By Roger Childs
It offers an opportunity to look at never before seen photographs of the park as it was when the US Marines were encamped there during WWII.
Six new large format interpretive signs
At 11.00 on Saturday 7 November, heading home along the Kapiti Expressway the heavens opened and reduced visibility to virtually nil. It didn’t last long and fortunately had not occurred during the opening ceremony of the refurbished Memorial an hour earlier.
About 40 people were present to hear President of the Kapiti-US Marines Trust, Marines Major (retired) Larry Keim, local historian Anthony Dreaver and two representatives from local tribes speak about the significance of the Memorial on the site of what was Camp Russell, and what it showed.
The event was part of the Wellington Heritage Festival. The new signs are similar in style to the superb Camp Paekakariki Memorial near the southern entrance into Queen Elizabeth Park.
Covering many elements of the Marines experience in Kapiti
The original plaques of the Memorial near Mackays Crossing were very good, but the new ones are larger, more colourful and include more information and visuals. Many of the photos were taken by the excellent wartime American photographer and filmmaker Norm Hatch.
The refurbished Memorial will be a more appealing tourist attraction along with the restored Marines hut which was constructed by the Men’s Shed in Waikanae, and the piece of landing craft which commemorates the ten sailors who drowned off Whareroa Beach in June 1943 after a landing craft capsized.
There is clearly plenty to see on the Camp Russell site.
Remembering our history accurately
In early 1942 Allied leaders Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill agreed that New Zealand should be defended by American forces, mainly Marines, in the event of a Japanese invasion.
Thousands of American servicemen, mainly Marines, were despatched south and arrived in Auckland and Wellington in June 1942 in what became known as “The Friendly Invasion”.
They occupied temporary settlements that were rapidly constructed in places like the Kapiti Coast, where Camps Mackay, Russell and Paekakariki housed more than 10,000 Marines at any one time. The coastal village of Paekakariki with a population of 530 was transformed by the presence of the friendly and well-paid Americans.
The Kapiti area was perfect for military training in preparation for the fight back against the Japanese in the Pacific – there were beaches for practising landings and nearby forested hills for simulating jungle fighting in the Pacific Islands.
It is important that we remember what the Americans did and were prepared to do at that crucial time in our history.
The updated Marines Memorial on the Camp Russell site and the Camp Paekakariki Memorial at the southern end of Queen Elizabeth Park, accessible from Wellington Road, Paekakariki are wonderful sources of the history of those dangerous times. The accuracy is guaranteed by the expertise of Larry Keim and Anthony Dreaver, backed up by the photography of Norm Hatch.
If you haven’t been, get along and see
- The refurbished Memorial on the Camp Russell site
- The honouring of the drowned sailors
- The restored Marines hut
- The Camp Paekakariki Memorial
- The museum displays at the Paekakariki Railway Station.