The camps - US Forces in New Zealand

The US camps

American life in New Zealand between 1942 and 1944 was centred on the camps. Most of these were to be found within marching distance or a short train journey from Wellington or Auckland cities. Some of the soldiers were here to train for forthcoming battles on Pacific islands. They practised landings and jungle marches. Others had returned from the war and were here for rest and recreation or to recover their health; and there were some whose job was to provide the supplies for a modern army.

In the south, the major area of American settlement was on the Kapiti coast, the lovely area between the west coast beaches and the Tararua mountains. At Paekakariki there were two large settlements, Camp Russell (now Queen Elizabeth Park) and, on the other side of the highway, Camp McKay. Close by were further camps at Pauatahanui, Judgeford Valley and Titahi Bay. In all, more than 21,000 men were able to be accommodated in the area.

In Auckland there was a scattering of camps from Pukekohe and Papakura in the south to Mechanics Bay, Western Springs, and various parks on the Auckland isthmus. Here 29,500 could find accommodation. Two other places also hosted the Americans. North of Auckland in the Warkworth area a number of farm camps were set up, while Solway Park in Masterton had beds for some 2400 marines.

Many of the camp sites were quite small, and occupied land that had different memories and associations for New Zealanders. In Wellington, Anderson Park where boys had played cricket and Central Park where lovers had strolled were suddenly covered in huts. The Hutt Park raceway was no longer the home for horses but for American soldiers. In Auckland, the huge sweep of lawn in front of the Auckland War Memorial Museum became transformed by regular lines of army huts. And in Wellington and Auckland cities a remarkable number of buildings played host to the Americans. In the capital, Hannahs Building, the Bank of New Zealand, Odlins and Tisdalls served as stores or offices. It was difficult, if you lived in these two centres, not to be made visually aware of the invasion.

Camp conditions

Camp life must have seemed spartan if you landed directly from the United States (some soldiers were no more than 17 years old), comfortable if you arrived from the heat of a Pacific battle. At first most of the Americans lived in pyramid-shaped tents, but increasingly they moved into two-, four- or occasionally eight- man huts. There was often no electric light or heat, and the louvred windows let in the cold and the damp. Men brought up in the central heating of American suburban homes found New Zealand winters unpleasant.

Soldiers lined up with their own mess gear at the cookhouse and ate in mess rooms with tables of bare wood. Food was plentiful, and cooked as far as possible in a traditional American style. But the local staples, especially fatty lamb ('god-damned mountain-goat'), were less easy for the visitors either to cook or to eat. All the larger camps had stores where American products - cigarettes, Coca-Cola - could be bought. The camps did their best to make the men feel at home amid the bush and the sandhills.

The camp drill

The first bugle call was at 6 am and the men were at physical drill 10 minutes later. The subsequent routine depended on where you had come from and where you were headed. Those arriving fresh from the United States were here to be trained for battles on Pacific islands. There were few ceremonial parades in full dress uniform, although all stood to attention at sunset when 'Old Glory' was hauled down. There were long route marches to toughen up young city slickers and scouting missions in the Tararua Ranges to get the men used to tropical jungle; artillerymen learnt how to fire under camouflage; landings on Pacific beaches were practised on the Petone foreshore, at Eastbourne, and more ambitiously on Mahia Peninsula near Gisborne. When reality finally dawned at Guadalcanal and Tarawa, these practices must have seemed innocent and pleasant in the extreme.

When the horror of the Pacific war got too much, the men might return to New Zealand. Some came simply for what a later generation described as 'R & R' (rest and recreation): a period of good food, good times and peace in which the body could recover and the mind let go its nightmares. Others, less fortunate, returned on stretchers. Some were wounded, more came back suffering the fevers of malaria. In all, 19 hospitals were set up to take almost 10,000 patients. Cornwall Park in Auckland and Silverstream in Wellington were the sites of major institutions. To provide care and the human warmth of a familiar female accent, a considerable number of American nurses came to New Zealand. This was not just a male invasion.

Men too worked at providing the backup support for a modern army. The most important were the Quartermaster Corps, who took over large warehouses and areas of the wharves, procured local goods, and packed them off to the war zone in the Pacific. New Zealand conditions added certain difficulties to these tasks. Wet winters, periodic disputes with the 'wharfies', and the restricted range of vegetables available were not the least of the problems. Though locals at times muttered about the Americans' fondness for machinery (they introduced fork-lifts to New Zealand), all were impressed with their efficiency and thoroughness.

Tragedy at Paekakariki:

There was extensive press censorship of the American presence in New Zealand. The newspapers were not permitted to write anything about the invasion until November 1942, and thereafter the news was strictly controlled. One unfortunate episode that was never reported concerned the drownings of marines on the Paekakariki coast near Wellington in June 1943. The marine units were engaged in practising landings from the sea in preparation for combat in the Pacific. All went smoothly until the third practice on June 20. It was almost exactly mid winter, the weather deteriorated, a swell rose and it was 8.30 at night and very dark. The very last boat of the day grounded on a sand bar and then a large wave swamped it and men were thrown into the heavy surf. Marines pulled some survivors from the water, but official reports say one officer and eight men drowned and their bodies were washed ashore. Unofficial rumour suggests many more than this may have died.

Location of US military camps in New Zealand

Auckland/Northland

• Whangarei area: Three Mile Bush; Maungatapere
• Warkworth area: Riverina HQ, Wilson Rd (3 camps); Rodney Showgrounds; Goatley's Road (4 camps); The Knoll; Old Great North Road; Camp (L. Beresford's land); Woodcock's Road (3); Carran's Road; Wylie's Road; Falls Road; Perry's Road; Matakana (2); Dome Camp (Kaipara Flats);Whangateau; Artillery Range, Tapora; Pakiri Beach.
• Auckland: Mechanics Bay; Auckland Domain (Inner); Auckland Domain (Camp Hale); Victoria Park; Cambria Park (Puhinui); Waikaraka Park (Onehunga); Camp Bunn (Tamaki) ; Mangere Crossing; Western Springs

Wellington/Kapiti/ Wairarapa

• Paekakariki area: Paekakariki; Camp Russell; McKay's Crossing; Judgeford Valley; Pauatahanui; Titahi Bay; Plimmerton; Paraparaumu
• Wellington/Hutt: Hutt Park; Kaiwharawhara Park Road; Anderson Park; Central Park
• Masterton: Memorial Park; Solway Showground