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Installations of the United States Navy in New Zealand

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Coordinates: 41°18′S 174°47′E / 41.300°S 174.783°E / -41.300; 174.783
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United States Navy installations in New Zealand
A map of the hemisphere centred on New Zealand, using an orthographic projection.
Location of New Zealand dark green
• 
1942
(closed 1944)
Time zoneUTC+12 (NZST)

41°18′S 174°47′E / 41.300°S 174.783°E / -41.300; 174.783

The United States Navy maintained a number of naval installations in New Zealand during the Pacific War of World War II.

Many were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during as part of the Pacific War. New Zealand was used for staging and training troops before action and for R&R-rest and recreation after action. The Red Cross operated five dinning clubs. For the wounded, there were 19 hospitals in New Zealand that could handle up to 10,000 patients. Most Naval activities were at Naval Base Auckland and Naval Base Wellington. The bases were closed in 1944 as troops moved to more northern US bases.[1][2][3]

History

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The first troop arrived at New Zealand on 12 June 1942 at Waitematā Harbour in Auckland. The first troop arrived at Wellington Harbour at the city of Wellington on 14 June 1942 aboard the troopship USS Wakefield. The US ship to arrive at New Zealand was the USS President Polk (AP-103) on 6 January 1942 into Wellington's Queen's Wharf. The President Polk had 55 USAAF pilots and 55 Curtiss P-40 and 4 [Douglas C-53 aircraft aboard. The President Polk departed San Francisco to take aircraft to US Naval Base Philippines, but Philippines was not safe any longer. President Polk fuel in Wellington and was redirected to Naval Base Brisbane.[4] New Zealand entered World War II with Great Britain by declaring war on Nazi Germany in 1939. New Zealand had entered the war with Empire of Japan as the Royal New Zealand Navy had lost to ships to Japanese torpedoes on 10 December 1941: the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk by Japanese torpedoes. The war was close to home with Hong Kong taken on December 25, Singapore 15 February 1942. Then just 3198 miles (5146 km) 250 people were killed in the bombing attack on Darwin. As such most New Zealanders welcomed these US troops.

Camp Paekākāriki in 1943 in New Zealand
Landing Vehicle Tracked training in New Zealand in 1943
Camp Paekākārik US Troops departing New Zealand in 1943, as deployment to South Pacific War
Naval Mobile Base Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
US parade Through Auckland in 1943

New Zealand had asked the United Kingdom for help in protecting New Zealand. Winston Churchill requested Franklin D. Roosevelt send troops to New Zealand on 5 March 1942, so New Zealander troops could stay in Egypt as part of the North African campaign, Roosevelt agreed and sent troops. New Zealand and US Naval Base Australia became the staging for the Pacific War in the South West Pacific theatre, the Philippines, New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies. The Red Cross ran Red Cross clubs in Warkworth, Masterton, and at the Hotel Cecil near Wellington railway station. In Auckland Hotels there were officers Red Cross clubs and enlisted men's club. The clubs offered a slice of home with US food, library, table tennis and pool, music, and dance. The YMCA in Auckland held events for the troops also.[5][6] There were some problems like the Battle of Manners Street, a riot at Te Aro, Wellington on 3 April 1943.[7] In December 1942 there were over 15,000 US Troops in New Zealand. In 1943 and the first half of 1944 there were about 30,000 Troops stations in New Zealand. The troop were either getting ready to deploy or returning from action.[8] By the end of 1943 the war and moved closer to Japan and the US Navy had built new base closer to the action, so fewer troops were stationed at New Zealand. In October 1943 the Navy took the US Marines way. US Naval Base Auckland was closed October 1944.[9] About 1,500 New Zealand women joined Operation Magic Carpet as war brides and traveled to the United States.[1][10]

For the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, U.S. forces returned to New Zealand to set up supply lines for the US Antarctic Research Program. The U.S. presence in Antarctica was continued beyond 1957 and became Operation Deep Freeze. For many years there was a U.S. presence at Harewood Airport in Christchurch, which was then shifted to the new Christchurch International Airport. Military Airlift Command maintained a military airlift support detachment at the airport for many years, often using Air National Guard aircraft.[citation needed]

Bases in Auckland

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At Auckland there were many small, medium and large camps that could house 29,500 troops:

Devonport Naval Base

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Devonport Naval Base is the Royal New Zealand Navy's principal naval base and shipyard, in Auckland. The base and its drydocks were also used by the US Navy during World War II. At the base are the Calliope Drydock, Naval Health Unit, training base, a jetty used for training, and port operations.[14][15]

Wellington

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Troop camps for 21,000 troops:

Hutt

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Oriental Bay

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Boat Harbour at Oriental Bay was a major US Navy service and repair facility for landing craft. The Landing Craft were used in amphibious landing training near Wellington before the invasion of Tarawa. Before the expansion of Oriental Bay Base the Navy also used the Oriental Hotel for housing. Also at the base was small Naval hospital and dispensary. The hospital is now clubrooms of the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club. Ships arriving had Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) and Landing Craft Navigation (LCN) on board, some for training and others for upcoming operations.[33][34]

Seabees

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Main article: Seabees in World War II

United States Navy Construction Battalions ("Seabees"), did much construction work in New Zealand. Seabees were sent to New Zealand for rest and relaxation after building bases in the South Pacific, often around the clock. Seabee were sometimes also deployed to help the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and Royal New Zealand Navy. Turtle Bay Airfield at Naval Base Espiritu Santo and Kukum Field were some of the projects the Seabee worked with the RNZAF to build and operate. 6th Seabees rested and worked at the Victoria Park camp, also the Navy Mobile Hospital at Auckland. Seabees and troops at Naval Base Guadalcanal were sent to New Zealand for R&R after the Battle of Guadalcanal. At the end of the war the US bases were turned over to New Zealand.

  • Battalions that spent time in New Zealand were: 6, 11, 15, 18 24, 25, 27, 33, 35, 58, 63, and CBMU 502.[35][36]

Airfields

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Shared Royal New Zealand Air Force airbases during the war:

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "The camps". nzhistory.govt.nz.
  2. ^ a b "CHAPTER 14 — The American Invasion | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz.
  3. ^ Naval Base Aucklandpacificwrecks.com
  4. ^ US in New Zealandnzshipmarine.com
  5. ^ Harry Bioletti, The Yanks are coming: the American invasion of New Zealand 1942–1944, Century Hutchinson, Auckland, 1989
  6. ^ US troops in New Zealand, World War II[permanent dead link‍]tepapa.govt.nz
  7. ^ The Yanks are Coming: The American Invasion of New Zealand 1942-1944 by Harry Bioletti (1989, Century Hutchinson, Auckland) ISBN 1-86941-034-3
  8. ^ The Impact of American Forces in New Zealandvictoria.ac.nz
  9. ^ Denys Bevan, United States forces in New Zealand 1942–1945, Macpherson Publishing, Alexandra, 1992
  10. ^ US Forces in New Zealandnzhistory.govt.nz
  11. ^ US Navy Mobile Hospital AucklandUS Navy
  12. ^ Camp Halenzhistory.govt.nz
  13. ^ WW2 Camps in New Zealand nzhistory.govt.nz
  14. ^ Devonport Naval Basepacificwrecks.com
  15. ^ "Auckland Harbour". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  16. ^ "Wellington Harbour 1943". New Zealand Ship and Marine Society.
  17. ^ https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23136837 [bare URL]
  18. ^ https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22545475 [bare URL]
  19. ^ Naval Base Hospital US Navy
  20. ^ "Silverstream Hospital". Upper Hutt City Library.
  21. ^ "US Navy Hospital; Silverstream 1943". Upper Hutt City Library.
  22. ^ Wellington camps atlib.govt.nz
  23. ^ "Hotel St George - Wellington Heritage - Absolutely Positively Wellington City Council Me Heke Ki Poneke". wellingtoncityheritage.org.nz.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g US forces in New Zealand, The camps, nzhistory.govt.nz
  25. ^ "US forces camp in Central Park, Wellington". nzhistory.govt.nz.
  26. ^ a b "US FORCES IN NZ DURING 2nd WORLD WAR". New Zealand Ship and Marine Society.
  27. ^ "Home". Marinenz.com.
  28. ^ Camp Paekakariki 80 yearsnz.usembassy.gov
  29. ^ Camp McKay, nzhistory.govt.nz
  30. ^ History of the 206th 20Marines,usmcu.edu
  31. ^ Trentham Racecourse Hospital rootsweb.com
  32. ^ Professional-Journal-of-the-Royal-New-Zealand-Navy, December -2020nzdf.mil.nz
  33. ^ US Forces in New Zealandnzhistory.govt.nz
  34. ^ Marines in NZ nzhistory.govt.nz
  35. ^ Seabee HistoryUS Navy
  36. ^ Seabee Historyseabeesmuseum.com


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