Historic baches feature in Nelson photographer’s exhibition

Nelson photographer Debra Cole has spent two decades documenting the Boulder Bank’s historic baches, capturing images the public will now have a chance to see in a new exhibition.

The Grande Dames of the Boulder Bank features 70 photographs of six historic baches and the ever-changing seascapes that surround them.

Cole described the exhibition, which opened on Monday at Suter Art Gallery’s McKee Gallery, as a “celebration” of the much-loved Maxwell, Inkster, Robson, Harris, Cederman, and Brady baches, each with its own character and history.

Travelling regularly to the Boulder Bank via the ferry leaving Wakefield Quay, Cole also gathered the fascinating and personal stories of the families who have cared for the baches for generations.

Cole said there was a sense of fragility to the baches that had become increasingly difficult to ignore.

Now, at high tide, waves lap at the entrance to the Maxwell bach.

The baches hold generations of stories and memories, she said, and once a bach disappeared from the Boulder Bank, a little piece of its history disappeared with it.

Of the six baches, four remain. The Cederman bach was destroyed by fire in 2021 and the Robson bach burned down in 2025.

Cole said the baches were originally used by fishermen, who tarred their fishing nets there and left them on the Boulder Bank to dry.

The baches were still well used and well loved by the families that owned them, she said, adding that she hoped those visiting the exhibition took the time to read their stories.

By Catherine Hubbard|Nelson Mail

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