Motuihe Island

[nuuumannn]

Some photos and context from a visit to Motuihe Island earlier this year. As you guys probably know, the naval facility of HMNZS Tamaki was located on the island, which is a part of its distinctive history. I won't go into it too much as one of the better sources of contextual and historical information is on this site here, which I can recommend:

www.motuihe.org.nz/

Firstly, the island in 1963 courtesy of retrolens.nz and licensed by LINZ. In the image, the north-western most branch of the island that housed HMNZS Tamaki and the POW camp of the Great War is visible.

Motuihe Island 01

Approaching the island in the ferry, which takes an hour from West Haven Marina. The promontory on which the camp sat is to the left at the top of the sheer cliff face, with the main jetty to the right.

Motuihe Island 03

A light gauge railway was built for HMNZS Tamaki to transport coal fuel and large items from the jetty to the camp, rails still visible.

Motuihe Island 05

The main pathway from the jetty to the camp entrance, with the water tower visible. The path branching off to the left led to housing when it was a POW camp and the canteen when it was a naval base.

Motuihe Island 06

The former parade ground, with Ocean Beach stretching toward the peninsula in the distance.

Motuihe Island 07

The naval surgeon's cottage, one of only a couple of surviving structures from the camp.

Motuihe Island 08

The memorial area to HMNZS Tamaki clustered around the site of the station flag pole.

Motuihe Island 10

Motuihe Island 11

Motuihe Island 12

A site map of HMNZS Tamaki courtesy of The Motuihe Island Project. "The twenty-two old quarantine buildings, which could accommodate 287 people, formed the nucleus of the facility. In order to accommodate more naval cadets, between 1941 and 1943, fifteen new buildings with a total floor area of 63,500 square feet were constructed including a provision store, a naval and clothing store, a canteen, a gymnasium and chapel, a school, a signal instruction building, a hospital, a dental clinic, and four large dormitories. Total accommodation was now 517."

"Cadets typically stayed here for their 3 months initial training after entering the navy, during which time they were “broken in” to the navy way of life. Among other things, they sailed Whalers (large open boats), slept in hammocks and sometimes ate their food straight off the table – no plates."

"The navy base continued in peacetime to be used for basic training in seamanship, fitness and discipline. In 1963 HMNZS Tamaki moved to the North Shore and the base reverted to Domain Board control."

Motuihe Island 13

The Water tower contained salt water for fire fighting, and signals building, the only surviving buildings from the camp.

Motuihe Island 14

A view from the southern end of the peninsula looking toward where the hospital and original accommodation blocks built when the site was a quarantine facility in 1872 were sited.

Motuihe Island 16

Off this pathway were the accommodation buildings to the left and personnel housing to the right. Both were in use when the site was a POW camp and naval station.

Motuihe Island 17

The site of the soldiers' barracks of the POW camp, with Auckland's CBD on the horizon.

Motuihe Island 18

This was the camp exercise field, which is currently used as a camping ground for visitors run by DoC. In the trees to the right during WW2 the cadets dug trenches...

Motuihe Island 20

In this image I am standing on the edge of the remnants of a trench dug by the naval cadets that I found by fossicking among the trees. Unfortunately it isn't too well defined, but its outline can be seen running from bottom left to top right of the image.

Motuihe Island 21

The centre of the camp looking to the south. Directly in front of where I took this image was one of the big barrack buildings built for the quarantine camp and subsequently employed for POWs and naval personnel.

Motuihe Island 22

More to come...

[nuuumannn]

More from Motuihe Island. This image is looking toward the northern end of the peninsula, with the central pathway visible, on either side of which were buildings built for the navy's use of the site.

Motuihe Island 23

Remaining foundations right on the edge of the cliff face. This building was an annex to the administration block.

Motuihe Island 24

The circular pan is the original site of the twin 4-inch gun turret that exists at the Packard Motor Museum, Maungatapere. Contrary to popular belief, it was not used for the island's defence as it was located inside the camp facing the main entrance as a gate guard, and to the right of it in this image, were cabins on the cliff edge. It was used for training cadets, however. There were defensive guns on the island, but this was not one of them. A second display gun was located down at Wharf Bay by the beach.

Motuihe Island 25

Looking toward the north of the peninsula there were dormitories to the right of the path and the ablution block to the left.

Motuihe Island 26

At the very northern tip of the peninsula was a gun emplacement, which, during the war was armed with a 4-inch Mk.VII gun as defence of the channel between Motuihe and Motutapu Islands. A flag pole was added to the site once the gun was removed.

Motuihe Island 28

A small cemetery established when the island was a quarantine facility in the 1800s. They were all victims of influenza, small pox or some other awful disease we can effectively counter with vaccines today. The head stone in the foreground is that of Ethel Browning, a nurse who died of the flu aged just 30 years old.

Motuihe Island 29

A base from an observation point built overlooking Ocean Beach displaying its creation date, 18 August 1915.

Motuihe Island 30

On the trunk of a tree near the wee shop run by DoC volunteers are some display boards with text. This image shows the centre of the camp's accommodation structures, the two big multi-story blocks originally built for quarantine purposes but used for housing POWs in the Great War and ratings as HMNZS Tamaki, although this image was taken during Great War. At the time, the house in the foreground housed the German governor of Samoa, Dr Eric Schultz, who, along with his staff were transported to New Zealand once the island was forcibly taken from German custody at the outbreak of war in 1914.

Motuihe Island 32

It is difficult to get a comparison view because of the number of trees that were not there when the photo above was taken, but this shows the pathway leading to the camp, with the location of Dr Schultz's house beyond where the hikers are walking, in the gap between the trees.

Motuihe Island 33

The Great War POWs on Motuihe had a degree of autonomy that most POWs were not afforded and they were allowed to cultivate their own gardens.

Motuihe Island 34

A comparative view, although the above image was taken from an elevated position.

Motuihe Island 35

Motuihe's, and indeed New Zealand's most notorious Great War POW was Count Felix von Luckner, captain of the armed merchant cruiser SMS Seeadler. There is a lot of stuff out there on this guy, but I would recommend reading James Bade's book Sea Devil: Count von Luckner in New Zealand and the Pacific. My copy came from the DoC shop. That's von Luckner in the centre, with the Seeadler's 1st Officer Kircheiss to his left. This image was taken after his escape from the island and internment, first in Mt Eden Prison and Ripapa Island in Lyttelton Harbour, where he spent the majority of his time in New Zealand. Having visited there, too, I would rather have spent the time on Motuihe...

Motuihe Island 36

This is the walkway toward the jetty.

Motuihe Island 37

Luckner and escapees left the island on a launch named the Pearl.

Motuihe Island 38

The scene today, the old jetty having been dismantled long ago.

Motuihe Island 39

Finally, the second gun emplacement on Motuihe is located above Ocean Beach, which housed a 4-inch Mk.VII gun as per the previous emplacement seen on the tip of the peninsula in the background...

Motuihe Island 41

...whose guns came from the battlecruiser HMS New Zealand once it was scrapped. Its secondary armament was employed at a few coastal forts around the country, including the two sites on Motuihe, Fort Takapuna, North Head, and Battery Point overlooking Lyttelton Harbour. Two of HMS New Zealand's secondary guns survive outside Auckland Museum, although I am not sure whether these came from Fort Takapuna, North Head or Motuihe.

Motuihe Island 42

A view of Wharf Bay beach on the narrowest part of the island, stretching away to the lush hinterland, with the peninsula housing the camp to my back. This is the approximate position of the gate guard gun that greeted visitors to the island overlooking Wharf Bay.

Motuihe Island 44



More images of Motuihe here: www.flickr.com/photos/147661871@N04/albums/72177720314706199/

Thanks for looking.

[davidd]

Wow, a great feast Grant, thanks for all your efforts in allowing us stay-at-homes to see modern views of so many of the old sites as they now are, and saves us a lot of walking too!

[FlyingKiwi]

Great photos there. I haven't been to Motuihe since I was a child, this has made me think I should do a trip over there again soon, it looks like a lovely spot.

[harrysone]

Wow, great stuff Grant! As an aside my Great Grandfather, Robert Gairdner (mother's side) was actually caretaker for the facility on Motuihe from 1931 (while it was a children's health camp). He got the job as caretaker after having lost his sheep station and homestead at 'Patunga' (Te Maire Valley, near Taumarunui) as a result of the depression. We understand that he, his wife and entire family moved to Motuihe for a period of time, however the details are hard to find. If you can find anything in documentation that might mention the Gairdners I would be very interested, and so would a lot of my extended family in Canada who share a common heritage

[pjw4118]

Great to see, I have been there several times but never noticed the history underfoot, the Navy was still there on my first visit.

[oj]

Fascinating. Really appreciated. Did you notice the HMNZS Tamaki crest and motto is the same as RNZAF 75 Squadron?
Ake Ake Kia Kaha
I wonder who had first use?

[nuuumannn]

Feb 15, 2024 19:19:45 GMT 12 oj said:

Fascinating. Really appreciated. Did you notice the HMNZS Tamaki crest and motto is the same as RNZAF 75 Squadron?
Ake Ake Kia Kaha
I wonder who had first use?

RTegarding the forces use of the phrase, I couldn't say, burt it shouldn't be too difficult to find out that information. It means For ever and ever, be strong, which was a comman Maori phrase. There are prayers that end in the phrase, so it has wider application.

[Dave Homewood]

THE PRESS, 9 JANUARY 1965

Fighting Ships' Badges Linked With History

Ever since man first fought at sea he has decorated his warships with banners, figureheads and other warlike devices.

The galleys of the Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans featured fancifully carved but thoroughly dangerous rams. Later the longships of the Vikings and King Alfred’s fleet had the heads of fierce, mythical beasts at their prows.

Gaily decorated forecastles and aftercastles were found on the fighting ships of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and at this time, too, all kinds of signs and devices were worked on the sails. Warship decoration reached its height in the seventeenth century when enormous sums were spent on gilding bows and sterns.

The custom of decoration continues today, but with nothing like the gaudiness of times gone by. Now the standard form is taken generally as the ship’s badge, and these crests, as they are also known, are found in almost every navy throughout the world. Ships and shore establishments of the Royal New Zealand Navy follow the custom and draw on two main sources for their badges. From' the United Kingdom New Zealand has gained the traditional naval crown and surrounds. These ties are not limited to the naval crown, for

H.M.N.Z.S. Royalist and H.M. N.Z.S. Philomel retain as well their original central designs. In the case of the Antarctic supply ship, H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour, the inspiration for the ship’s badge came from the voyages of the great explorer, James Cook. It embodies a sextant against a background of the Southern Cross. The sextant is symbolic of exploration and charting, while the Southern Cross is not only part of New Zealand’s flag, but points the way to the great Southern continent.

From the country and from the Maori people, New Zealand has found a wealth of valuable material for its ships' badges. Six of its ships have been named after lakes, native birds make their appearance in several more, and each of the fishery protection motor launches is named after a fish.

For the three latest ships, H.M.N.Z.S. Otago, Taranaki, and Waikato, provinces have been used as the theme. Design competitions have also been held for the badge for each of these ships. School children have been invited to submit ideas and in every case the basic design has been the work of a pupil from a school in the province concerned.

For the Otago the design chosen was a sword crossed with a crook, the Taranaki had Mount Egmont with the Cape Egmont lighthouse superimposed, while the Waikato will have the tanlwha, the legendary guardian of the Waikato people.

The influence of the Maori upon the badges for ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy has been considerable. When New Zealand bought six Loch class frigates in 1949 it seemed only natural to name them after lakes. Thus H.M.N.Z.S Taupo took her name from our biggest lake and her badge was the Arawa canoe, marking the close link between the Taupo district and the Arawa people.

H.M.N.Z.S. Rotoiti has in her badge crossed huia feathers and a sprig of the akatea vine linked with a knotted cord.

H.M.N.Z.S. Pukaki took her name from a South Island lake and from the bird which in the north is known as the pukeko.

H.M.N.Z.S. Hawea is also named after a southern lake, and in her case the badge figures a Maori club used for in-fighting.

The Navy’s initial training establishment, H.M.N.Z.S. Tamaki, has a notable badge. The central piece is a Maori warrior kneeling and armed with a taiaha. The ship’s motto is the immortal “Ake, ake, kia kaha” (Be brave for ever and ever) which is linked with Rewi Maniapoto and the Battle of Orakau.

Choosing a badge is not easy. If a competition is held hundreds of suggestions come to hand. These are sifted until the best half dozen or so have been put to one side. From these, artists prepare full colour drawings and these are submitted to the Naval Board. From what is really a “short list” the final choice is made. Once the board has made its decision the suggested badge is then submitted to the College of Arms in the United Kingdom. Once approval from this body has been gained the badge may be produced.

In its accepted form the badge will be surmounted by the naval crown, an heraldic device featuring alternate sails and sterns of sailing ships on a jewelled base. The badge will be surrounded by a gold rope and at the base will be crossed fem leaves as the symbol of New Zealand. The name of the ship appears immediately beneath the crown in plain Roman lettering.

Made in metal the badges are worn on the bridges of ships in commission. For shore establishments the administration block is usually the favoured spot. Lifeboats, ceremonial lifebuoys and stationery are other places where the badges may be found.

To Navy Office in Wellington goes the honour of having a badge from each ship. These are mounted on the walls of the board room and in themselves tell the story of a young Navy... a Navy whose origins are steeped in the traditions of the United Kingdom, but whose present and future lie very much in this country.

[Dave Homewood]

HMNZS Tamaki was only established in 1941, so it is after No. 75 (NZ) Squadron was established, but the dates of when their mottos were adopted is the real question.

[Dave Homewood]

AUCKLAND STAR, 29 JANUARY 1945

TAMAKI'S STORY

TRAINING OF SEAMEN

ACTIVITIES ON THE "SHIP"

The story of H.M.N.Z.S. Tamaki from the time of its establishment as a naval training station in January, 1941, is contained in a well printed and liberally illustrated booklet prepared by members of the "ship's" company. The booklet contains a foreword by the commanding officer, Commander G. H. Dennistoun, D.S.O., R.N., retired, and some early history of the island of Motuihi, where the station is established.

The booklet deals with such subjects as the daily routine of duty on the station, the boys' division, the origin of the badge and the history of the Tamaki's chapel, which is dedicated to St. Brandan, the patron saint of navigators and seamen, and it contains a list of the officers and instructors. Photographs illustrate the various stages and aspects of the training of seamen, interspersed with humorous cartoons by Leading-Seaman W. Thomson, of H.M.S. Philomel.

The greater part of the booklet is devoted to the history of the ship, and it is revealed that in the four years since the Tamaki was commissioned over 6000 ratings representing about 60 per cent of the New Zealanders in naval service have been trained there. It was at first proposed to train about 900 naval ratings a year, but actually this number was either increased or decreased as the war situation demanded.

Men are entered in classes of from 20 to 25 ratings and remain in those classes throughout the whole of their training period. The result of this, it is stated, is that men learn to work as a team and to take a pride in their class. It is shown that about 90 classes of ordinary seamen have been trained in addition to 24 classes of naval airmen, 22 classes of "Scheme B" seamen—potential candidates for commissions— 13 classes of stokers and numerous classes of telegraphists, radars, coders, writers, supply assistants, cooks, signalmen and men for naval duties in merchant ships and for harbour defences.

First Appearance
The first public appearance of the training division was made on February 19, 1941, in a march through Auckland, and on March 3, 1941 the division provided the guard of honour on the occasion of the first official visit to Auckland of the Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall. On the following day the Governor-General visited the Tamaki and was greatly impressed with the training activities and with the general bearing and discipline of ratings on the station.

"The days when the Tamaki was commissioned were grim days, states the writer of the article. "England was under threat of invasion. The Battle of Britain was raging. A year later, Japan entered the conflict. Men were desperately needed for the Navy in the Indian Ocean and Asiatic theatres of war. Consequently, the first classes to leave were sent to Singapore to the establishment known as H.M.S. Sultan. Others were sent to Ceylon. Many of the men from those early classes took part in the defence of Singapore. After the fall of that base and of the Dutch East Indies, ratings were sent for convoy work in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and around the shores of England. Tamaki men can be found serving in all parts of the world in every type of craft and base."

Commanding officer of the Tamaki since its commissioning, Lieutenant-Commander Dennistoun saw service during the last war as transport officer with the Main Body of the First N.Z.E.F.. He was later appointed senior naval officer, Lake Nyassa, and while there was responsible for the destruction of a German gunboat. He was awarded the D.S.O., and after the war until his retirement he served at the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich.

Recreation Facilities
There are plenty of recreation facilities at Tamaki, and the review of the station's activities shows that recreational and physical training occupies a large part of the weekly routine. Sundays excepted, ratings turn out daily at 6.25 a.m. for 20 minutes of "physical jerks" or a run round the island. Football games are organised for classes during the winter. Swimming instruction is given to ratings during the summer, and tests of swimming proficiency are held. A well-stocked library provides plenty of reading matter for leisure time in the evening. A golf club has been organised and now has a membership of about 30. Many civilian concert parties have performed at the station and talks have been given by visitors. Ship's concerts are held regularly and films are shown twice weekly.

[kiwiwreckdiver]

brilliant write up thanks for the time spent putting this together!!!

[Dave Homewood]

An interesting piece of forgotten history here... Motuihe Island was used as a quarantine station from 1872 due to smallpox and then scarlet fever outbreaks, and then became an internment camp for POW's in WWI, and reverted to a quarantine station in 1918 due to Spanish flu, before becoming the Navy training camp HMNZS Tamaki.

But what has seemingly been forgotten is in 1931 it became home to a load of refugee children from Napier and Hawkes Bay following the big earthquake.

From the New Zealand Herald, 9 February 1931

ORPHANS FROM NAPIER.

ARRIVAL IN AUCKLAND.

WARM WELCOME GIVEN.

CAMP ON MOTUIHI ISLAND.

TWO PARTIES AT WEEK-END.

The first quota of children evacuated from the earthquake territory, a contingent of 73, reached Auckland on Saturday morning by the early express from the South. Another party of 30 arrived yesterday morning.

Representing the entire Hawke's Bay Children's Home, an undenominational orphanage and welfare institution, which was situated in Napier, the arrivals on Saturday comprised 32 boys and 41 girls, whose ages ranged from 3½ to 18 years, the average being about 10. They were in the care of the matron, Miss C. B. Mountfort, and her staff.

On arrival in Auckland the party was welcomed by a number of citizens, among whom was the Mayor, Mr. G. Baildon, and received into the charge of the Community Sunshine Association. After breakfast, arranged by the Northern Roller Milling Company, the refugees were taken to Motuihi Island, where they are to be given a home, perhaps for some weeks, in the Sunshine Association's camp established in the permanent buildings which form the Health Department's quarantine station.

By singular good fortune not one of the little inmates of the orphanage suffered injury when Napier crashed about them. Their escape is attributable principally to the fact that they were attending the State schools at the time and when the earthquake came were at morning play.

Among the children were four of one family whose mother perished in the collapse of the hospital buildings.

Smiles Replace Former Sadness.
Two coaches packed with little people, round-eyed and solemn, were watched by Auckland sympathisers as they drew into the railway station on Saturday morning. As the train steamed in the uniforms which the little girls were wearing gave indication as to which carriages the waiting citizens were to meet. Mr. Baildon was one of the first to step forward and with a wave and a smile welcomed the children to their refuge. Other prominent people lent aid in the disembarkation, and in a moment the grave young faces were smiling happily.

Among the other passengers were groups of refugees, some of whom were weeping softly, yet trying to hide their suffering. One mother had two sons with her, both of whom wore head bandages, one as a result of the earthquake, and the other following upon collision with a motor-cycle on the evening before the disaster.

Sugar-bags, pillow cases and knotted blankets bore all the property which now remained to them.

When the express arrived—an hour behind time —members of the Citizens' Hospitality Committee and others assisting them guaranteed the wellbeing of the newcomers. Mr. J. A. C. Allum, chairman of the Transport Board, was there and conducted the party for Motuihi to a special tramcar which conveyed the youthful refugees to Quay Street. There they were accommodated for an hour in the Northern Roller Milling Company's offices and provided with breakfast through the courtesy of the manager, Mr. W. S. Pratt.

Cheery Despatch to the Island.
As the hire launch, which transported the children to their new island home withdrew from the Admiralty launch landing, the children raised a happy cheer of gratitude for "the good Auckland people." The salutation was heartily replied to by the watchers on shore.

The appeal of children in distress found illustration when waterfront workers, harbour officials and onlookers waved encouragingly, while the little ones responded in similar fashion. English seamen on board ocean-going ships also paused a moment to flourish their caps as the launch made her passage down the harbour. It was a tribute which the young minds were not slow to understand.

At Motuihi Dr. James Walls, and Sister M. G. Atkinson, of, the Health Department, will be responsible for the general health of the children. Members of the Sunshine Association are to take turns, several days on and a period off duty, in maintaining the camp.

This is from the Auckland Star, 16 December 1931:

NAPIER REFUGEE CHILDREN HOMEWARD BOUND.—The final contingent of youngsters, who were brought from the earthquake areas last February and cared for by the Community Sunshine Association at Motuihi, (sic) came to town yesterday afternoon and entrained to their homes. Their bonny faces testify to the benefits derived from their ten months on the island.

[davidd]

Noticeable that the children in above photograph appear to be wearing school caps and hats, which were all the rage in those days. I also recall from my youth (in 1950s) that those institutions known as health camps were still in evidence, one pupil from my primary school being sent away to one of these camps (this would be in late 1950s, probably about 1958). Poor nutrition (and/or neglect) was still quite common in God's Own even then, in the land of Milk and Honey. Today the opposite seems to be most visible. I guess the transfer of the Napier children, which almost certainly gave some relief from the horrors of a massive earthquake and provide them with a safe and stable home away from home, was worth the effort, even though all were now without their parents. The smiles above seem to indicate that these children are keen to get home to those parents.

[Dave Homewood]

The pieces I posted above about the Napier children were the beginning and the end of the story but there seemed to be more news articles about their progress in between those dates if anyone wanted to look further into this story. It's all on Papers Past.

I wonder if any of those youngsters were later interviewed or wrote down their experiences of being taken there and living there for nearly a year. It's an aspect of the Napier earthquake I'd never heard about before. As it was 93 years ago I doubt any of those kids are still around now.

[oj]

"I also recall from my youth (in 1950s) that those institutions known as health camps were still in evidence, one pupil from my primary school being sent away to one of these camps (this would be in late 1950s, probably about 1958)."

I contracted Glandular Fever at age seven and spent six weeks in Rawene Hospital, most of it in an isolation room.
The cure then was a starvation diet, at the end of which I was so malnourished I had to be sent to Manu Health Camp in Whangarei for six weeks before being allowed to go home to Opononi.
That was in 1952.