First camps prepared troops for battle

TENT CITY: Tauherenikau Camp, taken just days after being pitched on Herbert Williams' farm. This was in the Auckland Weekly News, August 5, 1915.PHOTO/SIR GEORGE GREY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, AUCKLAND LIBRARIES, AWNS-19150805-43-1

BEFORE Featherston Military Training Camp opened in January 1916, southern Wairarapa already had two army camps in operation. Tauherenikau and Papawai camps were set up 100 years ago, in July and August respectively.

The July 1915 health scare at Trentham Camp caused the army to evacuate 5000 of the 7000 men in training. The infantry shifted up the west coast to Waikanae, Rangiotu and Foxton. The mounted rifles, artillery and engineers moved up to the Wairarapa, with the mounteds crossing over the Rimutaka Hill Road by horse.

Although the intention was to use the 1911 Territorial training camp site near the Tauherenikau Racecourse, the army actually used the racecourse itself, with tents pitched within the racetrack and horse-lines near the entrance. The tea pavilion was established as a hospital for infectious cases, and the stewards' stand as a convalescent ward.

A few days later, a group of locals metalled the racecourse entrance to prevent horse hooves cutting up the ground. James Allen, Minister of Defence, visited the new camp a few days after it was established. He noted that the site was well-drained and the wet weather had not prevented the camp operating, although wooden floors for the tents were urgently needed.

The public inquiry into health problems at Trentham resulted in newspapers getting frequent updates from the camps on numbers of sick soldiers. On July 29, the tally in Tauherenikau and Greytown Hospital was: measles, 14; sore throats, 2; rheumatism, 2; lymphangitis, 1; varicocele, 1; varicose, 1, minor surgical cases, 5; colic, 1; lumbago, 1; bronchitis and asthma, 1 - with an assurance that none were serious cases.

A proposal fostered by the new camp was to build a light railway from Featherston to Tauherenikau - to be linked with the planned Featherston-Martinborough railway, the first sod of which was turned on July 20, 1914. This never eventuated.

The racecourse camp was to be short-lived. The Wairarapa Daily-Times of July 27 reported "The Tauherenikau camp has been removed to a site on the Moroa plains, about a mile from the racecourse, and on the opposite side of the Greytown road the 7th Infantry Corps (actually the 7th Reinforcement) will be located".

This was on the land of Herbert Williams and the camp was in a landscape of stony ground and manuka trees. By August 5, the Auckland Weekly News could publish a camp photo showing rows of bell tents among the scrub.

Troops from other temporary camps came to Tauherenikau and it was from here that the 7th Reinforcement set out in September for the first Rimutaka march. Camp numbers built up and according to reports, there were times when 4000 soldiers were encamped.

After Featherston opened, with the 10th Reinforcement changing camps on January 24, 1916, it seemed Tauherenikau might retire. However it was used as a spill-over camp when numbers grew too large for Featherston.

Late in 1917, C.1 Camp, for recruits whose health or fitness was lacking, was moved to Tauherenikau. This system combed through men previously rejected for military service. About half of the C.1 men later went into proper army training.

In 1917, the Defence Department bought the William farm. This allowed the tent camp to be moved periodically to fresh ground, and for vegetables and fodder crops to be grown for the camps. A pig farm also operated.

Shooting at Papawai

One of the reasons for an army camp at Trentham had been the extensive rifle ranges ready for use. When troops moved to the Wairarapa another shooting venue was also available at Papawai, established in the 1880s.

When the 7th Reinforcement came to the Wairarapa in August 1915, one of the companies set up camp at the north end of the rifle range for a week's shooting. The companies took turns at the range and from this time Papawai Camp became a fixture during the war.

Reflecting the changes in warfare, machine gun pits were placed along the Ruamahanga River bank near Papawai, with targets across the river. Specialist machine gunners carried out live firing of Maxim/Vickers and Lewis guns before going to the real war on the Western Front.

Papawai Camp closed as soon as the war ended and the buildings were removed quickly. Although overshadowed by Featherston Military Camp, Tauherenikau and Papawai played important roles in New Zealand's World War 1 effort.