Spectacular new heritage photos in U.S. Marines Memorial display in Queen Elizabeth Park
Eighty-two years after the U.S.Marines left New Zealand the public can view, previously unseen large-format-photographs of their encampment in Queen Elizabeth Park, as part of a new interpretive display.
The display is part of a major up-grade of the U.S.Marines Memorial, currently being undertaken by the Kapiti U.S.Marines Trust (KUSMT).
KUSMT Chair, Major Larry Keim says the new display is a tribute to the hard work and talent of volunteers contractors and and tradies who’ve “all turned out a quality project”.
Thanks to the generosity of the Lotteries Community Fund, the superb talent of WWII cinematographer, Sgt Norm Hatch and the 2nd Marine Division photographic unit, some of the photographs from their original 1943 collection are now on permanent display in the park - commemorating the short but dramatic life of the former Camp Russell and its men.
Between 1942 and 1944 over 15,000 U.S. Marines were stationed in three large camps (Mackay, Russell, and Paekākāriki). At the time there were only 500 residents living in Paekākāriki - this set the scene for an extraordinary wartime story that had a long-lasting impact on Kiwis and Americans alike.
Telling this story, is the business of KUSMT, established in 2010 by the former Mayor of Kapiti, Jenny Rowan.
Camp Russell was the last of the three Paekākāriki Camp sites built in 1942. It was home to 4,850 men from the 6th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division.
The site is now home to the U.S. Marines Memorial, opened in June 1992 to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Marines encampment (1942-44). The Sailors Memorial, remembering 10 U.S. Navy servicemen who drowned off our coast in 1943 was opened in 2012 and is also part of the precinct.
A feature of the new signage is a panel, entitled: ‘The Land and the People’, acknowledging the early occupation in the park and way of life of Ngati Toa Rangatira, Ngati Haumia and Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai.
Other panels tell the story of two years when the whole of Queen Elizabeth Park and its beaches was a training area for our young visitors. On Guadalcanal and in the Battle of Tarawa nearly 1000 of these temporary New Zealanders would die and thousands more suffered wounds and tropical disease. The US Marines Memorial recognises our enduring memories and their sacrifice.
The newly up-graded Memorial will be blessed and opened on Saturday November 7 at 10am., as part of the Wellington Heritage Festival.
The Trust warmly invites members of the public to attend.