Memento stones placed on the war memorial. Photo / Denise Stephens
Memento stones placed on the war memorial. Photo / Denise Stephens
The Anzacs who marched from Featherston are remembered in a sculpture that points towards Wellington and their waiting troopships, writes Denise Stephens
Nine bronze columns lean towards the Remutaka Range, recalling the route thousands of New Zealanders followed on their way to war. They marched from Featherston Camp, through the town and up over the hill. Old wooden shops from that era still line Featherston's main street, Fitzherbert St, along with more recent reminders of Featherston's military heritage.
The Featherston Camp Sculpture in Fitzherbert Street. Photo / Denise Stephens
The Featherston Camp sculpture was installed in 2018 in the centre of town to mark the relationship between Featherston and the camp. It shows World War I soldiers heading to Wellington to board their troopships, some on foot carrying rifles and kit bags, and others on horseback. Nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders who served in the war trained at the camp and for some soldiers, the march along this road would be among their last memories of home.
A small reserve now marks the site of Featherston Camp a couple of kilometres along State Highway 2. Wandering among the trees, I came across a tree leaning from years of being battered by the wind. According to a nearby plaque, it was descended from Gallipoli's Lone Pine and came from Melbourne's Garden of Memories. This was such a surprising find that later I asked a museum volunteer if the tree really came from the Lone Pine, and she assured me that yes, it really did.
Memorial to Private Pelvin, the guard killed during the Featherston incident. Photo / Denise Stephens
Further on, more plaques hinted at a tragedy that occurred when Featherston Camp became a prisoner of war camp during World War II. A New Zealand guard and 48 Japanese prisoners were killed in an incident arising from cultural misunderstanding. A memorial grove of cherry trees provided welcome shade on a hot summer day, with a nearby sign showing the trees full of glorious pink blossom in spring. I sat there for a while, listening to the sound of cicadas and passing cars, the air smelling faintly of grass and manure. The camp buildings have long gone and paddocks now cover where they once were.
The size of the operation became apparent when I visited the Featherston Heritage Museum. The museum covers the general history of the area, with a large room filled with images and artefacts telling the story of Featherston Camp in both world wars.
Photos and plans showed rows of huts and tents that housed thousands of troops from the camp's opening in 1916 through to the end of the war. The camp was a self-contained town with its own railway station, post office, and hospital. Nearby Featherston was a small community of 700 people that became a social hub for off-duty soldiers. Locals fundraised to build a social club for them, the Anzac Club, which is still in use as a community hall a couple of blocks away.
The grove of cherry trees planted in memory of the Japanese Prisoners of War. Photo / Denise Stephens
The camp was revived during World War II to hold hundreds of Japanese prisoners. Photos showed them working on local farms and making concrete products. Cabinets displayed painted wooden panels and sticks, carved by prisoners in their free time and given to their guards. The colourful traditional Japanese motifs would have reminded the prisoners of their homeland, while being an exotic novelty to the guards. One exhibit was devoted to the Featherston incident, explaining the cultural misunderstandings that led to panic and death, and how it wasn't reported at the time.
There was more history to be discovered at New Zealand's only specialist military history bookshop, Messines Bookshop, a few minutes walk further along Fitzherbert St. A history of Featherston Camp sat among the new books on the front table, while second-hand books on the shelves covered wars from all eras. Owner Lincoln Gould told me he named his shop after Featherston's twin town in Belgium, where New Zealand soldiers are remembered for their part in the Battle of Messines, a major victory in World War I.
View of Fitzherbert St, showing one of the bookshops. Photo / Denise Stephens
Looking through the shop window, I could see the local war memorial. Like many other New Zealand towns, Featherston built a memorial to local men who died while serving in World War I. Their names are etched into stone panels while the faraway places they fought are set in concrete above — France, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The garden surrounding the memorial was obviously well maintained, and someone had placed a small memento on the memorial steps — stones painted with poppies and the message "Lest we forget". The men who marched from Featherston are long gone, but they are not forgotten.
FEATHERSTON MUST SEES
C'est Cheese
This specialist cheese shop, deli, and cafe stocks artisan cheese from around New Zealand, as well as its own Remutaka Pass cheeses. cestcheese.co.nz
Fell Locomotive Museum
A Fell locomotive that once hauled trains up the steep Remutaka Incline is preserved here, surrounded by images and artefacts telling the story of an engineering marvel. fellmuseum.org.nz
Booktown With several second-hand bookshops, Featherston offers hours of happy browsing to book lovers. A festival held every May celebrates its Booktown status. booktown.org.nz
CHECKLIST: FEATHERSTON
For information on other Featherston sights and activities, see wairarapanz.com/featherston
