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Whitebait - Wriggilus Evadus.
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DescriptionWhat was your Mum`s favourite way of cooking whitebait? Mum used to fry up whitebait fritters.. nothing fancy,just whitebait in a fritter batter, cooked in hot mutton fat in a frypan on the coalrange.
Dad got so much at one stage he was using it for fertilizer for the garden.Map[1] ContributorHeather Newby
Dad got so much at one stage he was using it for fertilizer for the garden.Map[1] ContributorHeather Newby
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Location (city or town)GreymouthEventWhitebait
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Category Tagfood
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Date Created13th January 2021CommentsNaireen Bass
Love your common name for it
Thelma Coutts
I can remember when they used to sell it door to door. I can remember they carried it around in kerosene tins, it was so plentiful. Probably in the late 40’s early 50’s.
Heather Newby
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Thelma Coutts yes .. and in the late 1950`s
Thelma Coutts
It was sure plentiful then. As you say a lot was dug into the gardens. What a waste.
Des Kennedy
Heather, I remember dad telling me that they had so mu9h whitebait that they used it for fertilizer.
Jill Smith
On the West Coast they are called patties not fritters.
Heather Newby
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Jill Smith mum always called them fritters
· Reply · 1h
Jan Clarke
Jill Smith and NO flour in my whitebait patties!!!!
Heather Newby
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dad had the whitebait in a claw toothed bath in the back yard.. I remember that.that would have been the late 50`s
Heather Newby
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Mum also cooked a lot of paua fritters and mussel fritters.
Glenda Burt
Had a real treat today. Cooked and shared (with my sisters) my Christmas gift from my daughter - West Coast Whitebait - yum
Michael Riki
My grandma also called them whitebait fritters
Bill Stephenson
Michael Riki How are you going Mike, are you still down south
Michael Riki
Hey Bill I’m good mate yep still down here in Invercargill and still working how you doing Bill
Alison Blogs
whitebait patties/fritters,yum
Kate Fairhall
My mother in law, Aggie Fearn makes the best whitebait patties ever!
Wendy Gilmour
Kate Fairhall these ones on here look terrible nothing like a perfect whitebait patty that us old Blackball girls know
Kate Fairhall
Wendy Gilmour totally, didn't know you needed a cup of flour!
Alan N Barb Cochrane
mum used to put it in the garden
Donald Pearson
Makes my mouth water to look at them.
Lana Vargas
Ok bet they don’t do that now. Lol
Ian Miller
In the 1950s my father had a stand on an island in the Hokitika river. A reasonable catch would be one or two kerosine tins. Occasionally it would go to fertilizer, but that would only be when the flights to Wellington were not working. Priority always went to selling it if possible.
Greg Gilmour
Mmmmmm
Helen Joan Forrest
My father,Alan Forrest, would go out whitebaiting. When he go home with two big tins of fish he would dig a trench between the rows of vegetables and chuck the first tin down the row and cover it over. Mum would dash out with a bowl and get some to cook up into yummy patties. My problem was that I had been told not to eat garden fertiliser. So if the bait was used in the garden was that not garden fertiliser?? Still likes it
Wendy Gilmour
We always called them patties , dont know where the fritter lingo came from .
I remember as a child going to Nana McFadyen in Hokitika and my father digging it into the garden as no freezers then , Nana always cooked our patties and made the mint s… See More
Val Whittaker
I remember those special days white baiting on the Cobden side with the net my brother Gordon made me so much white bait every one was sick of it so you couldn’t give it away amazing when you think of it Today very scarce
· Reply · 44m
Lynda Bellaney
Mum and Nana used a little flour. I liked them better with the flour
Mary Hall
No flour in my mum's patties either.Onlywbitebait and egg
Megan Webster
My mum (Anna Therese Webster nee Smith) gave me Jean Smiths whitebait pattie recipe. It's 1 egg per cup of whitebait
1 teaspoon cornflour per egg
salt & pepper
Fry in melted butter.
Wendy Gilmour
Megan Webster 6 to 8 eggs to pint of whitebait, no cornflour dont know where that comes from , pinch of salt and Nana always cooked in dripping, she would be about 120 yrs old now and the whitebait was just about still jumping when she was mixing it in her big porcelain bowl
Wendy Gilmour
Megan Webster 6 to 8 eggs to pint of whitebait, no cornflour dont know where that comes from , pinch of salt and Nana always cooked in dripping, she would be about 120 yrs old now and the whitebait was just about still jumping when she was mixing it… See More
Elaine Bolitho
I have the feeling West Coast whitebait fritters were/are more generously baited than those in the rest of the country! But still enjoyed the fritters from whitebait Dad caught in the North Branch of the Waimakariri in Kaiapoi in the 1940s..
Leslie McKendry
Apart fromPatties, we also had whitebait poached in milk, and whitebait lightly floured, then fried in butter. All 3 ways were delicious.
Phyllis Aberhart
No batter just cooked in beaten eggs a otherwise its sacrilege
Julie Taylor
I remember when I was growing up there we would have so much whitebait we would buried it in the garden wouldn’t dream of doing that now our mum used to mix the whitebait with eggs and a touch of milk
Sheryl Iraia
Patties just egg and whitebait eaten with mint sauce. Or poached in milk. Pepper and salt of course.
Kerry Molloy
Mum used to cook the patties buggered if i can remember her recipe .I do remember in the later part of my TF army career in CHCH that Danny Stribling barman at the Sgts &WOs mess at Addington often spoke of a maori lady in kaikoura a ?pub cook whose fo… See More
Nikky Lohmann
My grandparents would get two extra buckets. One for the chooks and one for the garden! Just eggs in our patties.
Wayne Madden
Pffft I got whitebait and ice cream we had that much
Margaret Mckee
Just egg and teaspn flour. Always fresh mint sauce on the side
Bronwen Skates
whitebait patties with just eggs , sprinkle of flour , plenty of whitebait and a hot pan either butter or fat whatever you prefer and served with fresh white bread , yum ,
Cheryl Pinn
I remember having to go to the Green and the middle wall as a kid with mum.Or the nuns telling us"there's a run on.You have to go to your grandmothers for lunch'' Always called them patties and had mint sauce with them
Janine Ram
Never had it befor so no idea
Lexie Aynsley
YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING THEY JUST LOVERLY TO EAT IN PATTIES
Jeanette Hall
love them in batter as patties
Karen Glen
Love them like your mum used to make NZ
Tanya Bruce
Had some saturday night...yummy
Al Va
Same our mum used to fry our whitebait Up in fat it tasted real nice also our father put it on our garden.we sent our whitebait on the rail car to be sold then wait for our cheque to arrive in the post we lived in Cameron’s then love to have my child hood back again.
Linda Young
my mother just beat up an egg and added salt and pepper and fried in butter
John Rawcliffe
500gm one egg - that's it ok touch of salt and pepper
Terry Bradley
Mum said they almost lived on whitebait during the depression.
She used to go with her dad and would have a little fry-up in a tobacco tin as he caught them. She said he would also dig the surplus into the garden.
Terry MJ
Dug much of that beautiful Greymouth bait into the garden myself in the late 40's and 50's. No fridge in those days, neighbours did'nt want it as they had plenty, couldnt give it away. Sold about 4 pints of fresh bait to a cafe in Grey one time and got a shilling for it, was a good deal in those days haha !!!
Brenda Brown
Whitebait patties
Barry Sheard
Mum cooked them in batter too.
Liz Hay
I think my mother was one of the first to fry the patties in oil. Much better than lard. Lots of whitebait in each patty. We took them to school in our lunchboxes.
To make scoop nets, we children would get mutton bags from the butcher, attach them to round hoops made out of supplejack from the bush, which were attached to poles. The mutton bags were made of soft, porous material, and ideal for catching and holding a 'pudding' at the bottom. The fun we had, fishing in the local creek, and the delight if we came home with a pint or two!
And yes, my father remembered when there was a run on, walking down 2 blocks to the Hokitika River and putting a bucket in to drag out the bait, to be carried home and dug into the vege garden.
Caroline Dunlop
Whitebait and eggs as patties cooked in butter and oil.
Margaret Malloch
Oh my what great times could have whitebait every day if wanted just taken for granted
Denis King
Loose whitebait, fried in butter with pinch of garlic, and parsley, served loose on buttered toast.
Dorothy Wills
Yes when you think of that and then the price you pay now for 100grms it’s a sorry sight
Love your common name for it
Thelma Coutts
I can remember when they used to sell it door to door. I can remember they carried it around in kerosene tins, it was so plentiful. Probably in the late 40’s early 50’s.
Heather Newby
badge icon
Author
Thelma Coutts yes .. and in the late 1950`s
Thelma Coutts
It was sure plentiful then. As you say a lot was dug into the gardens. What a waste.
Des Kennedy
Heather, I remember dad telling me that they had so mu9h whitebait that they used it for fertilizer.
Jill Smith
On the West Coast they are called patties not fritters.
Heather Newby
badge icon
Author
Jill Smith mum always called them fritters
· Reply · 1h
Jan Clarke
Jill Smith and NO flour in my whitebait patties!!!!
Heather Newby
badge icon
Author
dad had the whitebait in a claw toothed bath in the back yard.. I remember that.that would have been the late 50`s
Heather Newby
badge icon
Author
Mum also cooked a lot of paua fritters and mussel fritters.
Glenda Burt
Had a real treat today. Cooked and shared (with my sisters) my Christmas gift from my daughter - West Coast Whitebait - yum
Michael Riki
My grandma also called them whitebait fritters
Bill Stephenson
Michael Riki How are you going Mike, are you still down south
Michael Riki
Hey Bill I’m good mate yep still down here in Invercargill and still working how you doing Bill
Alison Blogs
whitebait patties/fritters,yum
Kate Fairhall
My mother in law, Aggie Fearn makes the best whitebait patties ever!
Wendy Gilmour
Kate Fairhall these ones on here look terrible nothing like a perfect whitebait patty that us old Blackball girls know
Kate Fairhall
Wendy Gilmour totally, didn't know you needed a cup of flour!
Alan N Barb Cochrane
mum used to put it in the garden
Donald Pearson
Makes my mouth water to look at them.
Lana Vargas
Ok bet they don’t do that now. Lol
Ian Miller
In the 1950s my father had a stand on an island in the Hokitika river. A reasonable catch would be one or two kerosine tins. Occasionally it would go to fertilizer, but that would only be when the flights to Wellington were not working. Priority always went to selling it if possible.
Greg Gilmour
Mmmmmm
Helen Joan Forrest
My father,Alan Forrest, would go out whitebaiting. When he go home with two big tins of fish he would dig a trench between the rows of vegetables and chuck the first tin down the row and cover it over. Mum would dash out with a bowl and get some to cook up into yummy patties. My problem was that I had been told not to eat garden fertiliser. So if the bait was used in the garden was that not garden fertiliser?? Still likes it
Wendy Gilmour
We always called them patties , dont know where the fritter lingo came from .
I remember as a child going to Nana McFadyen in Hokitika and my father digging it into the garden as no freezers then , Nana always cooked our patties and made the mint s… See More
Val Whittaker
I remember those special days white baiting on the Cobden side with the net my brother Gordon made me so much white bait every one was sick of it so you couldn’t give it away amazing when you think of it Today very scarce
· Reply · 44m
Lynda Bellaney
Mum and Nana used a little flour. I liked them better with the flour
Mary Hall
No flour in my mum's patties either.Onlywbitebait and egg
Megan Webster
My mum (Anna Therese Webster nee Smith) gave me Jean Smiths whitebait pattie recipe. It's 1 egg per cup of whitebait
1 teaspoon cornflour per egg
salt & pepper
Fry in melted butter.
Wendy Gilmour
Megan Webster 6 to 8 eggs to pint of whitebait, no cornflour dont know where that comes from , pinch of salt and Nana always cooked in dripping, she would be about 120 yrs old now and the whitebait was just about still jumping when she was mixing it in her big porcelain bowl
Wendy Gilmour
Megan Webster 6 to 8 eggs to pint of whitebait, no cornflour dont know where that comes from , pinch of salt and Nana always cooked in dripping, she would be about 120 yrs old now and the whitebait was just about still jumping when she was mixing it… See More
Elaine Bolitho
I have the feeling West Coast whitebait fritters were/are more generously baited than those in the rest of the country! But still enjoyed the fritters from whitebait Dad caught in the North Branch of the Waimakariri in Kaiapoi in the 1940s..
Leslie McKendry
Apart fromPatties, we also had whitebait poached in milk, and whitebait lightly floured, then fried in butter. All 3 ways were delicious.
Phyllis Aberhart
No batter just cooked in beaten eggs a otherwise its sacrilege
Julie Taylor
I remember when I was growing up there we would have so much whitebait we would buried it in the garden wouldn’t dream of doing that now our mum used to mix the whitebait with eggs and a touch of milk
Sheryl Iraia
Patties just egg and whitebait eaten with mint sauce. Or poached in milk. Pepper and salt of course.
Kerry Molloy
Mum used to cook the patties buggered if i can remember her recipe .I do remember in the later part of my TF army career in CHCH that Danny Stribling barman at the Sgts &WOs mess at Addington often spoke of a maori lady in kaikoura a ?pub cook whose fo… See More
Nikky Lohmann
My grandparents would get two extra buckets. One for the chooks and one for the garden! Just eggs in our patties.
Wayne Madden
Pffft I got whitebait and ice cream we had that much
Margaret Mckee
Just egg and teaspn flour. Always fresh mint sauce on the side
Bronwen Skates
whitebait patties with just eggs , sprinkle of flour , plenty of whitebait and a hot pan either butter or fat whatever you prefer and served with fresh white bread , yum ,
Cheryl Pinn
I remember having to go to the Green and the middle wall as a kid with mum.Or the nuns telling us"there's a run on.You have to go to your grandmothers for lunch'' Always called them patties and had mint sauce with them
Janine Ram
Never had it befor so no idea
Lexie Aynsley
YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING THEY JUST LOVERLY TO EAT IN PATTIES
Jeanette Hall
love them in batter as patties
Karen Glen
Love them like your mum used to make NZ
Tanya Bruce
Had some saturday night...yummy
Al Va
Same our mum used to fry our whitebait Up in fat it tasted real nice also our father put it on our garden.we sent our whitebait on the rail car to be sold then wait for our cheque to arrive in the post we lived in Cameron’s then love to have my child hood back again.
Linda Young
my mother just beat up an egg and added salt and pepper and fried in butter
John Rawcliffe
500gm one egg - that's it ok touch of salt and pepper
Terry Bradley
Mum said they almost lived on whitebait during the depression.
She used to go with her dad and would have a little fry-up in a tobacco tin as he caught them. She said he would also dig the surplus into the garden.
Terry MJ
Dug much of that beautiful Greymouth bait into the garden myself in the late 40's and 50's. No fridge in those days, neighbours did'nt want it as they had plenty, couldnt give it away. Sold about 4 pints of fresh bait to a cafe in Grey one time and got a shilling for it, was a good deal in those days haha !!!
Brenda Brown
Whitebait patties
Barry Sheard
Mum cooked them in batter too.
Liz Hay
I think my mother was one of the first to fry the patties in oil. Much better than lard. Lots of whitebait in each patty. We took them to school in our lunchboxes.
To make scoop nets, we children would get mutton bags from the butcher, attach them to round hoops made out of supplejack from the bush, which were attached to poles. The mutton bags were made of soft, porous material, and ideal for catching and holding a 'pudding' at the bottom. The fun we had, fishing in the local creek, and the delight if we came home with a pint or two!
And yes, my father remembered when there was a run on, walking down 2 blocks to the Hokitika River and putting a bucket in to drag out the bait, to be carried home and dug into the vege garden.
Caroline Dunlop
Whitebait and eggs as patties cooked in butter and oil.
Margaret Malloch
Oh my what great times could have whitebait every day if wanted just taken for granted
Denis King
Loose whitebait, fried in butter with pinch of garlic, and parsley, served loose on buttered toast.
Dorothy Wills
Yes when you think of that and then the price you pay now for 100grms it’s a sorry sight
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West Coast New Zealand History (21st Nov 2024). Whitebait - Wriggilus Evadus.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 12th Apr 2026 06:34, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/28872