Abstract
This paper will therefore be principally orientated towards a study of the common law rights and restrictions over the foreshore as the principal place of public recreation, and the extent to which such rights and restrictions have been modified by statute in New Zealand. Consideration will also be given to a study of the common law rights and restrictions over the lands adjacent to the foreshore, and along the margins of non-tidal rivers and lakes, and the extent to which those rights and restrictions have been modified by statute in New Zealand also. The development of reserves in New Zealand adjacent to our waterways will be traced, and recent legislative and administrative initiatives which have affected public and private recreation and usage of the lands adjacent to our waterways will also be discussed. [extract from Introduction]