Camp may become national heritage site

HISTORY: This brick wall at the north end of the old training camp site still stands and is thought to have been a backstop for the rifle range. PHOTOS/SUPPLIED

Wairarapa war historian Neil Frances has welcomed news a Featherston farm site with a strong military connection to both world wars may soon get the national recognition it deserves.

Heritage New Zealand is considering declaring the old Featherston Military Camp land a category 1 historic place.

"The site's archaeological value was recognised in 2011 but this proposal would give the entire site the highest category value available from Heritage New Zealand," Mr Frances said.

He said he had walked the site with two Heritage New Zealand officials. "Neither had been there before and they were both visibly impressed with what they saw."

Featherston Military Training Camp was a dominant feature in Wairarapa from 1916-18, when more than 60,000 men from throughout New Zealand passed through before seeing active service.

Years later, it was used as a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in World War II. It was where 48 Japanese prisoners and a New Zealand soldier, Wattie Pelvin, were killed when guards were ordered to open fire on rioting prisoners in 1943.

Included on the site is a 6-metre high brick wall used as a backstop for the rifle range.

Mr Frances said it was at the northern end of where the camp barracks once stood.

"It is on private land owned by the Hodder family, who luckily are interested in the history of the old camp.

"The wall is in remarkable condition, bearing in mind it was built a century ago, and it is a tribute to the public works bricklayers who built it," Mr Frances said.

Heritage New Zealand is inviting written submissions on the proposal for a category 1 listing by November 3 and has posted a full report online at www.heritage.org.nz.

In part, the report recommends South Wairarapa District Council include "the extent of the Featherston Military Training Camp in the district plan".

That would ensure the long-term conservation of the site. A further recommendation is for the council to acquire a section of the site for a war memorial "of national significance, with provision for ongoing maintenance and interpretive signage".

Heritage New Zealand central region area co-ordinator David Watt said this year was a "poignant time in our history", marking the centenary of World War I starting and next year the Anzac landing at Gallipoli.

"Both world wars shaped our identity, particularly World War I, which many consider forged our identity as a nation in our own right. To have this site in the heart of Wairarapa is special."

In 2011, parts of the camp were declared an archaeological site. Memorials and plantings in the council reserve opposite the camp's main entrance include international links to Belgium and Japan. "The camp has national and international significance, as well as being particularly sacred for those whose loved ones died there," Mr Watt said. "As well as the riot, a number of returned servicemen died at the camp as a result of the 1918 flu epidemic.

"The camp is a rare location in New Zealand used as a military training camp and a prisoner of war camp. Few places can be associated with the story of New Zealand's war efforts in such detail."

The Heritage New Zealand Board will consider the proposal and review public submissions at its meeting in December.