auckland

The troops arrive

The invasion began in Auckland on 12 June 1942 when five transport ships carrying soldiers of the US army (or 'doughboys' as they were called) sailed into the harbour. Two days later marines (or 'leathernecks') landed in Wellington. They had arrived as a result of the outbreak of war in the Pacific six months before. From the New Zealand perspective the Americans strengthened New Zealand's defences against possible Japanese attack; while the Americans saw New Zealand as a valuable source of supply and a staging post for operations against the Japanese in the Pacific.

Maori watch Auckland grow, about 1843. The painting is by Edward Ashworth.

The Beatles did two back-to-back shows in Auckland, on 24 and 25 June. Auckland fans were as riotous as those in Wellington. The music went almost unnoticed as everyone commented on the audience: 'Yes, they certainly did Auckland proud, that audience which provided squeals of such volume, the uproar and the footwork under the seats. The Beatles? After all, you can’t watch everything at once,' said concert reviewer Pat Booth.

Resembling a modern European or Asian metro station, Auckland’s gleaming Britomart Transport Centre has helped boost rail commuter patronage in this sprawling, car-dominated city. The planned electrification of the Auckland urban network, due to be completed by 2013, will see peak-hour trains running every 10 minutes. Commuter patronage is expected to rise from the current six million passenger trips a year to 30 million by 2030. Growth on this scale would require Britomart’s redevelopment as a through station with an underground loop through the central business district.

‘Lady voters’ approach the polling booth at the Drill Hall in Rutland Street, just off Queen Street, Auckland, on 6 December 1899. Despite its striking novelty in international terms, the presence of women at the polling booths – if not yet on the hustings or in Parliament – soon became an accepted part of New Zealand’s political scene. The number of women enrolled as electors climbed steadily from 109,461 in 1893 to 163,215 in 1899 and to 212,876 in 1905.

Newspaper advertisement for The Beatles' concerts in Auckland on 24 and 25 June 1964