Waterfront Tales

The Boer War

The South African War of 1899-1902, often called the Boer War, was the first overseas conflict to involve New Zealand troops.

Fought between the British Empire and the Boer South African Republic (Transvaal) and its Orange Free State ally, it was the culmination of longstanding tensions.

Hundreds of New Zealand men applied to serve in the contingent and on 21 October 1899 were giving a rousing send-off on Wellington’s waterfront as they left to join the fight.

A memorial to those who fought in the Boer War has been erected at their departure point on the outer-T of Queens Wharf. And the imposing Victorian ironwork gates that mark the entrance to Queens Wharf were erected to mark the departure of the second New Zealand contingent to the Boer War.

Wellington’s Wharf Police

One of the oldest residents on the waterfront is Wellington’s Wharf Police. Records dating back to 1917 show there was a police presence on the waterfront from at least that time.

As the capital city of a young and developing nation, the bustling port was full of square riggers and other sailing ships of every description, but until 1941 the Wharf Police were pretty much land-based.

It wasn’t until during World War 2 that the Police Launch Services was born.

The Government requisitioned a 38 ft pleasure launch being built in Picton by Fred Musgrove. Fred had named the launch Lady Elizabeth after his grandmother and Lady Elizabeth she remained.

Lady Elizabeth continued service into the 1950s and became well established with a permanent crew. In 1969 she failed her survey. A replacement was sought and Lady Elizabeth II was the created.

She turned out to be an excellent sea keeper and carried out many rescues. Sadly, on 2 July 1986 while on a training run, she capsized and sank at the entrance of Wellington Harbour and Constable Glen Hughes and Senior Sergeant Phil Ward lost their lives.

The Lady Elizabeth III was launched on 8 November 1989 and has been in service since.

Paddy the Wanderer

Next to the Queens Wharf gates is a tribute to a unique wharf character – a dog nicknamed Paddy the Wanderer.

Paddy took to wandering the wharves after his young owner died in 1928. Befriended by watersiders, seamen, taxi drivers and others he quickly became a waterfront identity.

He took trips to Nelson, Picton and Australia and flew in a Gypsy Moth aircraft.

When he died in 1939, a cortege of taxis took his body to be cremated and a death notice appeared in the Evening Post.

A plaque and drinking fountain using stones from Waterloo Bridge in Londonwere erected in his honour on the southern façade of the building which now houses the Academy of Fine Arts and the Queens Wharf Apartments.

US Marines ‘invade’ Wellington

They arrived in 1942 as a result of the outbreak of war in the Pacific six months before. From the New Zealand perspective the Americans strengthened New Zealand's defences against possible Japanese attack; while the Americans saw New Zealand as a valuable source of supply and a staging post for operations against the Japanese in the Pacific.

Wellington's ‘invasion’ began on 14 June 1942, when a battered USS Wakefield entered the harbour. Since it was a Sunday morning there were few about, but there was still a band waiting for them on King's Wharf, playing the Marine Corps hymn, 'From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli...', for these arrivals were the famous marines of the 1st Corps Division.

For more detailed information about the Americans in New Zealand during World War II click here: www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/brief/index.html

The Polish Children of Pahiatua

On 31 October 1944, 733 Polish refugee children and 105 adult caregivers, sailed into Wellington Harbour on the General Randall. On 1 November they settled into the Polish Children’s Camp at Pahiatua, north of Wellington.

They had been invited by the Rt Hon Peter Fraser, Prime Minister of New Zealand, to enjoy a safe haven for the duration of World War II. They had lost their homes and family members following the 1939 German invasion of Poland and its subsequent occupation by the USSR. In 1940 the first of a total of 1,700,000 Poles were deported to the USSR.

In 1941, after being attacked by Germany, the USSR joined the Allies and granted amnesty to the Poles. Only 120,000 were liberated, many making their way south. This small group of 733 children finally arrived in Persia and from there came to New Zealand.

It was intended that at the conclusion of the war they would return to their homeland and be reunited with their surviving families. However unexpected events prevented this from happening.

First, the infamous Katyn Massacre was made public, after the grave of 4,000 Polish Army Officers murdered by USSR soldiers was discovered near Smolensk. Later it was disclosed that some 22,000 officers had actually been massacred. The USSR denied culpability and in retaliation halted the amnesty. Many of the victims were relations of these Polish children.

Second, at the end of World War II, allied leaders agreed that Poland would be placed under Stalin’s Communist rule. There was little point in returning to their country and most of the children accepted the offer to become New Zealand citizens.

A plaque in Frank Kitts Park was unveiled by Her Worship the Mayor of Wellington, Kerry Prendergast, on 25 October 2004.

The 1951 waterfront dispute

Dealing with militant unionism was one of the first tasks for Sidney Holland's National Party when it swept into power in 1949. In 1951, escalating tensions erupted into a bitter waterfront dispute that was to last 151 days.

Click here for more information, audio and pictures about the dispute www.nzhistory.net.nz/dnzb_exhibs/protest/#water