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5.4.5 Port Levy
The seaside village of Port Levy where the Hulmes took Pauline for an Easter holiday was an original location. The terrain is hilly down to the sea, and there is a small island in the inlet, referred to by Pauline in her diary entries. Port Levy is just 20 km (12 mi) south of Christchurch city center as the crow flies, but by road it would be at least twice that distance (described as '35 miles from Christchurch' in Court testimony) because of the intervening hilly terrain and Lytelton Harbour. The shortest and most pleasant drive from Christchurch to Port Levy would be up Dyers Pass Road, through the Cashmere Hills, past Victoria Park, and around Lyttelton Harbour. Thus, it's likely that the Hulmes would have driven past what would become the site of the murder travelling to and from Port Levy. It is obvious from Pauline Parker's diaries that her time at Port Levy had been extremely special to her. Hilda Hulme retreated to Port Levy after the trial with WAB Perry, for some peace. She had been evicted from Ilam by that time. Glamuzina & Laurie report that the Hulmes bought a small house (a beach cottage) at Port Levy. They go on to say that the house had disappeared from Maori ownership upon the death of the legal owner in 1943 and had been sold to a non-Maori business by the Maori Trustee without consulting the surviving family, who regarded the transaction as an injustice. Glamuzina & Laurie also report that the Port Levy (Puaui) area was one of particular spiritual significance to the Maori and they offer, in their book (see 7.7.6), a Maori interpretation of Pauline and Juliet's "Port Levy Revelation" and the murder. They also comment that Pauline later studied Maori while in prison, and they feel this is significant.
