Economic impact - US Forces in New Zealand

Economic Impact

The presence of thousands of well-paid Americans in the country and a large army to service brought about a minor economic boom in New Zealand and some long-term effects on local patterns of commerce. Dry cleaners, taxi drivers, and milk bars did well; there was increased activity on the wharves; and market gardeners came under pressure to grow more cabbages for the soldiers in the Pacific.

Servicing the military machine

The individual leatherneck and doughboy were not the only customers for cash-strapped Kiwis. The American military machine placed its own large demands on the New Zealand economy. The construction of the camps gave work, often under great pressure of time, to carpenters, plumbers and electricians. The administration of the bases gave jobs to typists, 'office girls' and women drivers. Then there were those who found work repairing jeeps, trucks, tanks and other machinery.

Ship-building was another industry which received an unexpected boost with a brief period of plentiful overtime and higher pay rates. Much of this work was paid for by the New Zealand Government under a reverse lend-lease arrangement (the provision of supplies to the Americans in return for their supply of war material to New Zealand).

The wharves were the 'frontline' of the invasion. All the equipment for the camps had to be unloaded; more importantly, New Zealand functioned as a supply base for Pacific operations. Ships from overseas or elsewhere in New Zealand had to be unloaded, the stores organised and then despatched to the appropriate Pacific theatre. However, relations on the wharf started off on a bad footing: for when the first group of marines arrived to prepare for the Guadalcanal landings, they discovered an industrial dispute in progress and were forced to do the work themselves at speed in cold Wellington rain.

In Auckland, waterside work increased so much that non-union labour was employed, and civil servants and other 40-hour-week workers were offered jobs during weekends and at night. This overtime work was, in comparative terms, extremely generously paid, and for a time in 1943 numbers of civilian employees were turning up to their daytime jobs exhausted from lucrative night work on the wharves.

An army marches on its stomach

New Zealand was a major supply base for the American forces in the Pacific; 36 per cent of all food received by American troops in the South Pacific came from this country. But farmers were already under pressure to provide both for the local market and for the British 'motherland'.

Canned meats were produced in large volume, as were potatoes. After some experimentation farmers discovered that they received more for their efforts by growing cabbages, the acreage of which multiplied to such an extent that eventually the Americans revolted. They had had enough, and substantial quantities were dumped at sea. In other respects the farming programme worked well; at times the Americans assisted in the effort by offering their labour to local market gardeners, which gave the 'land girls' working there 'an added thrill' in the words of the New Zealand Woman's Weekly.

Inevitably, the economic impact of a force the size of the Americans caused other tensions and distortions besides a surplus of cabbages and high wages for wharfies. As offices and accommodation were taken over in Wellington and Auckland, rents rose and the housing shortage intensified. At Christmas some New Zealanders grumbled when they found that there was not a turkey to be had. But these were no worse than the multitude of other distortions which war had brought; and, after a decade in which New Zealanders had experienced too few jobs and too little demand, the presence of thousands of Americans with money to spend was a bonanza that fulfilled their wildest dreams.

Separating servicemen from their money

The American serviceman was prepared to spend money. He was well paid, often came with back pay, and wanted to have a good time fast. He found the prices and coinage confusing. It was not hard to separate him from his money. At a time of rigid control and restraint in the domestic economy, here was an opportunity too good to miss. The result was a minor economic boom which had some long-term effects on local habits and patterns of commerce.

Some businesses already in existence suddenly found themselves in great demand. Certain pubs did well, as did some well-positioned cinemas. Dry-cleaners welcomed new custom; so did florists and taxi-drivers. Curio shops found their stock suddenly depleted. The French Maid coffee shop in Wellington gained a whole new circle of customers, as did the Green Parrot restaurant. Eating places adapted their menus. 'Steak and chips' became a favourite, while hot dogs and milkshakes were introduced.

New businesses also sprang up. Hollywood culture was so pervasive in 1942 that milk bars already existed; but the coming of the Americans hastened their spread. By 1943, in the Manners Street area of Wellington, you could find the Kiwi Milk Bar, the Pacific Grill Rooms, Webby's Dance Club and the Gaiety Club, all newly on the scene. Then there were the kids who exploited a new opportunity by offering shoe-shines to marines, and pestered them for tips or gifts of candy bars. At the end of 1942 the proper authorities of Wellington city banned them from the streets.

The invasion had an impact on patterns of commerce in New Zealand. Tipping - previously unknown - rapidly appeared. Commercial opportunities and fear of servicemen walking aimlessly in the streets led to a questioning of the traditional Sunday close-down. Gradually the towns around the camps opened grill rooms, milk bars and even cinemas on the Sabbath. Monetary inducements were such that habits of honesty came under threat. Liquor dealers found themselves trading after hours; taxi-drivers were tempted to overcharge innocent Americans.