24 Remembering
RSA REVIEW • AUTUMN 2016
QUAKES FAIL TO FAZE GODLEY MOVERS AND SHAKERS Since 2002 a small group of enthusiasts has been working to preserve the military heritage of Godley Head and to put this history in front of the public. The major barriers have been a shortage of cash and a surpus of earthquakes. Belinda Carter checks on progress. A big cloud of brown dust hung over Godley Head on February 14 during the latest earthquake to hit the Canterbury region. But this will not stop the Godley Head Heritage Trust from establishing a heritage centre to tell the story of New Zealand’s coastal defence during World War 2, says the trust’s secretary and historian, Peter Wilkins “There was very little damage done,” he says of the most recent shake. “It was mostly rubble settling after the big earthquakes. “The battery’s buildings were designed for wartime and to withstand shell fire. They have an extraordinary amount of reinforcing, which makes them pretty solid.” The quake that did the most damage was in June 2011. “Up to five metres of the cliff face fell off, weakened by successive quakes, fell off. While this didn’t damage the gun emplacements, it made the cliff itself more precarious. The two searchlight emplacements, at the water’s edge, were almost demolished when the cliff face behind fell on them.” Access to the site was restricted for some months while the Department of Conservation, which looks after the site, assessed safety. This meant the trust’s work on turning the quartermaster’s store into a heritage centre was also delayed. Access has been restored, but the gun emplacements and the undamaged tunnel leading to where the searchlights were are still out of bounds to the public. To mark Godley Head’s pioneering use of radar, the trust has built a replica radar hut as part of the camp complex; this will house one of the earliest radar sets, which the trust owns. It will not be on the original radar-hut site (that area is prone to vandalism), but is expected to be the first building in the camp area to open for public viewing. The trust has leased the old quartermaster’s
store from the Department of Conservation to house the heritage centre, but it is still a way off completion – although much of the work, such as painting and creation of alcoves, has been done. About $30,000 needs to be raised to build tableau displays depicting battery life, plus cabinets to house things such as uniforms and the many photographs taken at the site, mostly by WAACs – despite prohibitions against doing so during World War 2. In one of the bigger rooms, the museum will house a number of large guns, including a 3.7-inch 9.5-ton, anti-aircraft gun capable of shooting up to 28,000 feet, a Swedish-designed Bofor gun and a South African War pompom gun. The pompom – a war trophy owned by the sea cadets of TS Godley – is stored at Godley Heads, along with materials from the Victorian fort on Ripapa Isl;and in Lyttelton Harbour. The museum also houses a fortress searchlight believed to have been used at Godley Head. Peter Wilkins says the Godley Head Heritage Trust is dedicated to saving one of the most intact and extensive of the World War 2 coastal-defence sites and making it accessible to the public through the planned heritage centre. The area has been recognised as a historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust
• To get to Godley head, drive up the Evans Pass Road from Sumner, turn left at the Summit Rd, and continue to the end of the road where there is a carpark and toilets. The area is popular with photographers and there are a number of tracks for walkers. Information: Godley Head Heritage Trust website: www.godleyhead.org.nz; Facebook page and have a look at the satellite maps on Google as it shows the shorted cliffs. Guided visits for groups can be arranged and open days will be held when the museum opens for viewing.
This 2008 photo shows how close the Godley Head buildings are to the cliff-face. They are even closer now – thanks to the earthquakes that have shaken up the area oveer the last five years.
RADAR ON CUTTING EDGE Godley Head was among the first places in New Zealand to install radar – the latest technology of the day – to detect planes and ships. Godley Head Heritage Trust secretary and historian Peter Wilkins says Brtain feared it might not do too well in the war, so set about sharing its innovation with senior physicists from Commonwealth countries. Dr Marsden, a New Zealander, went to Britain, soaked up all the knowledge he could, and returned to promote research and development by the New Zealand Post Office and and the University of Canterbury. When war broke out this research unit was shifted to the main air force base at Wigram, and the Wellington Post Office began manufacturing
radar units for coastal defence – and one of the earliest units ended up at Godley Head, says Peter Wilkins. When the Americans came to New Zealand to help fight the war in the Pacific, they were short of radar technicians and ground/air warning sets, which New Zealand could supply. US admiral Bill Halsey organised for New Zealand-produced radar sets and local technicians to be sent to the Pacific islands to provide cover for conflicts such as Guadalcanal. Radar sets were later manufactured in Australia and replaced the New Zealand-made coastal defence sets. Peter Wilkins these were more readily available because the Auastraklians had greater production capacity.
It was no surprise that Godley Head was part of New Zealand’s coastal defence – the prominent headland had been used for this purpose as early as the 1880s when it was feared the Russians, fighting Britain in Afghanistan at the time, would attack the far-flung colony. When World War 2 bvroke out, the New Zealand Navy, which was responsible for Lyttelton Harbour, demanded army protection against
enemy naval raiding. The army installed a couple of World War I guns on the nearby Taylor’s battery. The navy complained that these were inadequate and lent the army two six-inch guns, which were also mounted at Taylor’s. By war’s end, there was a three-gun battery with the latest Mark24 six-inch guns at Godley Head. The 11 Heavy (Coastal) Artillery Regiment guns were designed to protect North Canterbury from
Area had a history as a coasta
Left: Mark Hargraves enjoys hands-on ex[perience during a Canterbury Gunners (Royal New Zealand Artillery) visit to Godley Head. Right: A surviving guardhouse offers a bird’s-eye view across Lyttelton Harbour.