall ship adventure vessel out of Holland, has visited Brighton Beach at least twice. The expedition leader Jordi Plana Morales wrote an entry in his logbook for 4 March 2019 with this title: Possession Bay - Prince Olav Harbour and holding anchor on a blustery afternoon at Brighton Beach. His record of the trip is detailed (and is illustrated with a photograph, as above). Here’s an extract from the log.

‘Winds varying from 20 to 45 kn and snowfall made for a quiet few hours indoors, while the Europa hold her ground at anchor in front of the so-called Brighton beach. To arrive here we had to sail over a shallow reef that crosses the whole bay, that nevertheless helps dumping down the swell that enters Possession Bay. From time to time a clear area between the low clouds let us have a glimpse of the beach and the surrounding glaciers.’

Guest: Brighton Beach, The Bluff, Durban

Brighton Beach, the third of this column’s guest beaches, is a scenic coastal area located on The Bluff, south of Durban’s city centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Supposedly renowned for its unspoiled beaches and tidal pool, as well as being nearby the world-famous surf spot Cave Rock, it has an interesting history but, currently, seems a little down on its heels - local news headlines are far from positive, but investment is forthcoming.

The Bluff promontory, where Brighton Beach is situated, is a remnant of an extensive coastal dune system that formed between two and five million years ago. This natural formation plays a crucial role in shielding the Port of Durban from the Indian Ocean, forming the port’s southern quayside. 

The Facts about Durban website reveals the area’s interesting history as given by Peter Whitaker: ‘When my father first came to the Bluff in the 1940s Bluff Rd was a sand track and lined with trees. Mr. Grey who owned Greys Inn, a hotel, roughly opposite Splash pools (and not the Harcourt hotel which came much later) used to take a team of oxen down what is now a footpath from Airley Rd to Brighton Beach to help pull the old 1920/30 cars up, so that people could have lunch at his Inn before the long drive back to Durban. Mr. Grey owned a large part of the Brighton Beach area, which is why Greys Inn Rd was named after his Inn, and he also left a large area of the valley in trust to the people of the Bluff, as a recreational area [. . .].

The Bluff had many separate areas as it developed, each with its own problems and characteristics. The North had the Whaling Station smell, the South the Oil refinery smell (not pollution, just a smell), the centre had a swamp with mosquitoes and sometimes you got the benefit of all three in varying proportion. We were a mixed community then, we had Indian fisher folk in houses on stilts built out over the waters of the bay at Fynnlands (as well as some other areas), the Zanzibar’s at Kings Rest, and over at St Francis Xavier in Sormany Rd and down to where Moss Rd is today, a large Zulu community. A number of Bluff roads owe their names to the first farmers who subdivided to make the stands that we live on today. Some of the original farm houses still remain, you just have to know where to look. Then for many years we had Clover dairy (complete with cows) opposite the reservoir in Dunville road it eventually became a depot and then was sold off.’

In 1938, the Durban City Council commissioned and officially opened a floodlit tidal pool at Brighton Beach, enhancing its appeal as a popular picnic and leisure destination. As the photo (accompanying Whitaker’s history) shows, the beach was still very popular in the 1960s. However, for years now, it seems to have been somewhat run down. Last year, finally, the eThekwini Municipality allocated R1 million to refurbish the promenade, the pools, the walkways, and the lifesavers club. The project is part of a larger effort to enhance the coastal experience for residents and tourists in the area. 

Unfortunately, of late, there has been a series of distressing news events. In February, rescue teams recovered, at Brighton and other nearby beaches, the bodies of two women and two children who had been swept into a canal during recent floods. The Southlands Sun reported, also in February, that a 15 year old girl, Slindile Duze, went missing, last seen in Brighton Beach. Meanwhile, the Brighton Beach police are looking for Sindisiwe Nkila and her seven-month old baby, as well as for information about a disoriented man brought into the station who thinks he might be called Sevahn Solomon. Last November, the paper reported on the likely drowning of a teenager ‘in an area without lifeguard supervision at Brighton Beach’. In January, the eThekwini Municipality and the Sharks Board temporarily closed several beaches, including Brighton Beach, to reinstall shark safety gear. 

Nevertheless, I read, Brighton Beach continues to be a cherished destination for both locals and tourists, offering a blend of natural beauty and recreational activities. There is a shipwreck about 3 km offshore, believed by some to be a whaler due to its sunken bollards; and the area is advertised as home to a variety of wildlife, including monkeys, mongooses, and marine life like dolphins and whales. Average temperatures range from 20°C (June to August) to 28°C (December to February). Sea water temperatures are not much different through the year (20°-26°C)!

Guest: Brighton Beach, Menasha, Wisconsin

Brighton Beach in Menasha, Wisconsin, first gained any notice in the late 19th century when Curtis Reed opened a resort hotel there in 1887. The Brighton Beach Hotel, built in 1899, became a focal point for social activities, hosting picnics, band concerts, and other outdoor events. The hotel underwent two renovations but ultimately closed and was demolished in 1927 due to competition from other local attractions like Waverly Beach. David Galassie’s blog Menasha has some excellent local history posts, one of which includes an advertisement from the time of the hotel; and The Wisconsin Historical Society has several relevant old photographs. This post also includes two screenshots from Google Maps.

“The summer resort deluxe”
BRIGHTON BEACH
On Beautiful Winnebago Lake
The Best Beach. The Best Fishing.
The most accessible Resort in the State of Wisconsin
Fine Steamboat Landing
3 cent fare from Menasha, Neerah and Appleton.
Half hourly electric service in each direction making
connections [with other] railroads
Furnished cottage to rent with electric light, water works, telephone.
Cabaret, dancing and a score of other entertainments
Write for reservations, etc.
P.O. ADDRESS - MENASHA, WIS
JOSEPHY STEIDL., Prop.

Following the hotel’s closure, the area transitioned into a residential neighbourhood. Over time, several elegant residences were constructed by wealthy and influential residents: the Dr. Harold O. Hansen Residence, built in 1937 at 1045 Brighton Drive, being the most noted. This Colonial Revival-style house, constructed for $12,000, replaced a more modest structure and initially served as a fishing and hunting retreat. 

Today, Brighton Beach continues to be a desirable residential area, with homes available for sale and rent along Brighton Beach Road, many with frontages on to Lake Winnebago. While the original resort is long gone, the area still offers recreational opportunities close by at the Municipal Beach: Located at 1515 Brighton Beach Road, this 1.4-acre parcel provides public access to Lake Winnebago. The beach features an unsupervised swimming area, with a water depth ranging from 2 to 9 feet (Lake Winnebago only has a maximum depth of 21 feet).

Guest: Brighton Beach, Perth

Fed up of the English winter, the rain, the wind, the cold? Well, welcome to the first of this columns’s guest Brighton Beaches - where the temperature is over 30 degrees, and the sun is shining all day long. 

Brighton Beach is considered ‘a little local secret’ just to the south of Perth’s famous surf spot, Scarborough Beach, but less crowded and with clean white sand. If the sea breeze is up, according to Tourism Western Australia, you can watch the windsurfers and kitesurfers, or get in the water and ‘grab some of the wave and wind action yourself’. 

Scarboro Info says: ‘Brighton Beach is the ideal Indian Ocean vacation destination to relax and meet the beautiful people of Perth who know Brighton beach, a locality of the Perth suburb of Scarborough [which] has the best white sand surf beach in Australia.’ 

Or can you? Is it safe to go in the water? 

Only three weeks ago, hundreds of beachgoers had to flee the beach after a tiger shark was spotted meters from the shore. A rescue helicopter spotted the 3m shark just off Brighton Beach, and a witness said a lifeguard confirmed the shark sighting before closing the beach. The scare came one day after a teenager was bitten by a shark of an unknown species at a Mandurah beach, 50 miles south. And only a few days ago, a ‘monster shark’ came dangerously close to swimmers at Whitfords Beach, 8 miles north of Brighton Beach. The West Australian and MSN.