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War Economy

Details of Public Works Expenditure

Details of Public Works Expenditure

Public Works expenditure is available in detail for each year. The tables, though large, are worth reproducing for the picture they give of the onset of the various types of construction work.1 For example, the item ‘Machine Gun Posts’ appeared with a small expenditure in 1941–42, and a substantial expenditure in 1942–43. Japan had entered the war in December 1941. In 1942–43, there

1 See pp. 2337. Adapted from tables on pp. 76–80, Vol. I, Official War History of the Public Works Department.

page 231 was substantial expenditure for the United States Forces which increased into 1943–44.

The Australian port of Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in February 1942; and in 1942–43 there appeared in the New Zealand accounts the first large expenditure on anti-aircraft defences. Perhaps an even more significant indicator of the feelings of the time, the first expenditure on underground operational centres was recorded in the same year.

The year 1942–43 saw also the first large expenditures on coastal defences, harbour defences and controlled mine bases; and again, a significant acknowledgment that shore-based defences might prove inadequate, there was considerable expenditure from 1942–43 on ‘Military Roading (including tank obstacles and road-blocks)’.

Some Government activities to assist wartime industries are also revealed. For example, from 1940–41 to 1942–43, there was substantial expenditure on linen flax factories and, in 1943–44 and 1944–45, on dehydration factories.1

The item ‘Prisoner of War Camps’ appeared for the first time in 1942–43, followed by larger expenditure in 1943–44. The first 450 prisoners of war arrived in September 1942 and were held in Featherston, on the site of a World War I military camp. This camp ultimately held about 800 Japanese prisoners. They were to be returned to Japan in January 1946.

For the first three years of war, until the 1942–43 burst of defence construction activity in preparation for a possible Japanese invasion and to accommodate United States forces, the largest construction expenditures tended to be those on behalf of the RNZAF. This work involved mainly the construction of new airfields and stations. The following brief summary appeared in the 1946 Year-book;2

‘In September 1939, the only two Air Force stations which were occupied and functioning as such were the Flying Training School at Wigram and the depot at Hobsonville. Other stations at Ohakea, Whenuapai, Blenheim, and Taieri had reached varying stages of completion. The building programme necessary to meet

1 See Chapter 8 for discussion of the linen flax industry and of services vegetable production. Some services vegetable orders required dehydration, which was also valuable in avoiding waste, when production and orders were not synchronised.

2 New Zealand Official Yearbook, p. 181. The same page gives a complete list of stations in New Zealand and the Pacific area occupied at one time or another during the war by the RNZAF.

New Zealand Stations: Anderson Park, Ashburton, Gisborne, Harewood, Kaikohe, Kerikeri, Linton, Mangere, Nelson, Norwood, Omaka, Palmerston North, Rongotai, Remuera, Swanson, Tauranga, Te Pirita, Waipapakauri, Whenuapai, Woodbourne, Ardmore, Delta, Hamilton, Hobsonville, Kaitaia, Levin, Mangaroa, Masterton, New Plymouth, Ohakea, Onerahi, Rukuhia, Rotorua, Seagrove, Taieri, Te Awamutu, Te Rapa, Waharoa, and Wigram.

Pacific Stations: Bougainville, New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Halavo Bay, Green Island, Emirau, Los Negros, Jacquinot Bay, Espiritu Santo, New Caledonia, Fiji (Suva), Lauthala Bay, Nandi, Nausori, Tonga, Norfolk Island, Kaneohe, and Funafuti.

page 232 the requirements of the War Training Organization was comenced, and soon afterwards had to be revised to cope with the needs of the Empire Air Training Scheme.

‘By March, 1941, the construction to the requirements then visualised had been completed, or was in hand, at the following fourteen stations, at a total approximate cost of £4,448,000. New Plymouth, Whenuapai, Hobsonville, Ohakea, Levin, Woodbourne, Harewood, Wigram, Taieri, Omaka, Tauranga, Nelson, Waipapakauri, and Rongotai.

‘The expansion necessary to meet the Japanese threat, and the need to accommodate the large numbers of United States air units which it was proposed to base in this country, necessitated a further drastic increase in the building programme in 1942. By March, 1943, some 37 RNZAF stations were in operation in New Zealand, the total construction costs being £11,470,000.

‘The improvement in the Pacific war situation from the end of 1943 onwards resulted in a progressive diminution in the number of stations.’

Nearly all the construction work for the United States forces occurred in the two years 1942–43 and 1943–44. Some exceptionally fast work was done, including the initial camp at McKay's Crossing, Paekakariki, and the hospital buildings in Auckland.1 A Public Works Department report says:2 ‘In the Wellington district the most noteworthy achievement was the erection within less than six weeks of camps in the Paekakariki area for over 20,000 US Marines. Other camps were built in and around the city, in the Hutt Valley, and at Masterton. Huge blocks of stores sprang up along the Wellington waterfront, in the Hutt Valley, and at Paekakariki.’

The same report says:

‘… in the Auckland district, camp and barracks accommodation was built for 29,510 personnel, containing 4,421 buildings covering a total floor area of 1,113,316 square feet. Three hospitals provided beds for 4,500 patients, in 251 buildings of an aggregate floor area of 1,005,000 square feet. New blocks of stores in and around Auckland were made up of 174 buildings of a total area of 1,733,467 square feet, of which 1,624,760 square feet was storage space.

‘Corresponding figures for the Wellington district were: camps and barracks for 26,542 personnel in 2,505,925 square feet of tents, buildings and huts; hospital beds for 2,340 patients in 59 buildings and 115 huts covering an area of 151,341 square feet; and 752,480 square feet of new storage space.’

All these figures are exclusive of a very considerable area of existing accommodation made available to the Americans.

1 See also p. 241.

2 Official War History of the Public Works Department, Vol. I, p. 44.

page break
black and white photograph of troop ship

arrival of united states forces
Wellington, June 1942. For the next two years there were usually about 25,000 United States servicemen in camps in New Zealand

black and white photograph of soldier and horse

sustenance for a united states marine
Making friends with a City Milk Department horse on the Wellington wharves

page break
black and white photograph of army camp

marine corps camp
McKay's Crossing, near Paekakariki. Camps and other buildings valued at £6 million were constructed by New Zealanders for use by the United States Forces

black and white photograph of soldiers working on electric lines

services for united states camps
Installing power at the New Zealand built camp for United States Marines at Anderson Park, Wellington

page break
black and white photograph of food delivery

food for united states forces
A United States Marine taking delivery of bacon. Foodstuffs valued at over £41 million were supplied to American forces in New Zealand and the Pacific

black and white aeriel photograph of warehouse

warehouses built for the u.s.j.p.b.
These buildings at Gracefield, Hutt Valley, were later used as War Assets Realisation Board stores

page break
black and white photograph of construction site

construction under reverse lend-lease
Constructing a shipyard at Auckland for the United States Navy

black and white photograph of New Zealand brides

brides for the united states
1400 New Zealand girls married United States servicemen

page 233
Gross Expenditure on Defence Works by Public Works Department
ARMY WORKS
£(000)
1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 Total
1. Military Camps 1,095 1,209 517 2,723 1,244 487 274 7,550
2. Coastal Fortifications and Gun Emplacements 142 135 343 794 682 205 102 2,402
3. Anti-Aircraft Defences 6 20 6 356 160 18 4 569
4. Magazines 9 15 7 278 529 70 30 939
5. Guard Stations 4 4 23 43 16 2 1 93
6. Underground Operational Centres 62 36 2 100
7. Office, Storage, and Workshops, etc. Accommodation (excluding capital cost of new stores) 12 13 30 79 88 35 19 276
8. Bulk Fuel Stores (including splinter proofing and camouflage) 36 19 5 10 70
9. Internment Camps 1 2 1 107 11 8 129
10. Prisoner of War Camps 21 128 56 23 228
11. Camouflage 24 80 12 3 118
12. Military Roading (including tank obstacles and road blocks) 35 358 386 224 128 1,131
13. Machine Gun Posts 1 37 6 3 47
14. Radar Stations 1 12 18 10 3 45
15. Portable Huts, Warehouses, etc 105 1,092 82 9 1 1,290
16. Hospitals and Convalescent Depots 60 246 393 512 466 258 1,936
17. Miscellaneous 2 21 5 12 138 33 1 212
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
totals 1,271 1,480 1,390 6,471 4,046 1,634 842 17,135
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
page 234
NAVY WORKS
£(000)
1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 Total
1. Naval Bases 68 32 125 257 317 354 255 1,408
2. Naval Posts 16 74 83 20 4 197
3. Coastal Defences 1 12 64 4 3 83
4. Harbour Defences 82 37 2 3 124
5. Wireless Telegraphy Stations 14 3 7 4 27
6. Mine and Armament Depots 3 59 86 18 5 170
7. Controlled Mine Bases 141 54 194
8. Signal Stations 2 16 2 21
9. Bulk Fuel Stores (including splinter proofing and camouflage) 15 54 39 134 163 127 531
10. Barracks Hostels, etc. 7 11 59 41 24 13 8 163
11. Magazines 5 2 99 36 3 4 149
12. Offices, Storage, and Workshops, etc. Accommodation 19 106 86 169 380
13. Miscellaneous 2 8 11
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
totals 75 65 274 906 893 668 578 3,458
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
page 235
RNZAF WORKS
(New Zealand and Overseas)
£(000)
1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 Total
1. Airfields 339 340 944 2,792 649 235 188 5,486
2. RNZAF Stations 996 1,194 761 1,193 996 398 162 5,701
3. RNZAF Stores Depots 31 119 65 168 273 86 16 758
4. Miscellaneous RNZAF Establishments 1 11 46 65 98 43 33 297
5. Underground Operational Centres 30 25 14 1 70
6. Bulk Fuel Stores (including splinter proofing and camouflage) 8 7 45 238 88 12 3 401
7. Wireless Telegraphy Stations 10 3 6 5 9 4 2 37
8. Radar (Ground) Stations 1 17 116 137 22 294
9. Aeradio Stations 42 52 46 59 36 10 12 258
10. Seaplane Alighting Areas and Bases 41 10 66 216 17 2 1 353
11. Camouflage, Dummy Aircraft, etc. 30 108 7 145
12. Expeditions (Cape, Pacific, various) 4 18 37 59 56 43 37 255
13. Surveys and Investigations 8 6 18 21 10 5 4 73
14. Miscellaneous 8 30 100 57 30 17 7 249
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
totals 1,488 1,791 2,181 5,128 2,433 890 466 14,377
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
page 236
CONSTRUCTION WORK FOR THE UNITED STATES FORCES
£(000)
1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 Total
1. Camps 1,326 935 152 49 2,462
2. Hospitals and Convalescent Depots 403 467 1,013 304 44 1,867
3. Ammunition Stores and Magazines 177 72 8 257
4. Office, Storage and Workshops, etc. Accommodation (excluding capital cost of new stores) 186 502 235 58 981
5. Ship Repairs1 13 19 3 34
6. Huts and Buildings for the Pacific2 29 37 66
7. Miscellaneous 117 39 14 1 172
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
totals 40 2,314 2,617 715 151 5,838
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——

3 Work then under construction for New Zealand Forces, but made available to United States Forces when completed.

1 Portion only. See also pp. 16873.

2 Excludes work done by Housing Construction Department.

page 237
CIVIL DEFENCES AND GENERAL
£(000)
1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 Total
1. Air Raid Shelters (erection and demolition) 7 576 108 72 30 794
2. Splinter proofing and camouflaging of Bulk Fuel Tanks 102 253 14 3 372
3. Fire-fighting Equipment 43 155 125 6 329
4. Black-out of Government Buildings 7 25 2 2 36
5. Accommodation for Cheese Workers 10 70 44 5 11 1 141
6. Workers' Camps (Defence, Industrial, Mines, Services Vegetable Production, etc.) 4 7 56 110 50 9 236
7. New Storage Accommodation 19 66 490 766 332 80 1,754
8. Refugee Camps 13 9 130 35 186
9. Dehydration Factories 135 276 37 449
10. Linen Flax Factories 1 197 298 171 23 3 692
11. Munition Factories 21 22 166 59 17 285
12. Reserve Stocks 121 186 769 17 28 17 1,138
13. Miscellaneous 22 16 168 27 15 248
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
totals 122 437 1,412 1,980 1,554 943 211 6,658
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——
grand total, all Defence Works by Public Works Department 2,957 3,773 5,297 16,799 11,543 4,850 2,248 47,466
—— —— —— —— —— —— —— ——

Due to ‘rounding’, totals may disagree with the totals of individual items as shown.

page 238