Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis.  Permission is given for 
a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and 
private study only.  The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without 
the permission of the Author. 
 



 

 

‘We must contribute’ 

The Pahiatua Region and the Second World War 

1939 – 45 
 

 

 
The town of Pahiatua, late 1930s 

 

 

 

 

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the 

Master of Arts in History 

Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand 

Stewart Holdaway  

2019 
  



i 

INDEX 

 

Abstract                                                                                                           ii                                                                                                                                                                          

Acknowledgements                                                                                      iii 

Illustrations                                                                                                    iv 

 

Introduction                                                                                                    1 

Chapter One: The Centennial Year                                                           12 

Chapter Two: The Military Reaction and Response                              46 

Chapter Three: The Social Impact of the War                                        76 

Chapter Four: Industry in the Pahiatua region                                    101 

Chapter Five: Local and National Governance                                     135 

Conclusions                                                                                                163 

Bibliography                                                                                               168 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



ii 

Abstract 

 

     When war broke out in September 1939 approximately 500 men 

and women from the Pahiatua region enlisted in the armed forces of 

New Zealand, the British Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. But what 

was life like at home while these men and women served? This thesis 

examines the role the Second World War played on a ‘typical’ example 

of rural New Zealand, the Pahiatua region. It focuses on three key 

issues for the region during this time, the impact of the war, how 

business was affected, and the role played by local and national 

government in the region. 

     New Zealand during the Second World War has been a source of 

previous research. However, the majority of this research has 

concentrated on either a national perspective or a specific theme. 

Very little has been written on regional history during this time. This 

thesis attempts to address this by looking at a region that has barely 

been referred to in the secondary sources. 

     This thesis sheds new light on the Pahiatua region during the 

Second World War. Far from being a silent observer the region played 

an active role in supporting the war effort both socially and financially.  

There was very much a feeling in the region of ‘we must contribute’.   

 

 

 



iii 

Acknowledgements 

 

     I am firstly indebted to my supervisors, Dr Glyn Harper and Dr John 

Griffiths. There were many twists and turns throughout the process of 

writing this thesis and without their continuous support I doubt I 

would have finished this journey. I would like to acknowledge the 

financial and time support given to me by my employer, IPU New 

Zealand, in completing this thesis. I also wish to thank all the archivists 

and library staff that I troubled for resources. My thanks to my family 

for being a continuous fountain of support, despite me being at times 

a very absentee member. Finally, my thanks to the region of Pahiatua, 

for giving me an interesting subject to write about, and from where 

my interest in the Second World War originates.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



iv 

Illustrations 

 

Main Street, Pahiatua, 1930s                                                                                           14 

Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries 

 

Memorial Square, Pahiatua                                                                             45 

Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries 

 

S.K Siddells, Mayor of Pahiatua 1938 -1942                                                  47 

Archives Central, Feilding 

 

Donation of Bren Gun Carrier                                                                        94 

Archives Central, Feilding 

 

Internees Camp – Pahiatua 22 February 1943                                               156 

Archives New Zealand, Wellington 

 

Children playing on grass                                                                                 162 

Archives New Zealand, Wellington 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



   1 

Introduction 

The Pahiatua Region and the Second World War 

 

     When I mentioned to a number of people that I was thinking of 

completing my Masters, the overall response was positive. I was 

almost always told that the hardest part about writing a thesis is 

choosing the topic. This is something I certainly struggled with at the 

beginning. I knew that I wanted to research and write about 

something I was interested in and hopefully it would have something 

to do with the area I grew up in. I was born and raised in the dairy-

farming district of Ballance, named after the former New Zealand 

Prime Minister John Ballance1. Being from Ballance, and a former 

dairy-farmer, I seriously considered writing about some aspect of 

farming history.  But as I went through the process my thoughts and 

interests changed until one topic became clear. A topic that on 

reflection now seems quite obvious and had been staring me straight 

in the face through most of my life. Ballance is in the Pahiatua Region 

and the topic I was to eventually decide on was something that I had 

seen the memorials to nearly every day while travelling to Pahiatua 

for high school and work. 

     It sometimes seems that every small town in New Zealand must 

have its own iconic memorial. Ohakune has the giant carrot, Paeroa 

                                                           
1 John Ballance, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1891-1893), Leader of the Opposition (1889-1891)  



   2 

the giant L&P bottle, and even Eketahuna has a giant kiwi. Pahiatua, 

of course, has one of its own. Anyone who drives into the township of 

Pahiatua from the north can’t help but notice the replica Harvard Air 

Trainer from the Second World War.2 In fact, anyone driving into 

Pahiatua can’t help but notice the memorials to the Second World 

War that are scattered throughout the town. If you come from the 

south, you will notice a strange white statue shaped like a crab claw. 

This is the Polish Memorial.  

 
The Polish Memorial 

     Inscribed at the base of the Polish Memorial is the following 

inscription: 

                                                           
2 The original Harvard airplane was put up in late 1963. It was replaced with a fibreglass model in December 
2015 and the playground was renamed the Harvard Adventure Playground. 



   3 

THIS MEMORIAL 

On the site of the former Polish children’s camp 

Was erected by the Polish Community  

In appreciation of the shelter given 

By the people of New Zealand 

To 734 Polish children in 1944 

In World War 2 they survived 

Deportation to Siberia 

And after a temporary stay in Iran 

Found in this country  

Home, friends and security 

22 February 19753 

 

     From the north, as mentioned previously, the first thing your eye is 

drawn to is the iconic replica Harvard Air Trainer in the Pahiatua 

playground, which now sees usage as a quite scary slide. From the 

west you drive towards the Pahiatua War Memorial Park with its two 

cenotaphs to the war dead of the Pahiatua region. Despite this 

obvious history and reverence to its role, in particular, to the Second 

World War, it is a region that has to some degree forgotten the 

important role and contribution it played in the history of the Second 

World War in New Zealand. When I started my research for this thesis, 

I was told in no uncertain terms by a resident of the community that 

                                                           
3 Inscribed at the base of the memorial.  



   4 

“nothing happened in Pahiatua during the war.” However, as I hope 

my thesis proves nothing could be further from the truth. 

 

 
The Harvard Air Trainer 

 

     This thesis will attempt to answer three key questions. They are: 

what was the impact of the war on the people of the region? How 

were the industries of the region affected by the war? And what role 

did local and national government play in the region? 

     Pahiatua actually proves to be an interesting region in which to 

examine how the Second World War affected small, rural 

communities in New Zealand. For example, here is a small selection of 

the numerous events that happened in Pahiatua during the war years. 

A Polish Children’s Camp was established in Pahiatua in 1944. Local 

man Sergeant Keith Elliott was awarded the Victoria Cross, one of only 



   5 

eight New Zealanders to do so in the Second World War.4 An 

internment camp for the accommodation of enemy soldiers/aliens 

was established in Pahiatua for a short time. There were large-scale 

natural disasters and numerous political figures made visits to the 

region.5 Not many areas in New Zealand can claim even this small 

amount of history during the war years. These factors combined with 

the effect the Second World War had on the industries of Pahiatua, 

(farming, brewery and transport) and the social impacts felt by the 

people in the community make for a very interesting case study.  

     This thesis is suitable for a variety of reasons. While there has been 

a significant amount of research on the impact of the Second World 

War on New Zealand in general, most notably Nancy Taylor’s two 

volume The Home Front (1986), little has been written on the impact 

of the Second World War in specific regions of New Zealand.6 There is 

a great deal of information about the Polish Children’s camp that was 

set up in Pahiatua and many books have been written by historians 

and the children who stayed there, but most are from the Polish 

perspective. In fact, very little has been written about the experience 

of the people in the Pahiatua region towards the war.  

                                                           
4 He would later return to Pahiatua to a hero’s welcome. A book about the first fifty years of his life was later 
published in 1967. Elliott, K & Adshead, R. From Cowshed to Dogcollar (1967). Wellington, New Zealand: A.H. & 
A.W.Reed, 1967. 
5 The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Peter Fraser, and the Governor-General, Lord Galway, being two such 
visitors. 
6 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Volumes One and Two), Wellington: Historical Publications Branch New Zealand, 
1986. 



   6 

     Despite having a rich history, very little has been written on the 

history of Pahiatua recently.7 Angus McCullum’s history of the 

Pahiatua County, Tui Country: A History of the Pahiatua County was 

published in 1988. This excellent book covers 100 years of the history 

of the Pahiatua County from 1888 to 1988. However, his chapter on 

the Pahiatua County during the Second World War titled ‘Into War and 

Beyond”, is only ten pages long and the second shortest in the book.8  

The only other noteworthy book on the history of Pahiatua, Bryon 

Bentley’s  Pahiatua (A Pictorial History 1881-1981) was published in 

1980 and again has only limited information about Pahiatua during the 

Second World War. 

     Regional history, while becoming more popular, has to some 

degree been overlooked in New Zealand. New Zealand historians have 

been taking a more ‘regional’ approach but internationally it has 

become an extremely legitimate research area, best emphasised by 

the International Journal of Regional and Local History published since 

2013. This is especially true of regional history during the Second 

World War. So the question has to be asked as to why this thesis is 

titled “The Pahiatua Region and the Second World War” and not the 

Pahiatua County or Pahiatua District during the Second World War. 

While the majority of the thesis will concentrate on the Pahiatua 

                                                           
7 Apart from the numerous books on the Pahiatua Children’s Camp. In particular, I highly recommend 
Manterys, A, (ed.). New Zealand’s First Refugees: Pahiatua’s Polish Children (2004), Wellington, New Zealand: 
Polish Children’s Reunion Committee, 2004. which gives over 100 personal, and in some cases, quite moving 
stories from these Polish refugees. 
8 In total Tui Country has 384 pages. Pages 197 to 206 refer to WWII. 



   7 

County during the Second World War, the social, cultural and 

economic factors that affected the Pahiatua County in the Second 

World War also affected the counties next to it and were often not 

mutually exclusive. Geographically, the Pahiatua County may have 

stretched from the Tararua mountain range in the west to the Puketoi 

mountain range in the east. However, there are no natural boundaries 

to the north and south and these were purely lines drawn on a map. 

The result is that many people who live in these ‘borderland’ areas 

often had contacts and connections that went beyond county lines, 

and often considered themselves part of a larger Pahiatua region. In  

 
The Pahiatua Region 



   8 

the late 1930s the Pahiatua County council even tried to extend its 

boundaries to incorporate part of Eketahuna County because, as the 

Pahiatua County Clerk wrote ‘the petitioners desiring to be included 

in this County used the town of Pahiatua for banking, shopping and as 

a stock centre…’9  

     So what is the Pahiatua region? Is it strictly geographical, vaguely 

cultural or by a broad political regional demarcation? For the purpose 

of this thesis the Pahiatua region is based on the geography of the 

Pahiatua County but with some overlap with the counties on the 

borders, especially to the north and south. As W.J. Gardner states 

‘Regional history is about communities and the areas with which they 

identify themselves.’10  Many of the residents during the war that lived 

north or south of the Pahiatua County borders considered the 

township of Pahiatua to be their main service town and themselves to 

be part of a broader Pahiatua region. 

     What was the Pahiatua region like in 1939?  Predominately a dairy 

and sheep farming community it was a region with a population of 

4,640, of whom nearly 3,000 lived within the ‘administrative county’.11 

It was a region that was politically aware and socially conscious. For 

example, a meeting on the Social Security Act in Pahiatua on 27 of June 

1939, had seen over 250 women, or approximately 5% of the 

                                                           
9 [Letter to The County Clerk – Uawa County Council]. (n.d.). Pahiatua County Council, Administration – 
General, TDC 00034:1:1. 
10 W.J Gardner, ‘New Zealand Regional History and its Place in the Schools’, in New Zealand Journal of History, 
13:2 (1979), p. 183. 
11 New Zealand Official Year Book 1940, p. 78-79. 



   9 

population, meet to discuss its merits.12 When war broke out in 

September 1939 ‘the response of the Pahiatua district was immediate 

and over the period of the war 1939-45 some 492 local men and 

woman enlisted in the Armed Forces of New Zealand, and in some 

cases in the British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.’13 Victoria Cross 

recipient Keith Elliott’s response of ‘I must go. That was the only 

thought in my mind’ was a common reaction amongst the men of the 

region.14   

     This thesis consists of five chapters that span the time period from 

1939 to 1945. As regards the research material for the history of this 

region during the Second World War, a wide variety of primary and 

secondary material was consulted. A key primary resource throughout 

the thesis will be the newspapers of the era, and in particular the 

Pahiatua Herald (1893–1943) and the North Wairarapa Herald (1943–

1954).15 These newspapers were invaluable in depicting the life of the 

region during this time. Books, articles, and theses about the era will 

be consulted. Parliamentary records and material at the National 

Archives will also be important resources. In addition, the Pahiatua 

County and Pahiatua Borough records, not only will give an idea of the 

workings of local government, but also give some illustration of life at 

                                                           
12 Evening Post, 28 June 1939, p. 10. 
13 Bentley, B.J. Pahiatua. A Pictorial History 1881-1981. Pahiatua: Carthew’s Bookshop Ltd, 1980, p. 72. 
14 Elliott, K. & Adshead, R. From Cowshed to Dogcollar, Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1967, p. 32. 
15 Despite having a population of approximately 4 600 the Pahiatua region published a daily ‘national’ 
newspaper during the Second World War. It would later become three times a week in 1942. 



   10 

the time. These materials are complemented with the printed 

personal recollections of Pahiatua residents at the time. 

     Chapter one will focus on Pahiatua in 1939 and during the first year 

of the war. The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of what 

Pahiatua was like in 1939, how well prepared it was to handle the 

outbreak of the Second World War, what its initial reaction was and 

how enthusiastic the region was towards the war. Chapter two will 

focus on the reaction and response of the Pahiatua region and its 

people to the war. Was there majority support for the war effort and 

if so, what did they do to help the war effort? Did the people of 

Pahiatua enlist and why or why not?  The focus of chapter three is on 

the social impact of the war for the Pahiatua region. What was regular, 

everyday life like for the people of the Pahiatua region during the war 

years? How were gender roles affected by the Second World War?  

Chapter four will look at the impact the war had on the industries of 

the Pahiatua region. In addition, how was employment affected 

during this period?  The final chapter will concentrate on local and 

national governance of the Pahiatua region during the Second World 

War. How did this governance effect the people of the Pahiatua 

region? What were the benefits and the drawbacks that the Pahiatua 

region faced due to this governance? Of particular interest is the 

impact of the Polish Children’s Camp to the region. 

     This research is valuable. It will give an idea of the consequences of 

the Second World War on a small rural region. This has been a subject 



   11 

that has been largely absent from the New Zealand historiography. 

The experiences and attitudes rural regions had towards the Second 

World War often shaped their future identity. These regions have a 

story to tell and this thesis will endeavour to tell one of them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



   12 

Chapter One 

The Centennial Year 

 

     ‘At the moment of writing, it seems that there is a good chance of 

war being averted wrote the editor of the Pahiatua Herald in late 

August 1939.1 However, when war did break out in Europe in 

September 1939, there was an attitude of ‘It Can’t Happen Here.’2 Or 

perhaps more correctly, it will not have any effect on us. As the Mayor 

of Pahiatua, Mr. S.K. Siddells said ‘…Pahiatua is particularly well 

situated geographically and I just want to advance the opinion that 

this district is in no danger whatsoever…’3 Siddells was the Mayor of 

the Pahiatua Borough from 1938 – 1942. He was considered the 

guiding spirit in many local movements during this period.  

     It was a war that seemed far away and initially, there was 

uncertainty about how it would affect the Pahiatua region. However, 

support in the Pahiatua region, like many other areas of New Zealand, 

for the war was positive, and was perhaps best summed up by the 

following comment of the Pahiatua County Council, ‘That this council 

offers the fullest co-operation and assistance to the Government in its 

efforts at the time of the war crises, which has been forced on the 

British Empire.’4 

                                                           
1 The Pahiatua Herald, 28 August 1939, p. 4. 
2 Ibid, 26 August 1939, p. 4. 
3 Ibid, 5 September 1939, p.4. 
4 Pahiatua County Council Archives 4/1/1 Vol.11, 11 October 1939, p. 1031. 



   13 

     In fact, it should not have come as much of a surprise to the people 

of the Pahiatua region when war did break out. For a number of years, 

the editor of the Pahiatua Herald had been alluding to the problems 

Germany was creating in Europe and had warned of the ‘new anxiety’ 

of Japan.5   

     The refugee problem caused by the conflicts in Europe was also 

something that the Pahiatua region was well aware of, and while 

unknown at the time, was later to have a huge impact on the Pahiatua 

regions war effort. The Pahiatua County Council had been asked to 

fund a relief effort for Spanish Refugee Children in July 1938. In 

October 1938 an editorial in the Pahiatua Herald titled ‘Wanderers on 

the face of the Earth’, had warned that ‘With the increase of 

intolerance and persecution in the Dictatorships of Europe, the 

refugee problem becomes daily more acute.’6   

     So what was the Pahiatua region like when war broke out? By the 

beginning of 1939 the region had slowly climbed out of the depression 

years of the early 1930s and there was a feeling that things seemed to 

be improving, especially economically. One example of this was that 

the Pahiatua County Council was undertaking a massive bridging 

programme. ‘In the Pahiatua County there are probably more 

bridges…per kilometre of road than in any other county in New 

Zealand.’7 However, the council was having some difficulties with this  

                                                           
5 The Pahiatua Herald, 19 October 1938, p. 4. 
6 Ibid, 21 October 1938, p. 4. 
7 McCallum, A. Tui County: A History Of Pahiatua County, Pahiatua: The Pahiatua County Council, 1988, p. 197. 



   14 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Main Street, Pahiatua, 1930s 

Photo courtesy of ‘Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries’ 



   15 

bridging programme. Loans had to be raised from a variety of sources, 

telephone and power poles often had to be moved to accommodate 

the new bridges, and even small areas of land had to be purchased. 

When war broke out, this financing became more difficult. The result 

was that some bridge projects were eventually replaced with culverts 

to save costs.  

     Pahiatua was seen as being an important and emerging region in 

the late 1930s. It was considered a needed stop of the tour of Lord 

Nuffield in March 1939.8 Lord Nuffield was the founder of Morris 

Motors Limited, the Nuffield Foundation, the Nuffield Trust, and 

Nuffield College, Oxford. It was a growing region that had just seen a 

record year of building activity in the township of Pahiatua.9 The 

inspector for the Bank of New South Wales had reported that 

‘considerable activity continues in erection of new residences’ and 

that ‘a certain amount of movement is noticeable in residential 

properties.’10 Despite this increase in building activity there was still a 

housing shortage in Pahiatua, with it being reported that for every 

house becoming available ‘agents are receiving as many as seven or 

eight applications for each one vacant.’11 The reason given for this 

shortage was a steady increase in population combined with a 

                                                           
8 The Pahiatua Herald, 8 March 1939, p. 6. 
9 Over 30 permits were granted in the year to March 1939 with a total value of £15 909. Over £3 000 more 
than the year before. In 1935, 43 permits had been granted, largely due to the 1934 earthquake, but only to a 
value of £14 328.  
10 MS-Group-1977: Bank of New South Wales: Inspectors’ reports, April 1939, MSDL-1406. 
11 The Pahiatua Herald, 4 May 1939, p. 4. 



   16 

previous lag in building activity. By July 1940, there were only 423 

houses in the Borough compared to a population of 1,800; 

approximately one house for every four people.12  

     When war did break out, it at first seemed to have little impact on 

the day-to-day life of the people of the Pahiatua region. Beyond a 

slight initial panic there was certainly a feeling of ‘business as usual’ 

after a few weeks. In fact, there was a general lack of concern in the 

Pahiatua region at the outbreak of the Second World War. This is best 

summed up by a tongue-in-check article published in The Pahiatua 

Herald on 26 September 1939.  

 

          Actually there was not enough traffic…something to do with the petrol 

restrictions we supposed – but this was the only visible sign of the war. No 

evidence of any tenseness, no worried faces or anxious groups gathered at 

street corners discussing the latest wireless news. Newspaper placards with 

heavy black headlines seemed very depressed about not attracting any 

attention.13 

 

The Alcohol Question 

 

     Nancy Taylor mentions in The Home Front what soldiers did on their 

leave activity was an area of ‘lively concern’ for the majority of the 

                                                           
12 Ibid, 25 July 1939, p. 4. 
13 Ibid, 26 September 1939, p. 4. 



   17 

country early on in the war. 14  This issue of troops and liquor was 

certainly a hot topic of debate in the Pahiatua region. The temperance 

issue had been discussed in the region before the war. In August of 

1939 roughly 80% of the letters to the editor of the Pahiatua Herald 

on the temperance issue had been in favour of regulating liquor. This 

suggests there was obviously some very active support for this 

movement in the Pahiatua region. This contentious issue was to arise 

again in the early months of the war effort. 

     The Pahiatua County Council came out very strongly that military 

camps should remain dry. They sent a resolution to the Minister of 

Defence stating ‘That this council believes the great majority of 

parents would welcome the placing of hotel bars as out of bounds to 

all men in khaki, and further protests that it is not enough safeguard 

to have camps dry and the hotels open in every town, where the value 

of costly training for efficiency can quickly be nullified’15  

     In late September 1939 a meeting of the Pahiatua Council for 

Action against Alcohol was held in the local Methodist Church. This 

council was largely made out of members of various Pahiatua 

churches and it was presided over by the Rev. Armstrong.16 At the end 

of the meeting the council sent the following worded resolution to the 

Ministers of Justice and Defence: 

                                                           
14 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Volume Two), Wellington: Historical Publications Branch New Zealand, 1986, p. 
1015. 
15 Horowhenua Chronicle, 26 September 1939, p. 5. 
16 The Reverend of St Paul’s Presbyterian in Pahiatua and a key figure in the temperance movement in the 
region during this time. 



   18 

     That in view of the proposals to increase taxation for war purposes this 

Council urges the Government to take action to eradicate the present 

deplorable wastage of natural wealth and foodstuffs and human efficiency 

caused through the indulgence in alcoholic liquor upon which £9 ½ million was 

dissipated last year.    

     This Council believes that the great majority of parents would welcome the 

placing of hotel bars out of bounds to all men in khaki. Further that alcoholism 

endangers physical and mental well-being, and reduces resistance to disease. 

The rigours of modern warfare undeniably require troops to be strong and 

healthy. 

     The council further protests that it is not enough safeguard to have camps 

‘dry’ and ‘pubs’ open in every town where the value of costly training for 

efficiency can be quickly nullified17 

 

     This attitude towards ‘wet’ canteens in the Pahiatua region did not 

go unnoticed in New Zealand and unfortunately it had some 

unforeseen consequences. As one letter published nationally stated: 

‘Do the Pahiatua Borough Council and the Auckland Ministers’ 

Association in the face of their recent remits imagine that enlisted 

men are just schoolboys – primary at that. May I remind these learned 

gentlemen that the age for rank and file of the enlisted force is 

between 21 and 35 years of age.’18 The Pahiatua Borough Council was 

very put out with being confused with the Pahiatua Council for Action 

Against Alcohol and made a point of mentioning in a number of 

                                                           
17 The Pahiatua Herald, 26 September 1939, p. 5. 
18 Ibid, 4 October 1939, p. 5. 



   19 

nationally published papers that they were not one and the same. ‘The 

resolution complained of by your correspondent was passed by ‘The 

Pahiatua Council for Action Alcohol’ and not the Pahiatua Borough 

Council, which is concerned solely with its own business.’19 

     What the majority of the Pahiatua region, and in particular the men 

who enlisted, thought of this issue is perhaps best summed up in a 

letter to the Pahiatua Herald written by one J.P. Hogan on 14 October 

1939.20  

 

     In wet canteens, you say, the flower of New Zealand’s young manhood would 

be ‘brought into contact with man’s greatest enemy, alcohol, which has slain its 

tens of millions.’…Since you call our soldiers the flower of manhood, they must 

have some sense of proportion and discretion, and be able to look after 

themselves where liquor is concerned?...Having enlisted, I expect to be called 

into camp in the near future. And let me tell you, “Anti-Humbug”, that I, along 

with thousands of others of the Dominion’s manhood, resent your impertinent 

interference.21  

 

     The issue became moot however when the government decided on 

the establishment of wet canteens on 15 November 1939, as it was in 

the ‘best interests of soldiers’22. 

                                                           
19 Evening Post, 5 October 1939, p. 10. 
20 This letter was in response to a letter published by one “Anti-Humbug” two days before on the subject of 
wet canteens and the remarks of Archdeacon Whitehead of Dunedin. 
21 The Pahiatua Herald, 16 October 1939, p. 4. 
22 Ibid, 16 November 1939, p. 5. 



   20 

     The fact that one of the biggest industries in the region was a 

brewery seems not to have come up during the debates over this 

issue. It would be interesting to know what the Tui Brewery thought 

about this alcohol question, despite the answer being seemingly 

obvious, however no records seem to exist expressing their opinion.     

 

Politics 

   

     Being the major population centre in the north Wairarapa, the 

Pahiatua region was often visited by the leading politicians of the day. 

It was also a region that was highly political, as can be seen by its 

reaction to many of the major political issues of the time. One in 

particular being the Social Security scheme. 

     While this issue arose before war broke out in Europe, the Social 

Security Act and the regions reaction to it is a good example of how 

political Pahiatua was at the time. The Social Security Act was seen as 

one of the Labour Government’s key policies and was meant to be 

introduced without fail on 1 April 1939. This act was overall not very 

popular in the Pahiatua region and it even saw the comment made 

that ‘not only is the scheme financially unworkable, but the medical 

services it promises are a make-believe thing.’23 Information about the 

Social Security Act even appeared on the front page of the Pahiatua 

                                                           
23 Ibid, 20 February 1939, p.4. 



   21 

Herald on numerous occasions, which was extremely rare. Usually the 

front page was only used for local advertising.   

     A meeting was held on 28 June 1939 in Pahiatua to discuss the 

Social Security Act and its relationship to women. Around 250 women 

attended the meeting, which was later described as a protest 

meeting.24 Both of the speakers were keen to stress the 

inconsistencies in the act and the need for women to protest it. At the 

end of the meeting a resolution was unanimously passed stating ‘That 

this meeting of women protests against the provisions of the Social 

Security Act, more especially the clauses relating to women.’25 The 

turnout for this meeting was so large it made national news and was 

well reported. In the region there were only approximately 4,640 

people at this time, and over 250 women (or approximately 5% of the 

population) meet to discuss this issue.26 When the poor transport 

conditions, petrol restrictions and other responsibilities are taken into 

account this shows how important this issue was for a number of 

people, and in particular women, in the Pahiatua region. It also gives 

a demonstration of how politicised the region could be. 

     Just before the budget of August 1939, the Pahiatua Herald sent a 

questionnaire to a number of businessmen in Pahiatua. ‘A possible 

increase in the Social Security charge from one to two shillings…found 

                                                           
24 ibid, 28 June 1939, p. 4.  
25 Evening Post, 28 June 1939, p. 10. 
26 New Zealand Official Yearbook 1940, p.78-79. The figures I give for the region are based on the Pahiatua 
County and Pahiatua Borough figures from the census.   



   22 

to be feared by practically every person whom it approached.’27 One 

respondent even suggested Labour should put the Social Security 

charge up to seven shillings as ‘This would be a good thing for the 

country, because very shortly afterwards we would not have a Labour 

government.’28 

     Politically, the Pahiatua region saw numerous political figures visit 

in the first year of the war. However, two of these figures made 

speeches that brought the region to national attention. The leader of 

the opposition, the Hon. Adam. Hamilton made a speech in Pahiatua 

on November 11 1939 that caused public denials to be made by the 

government. Addressing a crowd of mostly National supporters he 

argued that the objective of the government was to overthrow 

capitalism and the system of private ownership, especially individual 

private transport interests. This saw a strong denial by the Minister of 

Transport, the Hon. Robert. Semple, that the government aimed to 

wipe out private transport interests. He also said it was amazing that 

‘Mr. Hamilton made his statement at Pahiatua, after having been 

assured by operators themselves that there was no such thing as 

confiscation, commandeer or dictatorship.’29   

     The controversial Labour M.P John Alfred Alexander Lee gave a 

widely reported speech on monetary reform and the control of 

                                                           
27 The Pahiatua Herald, 1 August 1939, p. 5. 
28 Ibid. 
29 New Zealand Herald, 18 November 1939, p. 10.8 



   23 

finance in Pahiatua’s Drill Hall on the 21 November 1939.30 It was 

advertised that Mr Lee would speak on ‘Labour’s Right to Govern’. It 

was also stated that ‘Mr Lee is regarded as a particularly fine 

orator…he has been the centre of a storm of controversy, chiefly 

because of his candour and directness, and the meeting will be 

nothing if not interesting.’31 In this speech, he argued that unless the 

people ran the banking system of New Zealand true democracy would 

not be possible. He also argued that the reason for New Zealand’s 

large debt was because private enterprise controlled money.32 This 

speech was not greeted with great support from the national media. 

‘…his advice is empty. It is useless filling the air with words about true 

democracy and popular control unless he has a workable scheme.’33 

However, one of the most interesting aspects of this speech was when 

he was asked about whether opposition to the war should be 

suppressed. His response was that ‘He was not in favour of 

suppressing anybody save the man disavowing the law and preaching 

insurrection’.34 In perhaps a response to Hamilton’s comments, 

another issue of particular importance to the Pahiatua region that he 

discussed was how farmers would want extension of the Government 

                                                           
30 Auckland Star, 21 November 1939, p. 6. 
31 The Pahiatua Herald, 18 November 1939, p. 4. 
32 Auckland Star, 21 November 1939, p. 6. 
33 New Zealand Herald, 22 November 1939, p. 10. 
34 Auckland Star, 21 November 1939, p. 6. 



   24 

marketing of produce after the war due to the fact their might be a 

fall in prices and a steady return would be welcomed.35 

 

Generosity 

 

     As well as being politically important, it could also be argued that 

Pahiatua was one of the most generous regions in New Zealand 

towards the war effort. In The Home Front Taylor states that ‘It was 

not easy for patriotic campaigners to raise money’ but this 

phenomenon was certainly not the case in the Pahiatua region.36 This 

is well demonstrated in the first year of the war effort by the 

contributions the region made to the Wellington provincial 

contribution to the Sick, Wounded and Distressed Fund.  

     This fund was run by the Red Cross and the Order of St John. New 

Zealand was split into its ten provincial districts with the Pahiatua 

region being in the Wellington province. This fund saw large 

contributions from across New Zealand, but especially from the 

Wellington province. Started on 12 May 1940, it gave itself the target 

of raising £250 000 ($24 078 790)37. This target was on the low side as 

the fund eventually reached £746 451 ($71 894 548).38  

                                                           
35 Evening Post, 21 November 1939, p.11. 
36 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Volume One), p. 153. 
37 https://rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator (January 2019). All amounts in brackets following 
are a modern day value using the same inflation calculator.  
38 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Volume One), p. 153. 

https://rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator


   25 

     At the start of this appeal a public meeting was held in the Pahiatua 

Borough Council Chambers on 15 May 1940. Over 70 people attended 

the meeting showing the interest in the region towards this cause. 

Perhaps the most important decision made at this meeting was when 

‘Mr. S.K. Siddells39…suggested an annual quota for each person in the 

district to cover all (patriotic) appeals during the year.’40 While there 

was no legal authority for an annual quota scheme , it was noted that 

it had been attempted in Otago and seemed to be working well. After 

some discussion it was decided ‘that the committee fix a suggested 

personal quota for everyone in the district.’41 At the end of the 

meeting it was decided that the main method of collection for this 

appeal would be house-to-house collection in the town and a postal 

appeal for the country.  

     Three days after the appeal started in the Pahiatua region it was 

already being reported that ‘the £1 000 promised by the Mayor…will 

be exceeded’42 This was despite the fact that the circular appeal had 

yet to be sent out. In fact the £1 000 ($96 315) mark was achieved in 

only five days from the start of the appeal in the Pahiatua region and 

the £1 500 ($144 472) mark ‘was realised in nine days from donations 

before a postal and quota appeal was made’.43  This can be seen as a 

great achievement compared with other regions. As mentioned in the 

                                                           
39 Not only the Mayor of Pahiatua, but also the President of the Pahiatua Red Cross. 
40 The Pahiatua Herald, 16 May 1940, p. 5. 
41 Ibid. 
42 Ibid, 18 May 1940, p. 4. 
43 Gisborne Herald, 25 May 1940, p. 5. 



   26 

Pahiatua Herald the ‘…willing generosity on the part of rich and poor 

alike and excellent organization by the committee and collectors have 

committed to make an outstanding response from Pahiatua, one that 

compares favourably with other districts’.44  

     With donations ‘pouring in’45  by 3 June it seemed possible that the 

£3 000 ($288 945) mark might even be passed.46 However, donations 

did start slowing down and it took until 13 June to pass this total. 

Despite this, the Pahiatua region could be rightly proud of its response 

to the Red Cross appeal. As the editor of the Pahiatua Herald wrote: 

 

          The response to the appeal in Pahiatua and district has been widespread 

and enthusiastic, and a glance at the donation lists will show that it has touched 

responsive chords among those less able to make monetary sacrifices as well as 

those in more affluent circumstances. The committee aimed, in the first 

instance, at £1 000, but it became apparent within a few days of the opening of 

the lists that the possibilities of the district had been underestimated…Many 

other centres, beside Pahiatua, have extended their original quotas, but the 

figure realised locally is outstanding. The people in this district can therefore 

take considerable pride in their part of the National effort to raise funds for the 

Red Cross appeal.47 

 

                                                           
44 The Pahiatua Herald, 25 May 1940, p. 4. 
45 Ibid, 28 May 1940, p. 4. 
46 Ibid, 3 June 1940, p. 4. 
47 Ibid, 8 June 1940, p. 4. 



   27 

     ‘We’ve reached it!’48 was the response of the treasurer, Mr. J. 

Hutton when the Pahiatua Red Cross effort finally passed £3 000. The 

opinion was also expressed that worked out per head of population, 

it was a very high average compared to the rest of the country.49 As 

the total continued slowly mounting, the excellent response of the 

people of the Pahiatua region was recognised when the treasurers of 

the Pahiatua fund received a telegram from the sponsors stating ‘Your 

appeal has been wonderful’.50 

     Despite the great response to the appeal in the Pahiatua region, 

there was some critical feedback on the generosity shown, by one Mr 

S.K. Siddells in a letter to the editor of the Pahiatua Herald on 24 

June.51  

 

          All good things must come to an end and it is desirable that the appeal for 

the above fund (Sick, Wounded and Distress Fund) come to an end this week. 

The response in the Pahiatua District has been truly remarkable, averaging 13s 

6d per head of population, which clearly indicates the acknowledgement by the 

great majority of the residents of their responsibility to assist all war efforts.  

         I write to bring before the notice of those who have not yet made their 

donations, the fact that the Appeal closes this week, and this final opportunity 

is being given them to emulate the splendid example of sacrifice already made 

                                                           
48 Ibid, 13 June 1940, p. 5. 
49 Although this was not specifically implied, it was definitely alluded to. 
50 The Pahiatua Herald, 18 June 1940, p. 4. 
51 Who as you may recall was not only the Chairman of the Pahiatua Patriotic Committee, the Pahiatua Red 
Cross, but also Pahiatua’s Mayor. 



   28 

throughout the Dominion. There are some, I know, who can well afford to give, 

but who have as yet held back for reasons of their own. 

          Consideration of the Armistice Terms imposed upon France by Nazi and 

Fascist Dictators will surely move the conscience of even the most selfish and 

self-centred individual, who in the past has always been content to leave it to 

the other fellow. I can only hope and trust that every resident of the Pahiatua 

District will see to it that he or she makes his or her contribution to this worthy 

appeal before the end of the week, no matter how small or large the donation 

may be. It is well to remember that thousands of little drops make the jug full.52  

 

     On the official closing date, 30 June, the Pahiatua region had raised 

over £3 221 ($310 231).53 As noted, the donations to this appeal were 

reported in the Pahiatua Herald nearly daily, and it is interesting to 

look at this data.54 

 
                                                           
52 The Pahiatua Herald, 25 June 1940, p. 4. 
53 Ibid, 1 July 1940, p. 5. 
54 All figures in the graph below come from the donations that were published in the Pahiatua Herald on the 
dates stated during the time period. 

£0

£500

£1,000

£1,500

£2,000

£2,500

£3,000

£3,500

£4,000

12-May 19-May 26-May 2-Jun 9-Jun 16-Jun 23-Jun 30-Jun 7-Jul

Pahiatua Red Cross Appeal 1940



   29 

     There were definite spikes in contributions to the fund. The 

significant contributions to the fund happened from approximately 

the 24 to 28 of May (at the time of Dunkirk) and there was a slight 

boost at the beginning of June (the surrender of Belgium).  

     It is also interesting to compare the significant contributions the 

Pahiatua region made to this fund, compared to the largest population 

centre in the Wairarapa, Masterton. Masterton had a population of 

9,500 compared to the Pahiatua regions 4,640.55 The contributions to 

the Wellington Provincial Committee were reported in the Evening 

Post regularly.56 On five dates the contributions of Pahiatua and 

Masterton were revealed in the Evening Post on the same date. 

 

 

                                                           
55 New Zealand Official Yearbook 1940, p. 78-79. 
56 All the figures in the following graph come from the Evening Post published on those dates. 

£0 £50 £100 £150 £200 £250 £300 £350 £400 £450 £500

7-Jun

11-Jun

20-Jun

29-Jun

13-Jul

Masterton / Pahiatua

Masterton Pahiatua



   30 

     These figures give a good indication as to the generosity of the 

Pahiatua region compared to the largest population centre in the 

Wairarapa. On three of the five days the contribution of the Pahiatua 

region was significantly more than Masterton. This was despite 

Masterton having double the population of the Pahiatua region and ‘a 

corresponding increase in community facilities’.57 The town of 

Masterton had also  undergone an impressive building programme 

just before the war and a number of new businesses had become 

established, such as Hansells and the Reliance Tyre and Rubber 

Company.58 Masterton certainly was on the rise but does not seem to 

have been as generous as the Pahiatua region, despite having over 

double the population. 

     There were a number of other patriotic appeals that showed the 

generosity of the Pahiatua region at the start of the war effort. An 

example was the £1,000,000 ($94 046 803) appeal. For this appeal, the 

Pahiatua district was given a quota of £3 000 ($293 000) to raise. By 

December 1940, due to a queen carnival held in Pahiatua, £4 658 

($454 900.28) had been raised, well above its quota and second only 

to Waipukurau in the country.59  

     These results seem to suggest that the Pahiatua region may have 

been significantly more prosperous than other regions, such as 

                                                           
57 Winter, G. The Look Of Masterton: A celebration of 150 years 1854 – 2004, Masterton: Wairarapa Archive, 
2004, p.44. 
58 Ibid, p.46. 
59 Auckland Star, 4 December 1940, p. 4. 



   31 

Masterton, at the start of the Second World War. However, the 

evidence suggests otherwise. The amount of deposits that the Bank 

Of New South Wales had in its accounts based on population figures 

for both regions suggests that in Pahiatua the amount was 

approximately £11 per person, and in Masterton £17 per person.60 

This combined with the fact that ‘by the outbreak of World War 

Two…the Council (Pahiatua County) was finding great difficulty in 

raising all the finance required...’61 suggest that the Pahiatua region 

was not as prosperous as its donations advocate. 

      The donations the Pahiatua region gave willingly at the start of the 

war seem to suggest that there was an extreme patriotic feeling 

towards the war, more so maybe than other regions. It was important 

to ‘do your bit’ or as the Evening Post so nicely put it, ‘give till it hurts 

– it is the least you can do’.62 The patriotic campaigners certainly were 

able to raise money in the Pahiatua region, despite it not being the 

wealthiest region in the province. 

 

The Defence League 

 

     An organisation that was extremely active in Pahiatua in the 

months before war broke out was the New Zealand Defence League. 

The Defence League was established in late 1936, largely by people 

                                                           
60 MS-Group-1977: Bank of New South Wales: Inspectors’ reports, April 1939, MSDL-1406. 
61 McCallum, A. Tui Country: A History of Pahiatua County, p. 193. 
62 Evening Post, 19 September 1940, p. 13. 



   32 

with strong military backgrounds and interests. They were concerned 

with the lack of New Zealand’s defences and the weakness of the 

League of Nations, as demonstrated by Italy’s conquest of Abyssinia. 

However, the Defence League was mainly formed to try and inspire 

young men into military training. 

     While it took a few years, a branch of the Defence League was 

established in the Pahiatua region on 16 May 1939. Like many regions 

of New Zealand, support for the Defence League was strong in rural 

regions and this was certainly the case in Pahiatua. At the annual 

meeting of the Pahiatua branch of the Farmers Union on 5 May an 

invitation was extended to the President of the New Zealand Defence 

League, the Hon. W. Perry, to speak in Pahiatua.63 This idea was 

unanimously supported by all members of the Pahiatua Farmers 

Union. Perry was unable to come but the Defence League secretary, 

Mr. Eric Reeves, keen to capture the mood of the people of the 

Pahiatua region quickly organized a meeting between the New 

Zealand Defence League and the Pahiatua Borough Council. A circular 

letter was delivered to all households and the Mayor made an appeal 

for the public to turn out at the meeting.64   

     The meeting was held on May 16 and was presided over by Siddells 

and was addressed by the Defence League Secretary, Mr. Eric Reeves. 

Over 100 people attended and by the end of the meeting 66 people 

                                                           
63 Ibid, 6 May 1939, p. 5. 
64 Mr. S.K. Siddells was a strong supporter of the New Zealand Defence League.  



   33 

had enrolled in the newly created Pahiatua Branch of the League.65 

The Rev. A.A. Armstrong was unable to attend but sent his wishes for 

success and stressed his co-operation for the League.66 

     In his speech, Reeves, made a number of typical Defence League 

statements. New Zealand should have a force of at least 9 000 trained 

men, a compulsory register of every man, woman and child should be 

drawn up, everyone over 18 should have three months’ compulsory 

continuous military service after which they should serve in a 

territorial unit for four years, and the strengthening of the ANZAC 

relationship. On the economic effect of these policies Reeves stated 

‘The Defence League consider that in time of war sacrifice should be 

bourn equally by every man and woman in New Zealand and it 

approves the principle of equality of economic sacrifice in wartime. 

This amounts practicality to what is known as ‘conscription of wealth’ 

and although we say nothing of the formula for putting this into force, 

we approve the principle.’67 Reeves concluded his speech by stating 

his wish that a branch might be created in Pahiatua and his 

disappointment with the widespread apathy in New Zealand with the 

defence measures that needed to be taken. ‘…we still need greater 

efforts so that when the Government does realise that something 

more must be done, it will have a responsive public. Our object is to 

                                                           
65 Pahiatua Herald, 17 May, 1939, p. 5. 
66 The Rev. A.A. Armstrong was transferred in early August from St Paul’s Presbyterian in Pahiatua to another 
parish in Drury, Auckland. Thereby ending his just over two-year involvement in the Pahiatua region. 
67 The Pahiatua Herald, 17 May 1939, p.5 



   34 

make the Government’s task easier when it does change policy’.68 The 

Mayor closed the meeting by noting the enthusiastic response of the 

League’s appeal ‘especially as he felt that the people of Pahiatua were 

usually inclined to be apathetic on such matters.’69 

     Interestingly, while ‘apathetic’ was certainly not the case, support 

for the Defence League was perhaps not as strong as this meeting or 

the mayor indicated in the region. At the meeting, the majority of 

questions asked to Mr. Reeves, were not on the key Defence League 

policy of military training, but actually on the lack of military 

equipment in New Zealand, for example gas masks and anti-aircraft 

guns.  

     The general feeling of the Pahiatua region to the Defence League 

can perhaps best be summed up in an editorial published in The 

Pahiatua Herald four days after this meeting. The editorial was 

addressing a speech made by Mr Semple in Christchurch on the 

Defence League. ‘The only result likely to be achieved by Mr Semple 

in such speeches…when he referred to those interested in the New 

Zealand Defence League as a gang of scaremongers who want to 

create a psychology of fear, is to bring gratification to the type of 

person whom the classical Sir Thomas Browne described as ‘those 

vulgar heads that look asquint upon the face of truth’…’70  

                                                           
68 Ibid. 
69 Ibid 
70 Ibid, 20 May 1939, p.4. 



   35 

     The truth for the majority of the people of the Pahiatua region 

seems to be that if war was to come, which at the time seemed 

increasingly likely, New Zealand was not prepared for it. There was the 

feeling, mentioned at the Pahiatua Farmers Union meeting, that New 

Zealand did not seem to have much military equipment or troops. If 

the Defence League could improve New Zealand’s war readiness it 

should be supported to a point.  However, Semple himself came in for 

some criticism in the region with his supposed martyrdom of 

imprisonment for the sake of his opinions during World War One 

being compared very unfavourably to the thousands of New Zealand 

men who served on the battlefield. This feeling of New Zealand being 

ill-equipped for war in the region was obviously correct. As McIntyre 

points out in New Zealand Prepares for War, despite government 

expenditure on the Armed Services having greatly increased since 

1934 New Zealand was overall not well-prepared for the war.71  

 

The Petrol Restrictions 

 

     As Taylor mentions in The Home Front ‘petrol rationing was the first 

dent in civilian life made by the war’72 and this was certainly the case 

in the Pahiatua region. One of the first major consequences of war 

breaking out for the Pahiatua region was the use of the private motor 
                                                           
71 McIntyre, W.D. New Zealand Prepares for War (Defence Policy 1919-39), Christchurch, New Zealand: 
University of Canterbury Press, 1988, p. 259. 
72 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Vol 2), p. 742. 



   36 

car. Only the day after the outbreak of the war large numbers of cars 

and owners were noticed outside the Pahiatua Post Office applying for 

the granting of licences to purchase supplies of petrol. However, the 

attitude was mentioned as being cheerful but resigned with the 

general attitude being ‘it’s worth trying, and if it doesn’t come off – 

we’ll have to walk.’73 

     At first garage owners mentioned that they felt the petrol 

restrictions were not affecting their businesses. One garage owner 

stated that ‘I don’t think things are any different for this time of the 

year.’74 However, it soon became apparent that this was not the case 

and the petrol restrictions were being felt in the region, ‘…the roads 

became so quiet it was an event if a car went past.’75 When the 

Minister of Supply, Hon. D.G. Smith relaxed some of the restrictions it 

was greeted with approval in the Pahiatua region. ‘For one thing it 

means that citizens will in a measure be able to get back to the 

enjoyment of more or less normal life, a sound factor in keeping up 

the public confidence. For another, a large portion of New Zealand’s 

trade will be given a much needed fillip.’76 

     However, this was not to last, as stricter petrol restrictions came 

into force on the 1 February 1940. Essential cars, for example for 

doctors, were allowed up to 30 gallons per month depending on the 

                                                           
73 The Pahiatua Herald, 5 September 1939, p. 4. 
74 Ibid, 20 September 1939, p. 4. 
75 Champion, R and Smith, L. Makuri School and District, Palmerston North: NZ Lottery Grants Board. p. 20.  
76 The Pahiatua Herald, 13 October 1939, p. 4. 



   37 

horse power of the vehicle. Semi-essential cars, such as in use of 

farmers to come into town, were allowed up to 12 gallons per month. 

Commercial vehicles, such as farmers trucks, had their fuel allotment 

cut by a third.77 

     The government gave people a week’s notice of these changes and 

‘…many people who had containers, storage space and ready money, 

laid in reserves...’78 This practice was certainly seen in the Pahiatua 

region as well. In the two days before the restrictions came into being 

many garage owners in the region reported that sales were 

substantially above normal.79 Apparently no guidelines were given to 

the garage proprietors about filling tins, which meant that practically 

any quality was available as long as you had a container. ‘A good 

number of cars were observed to be leaving town with a drum lashed 

to the luggage-grid.’80 These scenes saw the Pahiatua Borough Council 

remind its residents that it was illegal to store more than eight gallons 

of fuel without a licence, under the Dangerous Goods Act.81 

     Despite the petrol restrictions there was little effect in the number 

of vehicles registered in the Pahiatua region. It was originally 

speculated that the higher cost of petrol and the petrol restrictions 

would lead to a likely decrease in the number of vehicles registered.82 

                                                           
77 Ibid, 31 January 1940, p. 4. 
78 Taylor, N. The Home Front, p. 745. 
79 The fact that many farmers were in Pahiatua for a stock sale two days before the petrol restrictions came 
into play, no doubt had quite a bit to do with this. 
80 The Pahiatua Herald, 1 February 1940, p. 4. 
81 Ibid. 
82 Ibid, 7 May 1940, p. 4. 



   38 

However, at the end of the registration period there was only a little 

over 4% drop in the number of registrations.83 In fact, heavy truck 

registrations increased from 58 to 68. The reason for this was ‘not 

easily explainable, although it may be due in some measure to the 

growing mechanisation of farm transport’.84 

 

Sugar and Tea 

 

     ‘When Japan’s attack threatened sources, there was widespread 

panic buying of sugar and tea…despite efforts by retailers to restrain 

buying and assurances by traders and officials that supplies were 

normal.’85 This tendency towards hoarding seems to have occurred in 

the Pahiatua region as well, but more so at the beginning of the war 

rather than when Japan entered the war. A Pahiatua grocer summed 

up the feeling of many grocers in the region quite nicely in the first 

few days after war broke out in Europe. ‘People seemed to go crazy 

for a day or two! Saturday and Monday were a nightmare...They went 

crazy on sugar and most of them seemed to think they weren’t going 

to get any. But we just wouldn’t let them have it, and when the 

position was pointed out to them, they quietened down and in a day 

or two were buying the normal qualities.’86  

                                                           
83 Ibid, 4 June 1940, p. 4. 
84 Ibid. 
85 Taylor, N. The Home Front, p. 788. 
86 The Pahiatua Herald, 8 September 1939, p. 4.  



   39 

     Despite the Emergency regulations the majority of Pahiatua grocers 

could supply sugar in bags of 5lbs to town customers and 12lbs to 

country customers. They also stated that there were ample supplies 

of flour despite the increase in demand, with one grocer stating that 

while he was selling nothing ‘larger than a 25lb bag…there was not 

even the suspicion of a shortage from the mills.’87 They also stated 

that there was no reason to expect a shortage in tea.  

     By the end of September 1939 grocers in the region were reporting 

that hoarding and attempts at hoarding had completely ceased88, and 

this seems to have remained the case for the rest of the war years. 

This does not mean that there were not still shortages of these key 

commodities in the region. Despite what Pahiatua grocers had said 

previously, within four weeks of war breaking out tea supplies had 

already been cut to one pound at a time for town customers and five 

pounds a month for country customers. There was also a temporary 

shortage of sugar within two months of the war breaking out.89 With 

sugar costs rising to 4d per pound, and with the added cost of freight 

charges to the Pahiatua region, many grocers were suffering and 

arguing that selling sugar was not paying costs. The Price Investigation 

Tribunal did increase the price to 4½d on 26 October, but one Pahiatua 

grocer, at least, made the increase at least a day before the official 

date. 

                                                           
87 Ibid. 
88 Ibid, 20 September 1939, p.4. 
89 Ibid, 27 October 1939, p. 4 



   40 

The Centennial Celebrations 

 

     Perhaps the biggest impact of the Second World War on the 

community of the Pahiatua region in the first year of the war was the 

effect it had on the centennial celebrations. Following the immediate 

outbreak of war, there was a lively discussion in the region as to the 

advisability of continuing with the planned centennial celebrations. It 

was even suggested that should be cancelled or drastically reduced in 

size. One person who was against this idea was the editor of the 

Pahiatua Herald, who came out and stated that there should be an 

attitude of ‘business as usual’ and that the centennial should go ahead 

as scheduled in early 1940.90  

     The Pahiatua Centennial Celebrations Committee met on 27 

November to discuss this issue. However, at this meeting it was 

decided to postpone the decision until February. The Mayor, Mr. 

Siddells, presided over this meeting, and at the conclusion said ‘We 

have to decide whether the Centennial programme as previously 

outlined is to be gone on with in full, curtailed, or amendments made. 

My personal opinion is that there is not the spirit of the general public 

behind the thing as there was at the time of the Coronation. Unless 

we have whole-hearted support, the effort expended will not be 

justified…’91 

                                                           
90 Ibid, 11 October 1939, p. 4.  
91 Ibid, 28 November 1939, p. 4. 



   41 

     It was probably a wise choice to postpone this decision. The war 

was still in its early days and there was no way to know yet what 

effects it would have on the Pahiatua region, and support for the 

Centennial was definitely split amongst the public in the Pahiatua 

region. The editor of the Pahiatua Herald and the Pahiatua Borough 

Council had come out in support of the celebrations. The Mayor and 

the Pahiatua County Council itself was sitting on the fence, ‘The 

County has decided to hold the matter over until the end of the 

year…’92, while the Pahiatua Women’s Division had passed a 

resolution that the celebrations should be curtailed or postponed. 

     The editor of the Pahiatua Herald was disappointed with public 

opinion. ‘While this does not imply that the celebrations will definitely 

be postponed, it does seem to indicate that whatever functions 

Pahiatua does have to mark the centenary date are likely to be upon 

a rather meagre scale.’93 He urged the Centennial Committee to keep 

the local celebrations. He gave a few reasons why he thought the 

Centennial Celebrations would be good for the Pahiatua region. First, 

the region owed it to itself to mark the centenary in a proper manner. 

‘This is a progressive area, and to wipe out the whole programme 

would be a sign of weakness and a retrograde step.’94 Second, it was 

important in times of stress to put on a brave front and ‘carry on’95 as 

                                                           
92 Ibid, 28 November 1939, p. 4.  
93 Ibid, 30 November 1939, p. 4.  
94 Ibid. 
95 Ibid. 



   42 

normal. Finally, it would mean a lot to the local community, especially 

the local businesses. ‘Pahiatua’s Centennial Celebrations must go on, 

even if they last two, or three days, instead of the original week.’96 

     In February 1940 the Pahiatua County Council received a letter 

from the Pahiatua Borough Council asking for the County’s 

cooperation in a three-day Centennial celebration. But the County 

Council decided to abandon the centennial celebration. As Councillor 

A.W Bissett said, ‘I don’t think we can collect a fund for patriotic 

purposes one minute, and ‘whoopee’ down the street in carnival the 

next.’97 It was also pointed out that with the Centennial tree-planting, 

the memorial in Petone and the Exhibition in Wellington, the County 

council had already spent £217 on the Centennial celebrations. A 

resolution was carried ‘that in view of war conditions and appeals for 

patriotic purposes, it is the opinion of this council that all Centennial 

celebrations should be abandoned.’98 The one exception, was that the 

County Council agreed to assist financially for school children to 

attend the Wellington exhibition, as long as the sum did not exceed 

£20.99 

     The editor of the Pahiatua Herald was obviously disappointed at 

this decision and felt that since the idea of cancelling the celebrations 

a few months ago nothing much had changed. ‘It is to be hoped that 

                                                           
96 Ibid. 
97 Ibid, 15 February 1940, p. 4.  
98 Ibid. 
99 Both councils gave financial aid in the end and this resulted in over a hundred children visiting the 
Wellington Exhibition on 8 March 1940. 



   43 

even in the face of the County’s refusal to participate, the Borough will 

go right ahead with its plans, so a great day in Pahiatua’s history will 

not be allowed to pass dismally and unnoticed…Pahiatua can surely 

manage a day, or two days’ festivities, Pahiatua owes this much to 

itself, and to the pioneers who made this district what it is.’100 

     At the Pahiatua Borough Council meeting held on 4 March 1940, 

the Borough decided to continue with the celebrations. As can be 

imagined, the editor of the Herald greeted this news with great joy. 

‘Somebody had to give the lead and Pahiatua owes a debt of gratitude 

to those who did so…due to the firm attitude adopted by the stalwarts 

in the community, the district will be able maintain its progressive 

reputation.’101 

     A circular letter was sent out to businesses and some residents by 

the Centennial Celebrations Lighting and Decorations Committee 

asking for bunting to use as decorations for the celebration and for 

each business to decorate its premises for the celebration dates of the 

5th, 6th and 7th of April. It was also mentioned, that while they wanted 

the celebration to be a happy time for all residents ‘we are fully 

conscious of the fact that owing to the war no large-scale scheme as 

was witnessed at Coronation time can be carried out.’ 

      On 2 April the full details of the Centennial Celebrations were 

finalised. Activities such as a ball, a parade, afternoon teas, the 

                                                           
100 The Pahiatua Herald, 15 February 1940, p. 4.  
101 Ibid, 5 March 1940, p. 4.  



   44 

opening of parks, sports events for children, church services, a fire 

brigade display, and even a cricket match had been arranged to 

celebrate the centennial.  

     On 5 April the centennial celebrations were opened by the 

Governor-General Lord Galway at Carnival Park.102 This was seen as a 

great honour in the region as a visit from the Governor-General was 

very rare for small towns. In his short speech, the Governor-General 

made numerous references to the war. ‘We are living in dark, 

dangerous and difficult times, but there are still rays of hope’.103 He 

spoke of the need for the home market to provide food, something 

that was very definitely of relevance to the farming community of the 

Pahiatua region. The parade that afternoon, also saw some allusion to 

the effects of the war with the float for Swanney’s Garage having a 

lifelike demonstration of a steam-driven vehicle, alluding to the petrol 

restrictions.104 

     The first year of the war effort saw many changes for the Pahiatua 

region. The people had to adjust to the new reality of a country at war 

and what that meant for them. Overall, the region was very supportive 

of the war effort, as is demonstrated by the generosity of the region 

to various public appeals during this period. However, was this 

generosity only financial or did the region respond militarily as well. 

Did they enlist? This is the subject of the next chapter.  

                                                           
102 Ibid, 4 April 1940, p. 5. 
103 Ibid, 6 April 1940, p. 5. 
104 Ibid. 



   45 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of ‘Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries’ 

 



   46 

Chapter Two 

The Military Reaction and Response  

 

     ‘A terrible catastrophe has occurred…There is little doubt that great 

sacrifices will be demanded of every one of us, and I feel justified in 

concluding that we of the Pahiatua district are only too willing to share 

them, no matter the cost…1 was the special statement of the Mayor 

(Mr. S.K. Siddells) when war was declared. This so-called special 

statement was because it was a speech the Mayor made to the region 

that was published verbatim in the local media. An extremely unusual 

occurrence. But was the Pahiatua region willing to ‘share the cost’? 

Did they enlist? Was there support for the military effort in the region? 

 

Enlistment 

 

     Support for any war, especially amongst men, can often be gauged 

by how many men enlisted. In the Pahiatua region, the Mayor was a 

great supporter of the military and within a week of war being 

declared he had made arrangements with the Defence Department to 

get men in the region to enlist. On the first day possible, twenty men 

from the region joined up. The feeling amongst the majority of these 

men was that they would rather fight and serve overseas than wait for 

                                                           
1 The Pahiatua Herald, 5 September 1939, p. 4. 



   47 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

S K Siddells 

Mayor of Pahiatua 1938 - 1942 

Photo courtesy of Archives Central, Feilding 

 

 



   48 

the war to arrive in New Zealand. ‘I think we’ll be needed there more 

than here.’2 Keith Elliot, the Victoria Cross awardee from the Pahiatua 

region, had a very similar response on hearing that war had been 

declared. ‘I must go. That was the only thought in my mind.’3 

However, other reasons given for enlisting were that it was a chance 

to see the world, to gain aviation experience, they had no chance of 

meeting the requirements for the Expeditionary Force as they were 

married and had children, and one man over thirty stated that he was 

enlisting because ‘I have had a good deal of my life and enjoyed it. If a 

few more of my age go over, it may mean saving a boy of eighteen or 

nineteen with his life still before him.’4 This attitude is in direct 

contrast to that expressed in the New Zealand Herald of many married 

men of ‘It’s not my job, I’ve a wife and kids.’5 So while the majority of 

these early enlistments could be said to be altruistic, there was 

certainly some men who enlisted in the Pahiatua region because of 

the perceived benefits they could obtain. 

     By 16 September 1939, 27 men had enlisted from the Pahiatua 

region.6 Three more men enlisted for the special voluntary force by 18 

September. There was a real sense of pride in the region that due to 

these enlistments ‘Pahiatua has shown that it is not found wanting in 

                                                           
2 Ibid, 13 September 1939, p. 4. 
3 Elliott, K & Adshead, R. From Cowshed To Dogcollar, Wellington, New Zealand: A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1967, p. 32.  
4 The Pahiatua Herald, 13 September 1939, p. 4. 
5 New Zealand Herald, 18 March 1940, p.10. 
6 The Pahiatua Herald, 16 September 1939, p .4. 



   49 

the present stress, and local recruits have shown a fine spirit.’7 

However, these enlistment rates were not ‘extraordinary’ and were 

very similar with the amount of enlistments that were happening 

around New Zealand at this time based on population figures.8  

     This fine spirit was also reflected by the publics’ reaction to these 

first enlistments. Selected by ballot the first batch of recruits from the 

Pahiatua region (eight in total) were scheduled to leave on 3 October 

1939. They were all presented with a fountain pen which was bought 

with money donated by the community. The Mayor, addressing the 

recruits, stated that ‘The material value of this gift is not much, but a 

far greater value is contained in the whole-hearted good wishes of the 

community, which go with it.’9 

     The farewell ceremony for these recruits in the Flagpole Square saw 

a huge turnout. ‘One of the most notable features at the gathering 

was the number of returned soldiers who attended. Over a hundred 

strong, they assembled at the Borough Council Chambers 

and…marched to the Square to pay tribute to their new comrades-in-

arms.’10 This was an indication of the large support there was amongst 

the people in the Pahiatua region to the war effort, and in particular 

from returned servicemen. 

                                                           
7 Ibid, 28 September 1939, p. 4. 
8 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Volume One), Wellington: Historical Publications Branch New Zealand, 1986, p. 
68. 
9 The Pahiatua Herald, 3 October 1939, p. 5. 
10 Ibid. 



   50 

     These eight recruits came from a variety of economic backgrounds. 

Half of these recruits worked in the agricultural industry (three were 

farmers, one a cartage contractor), three were white collar workers 

(two worked in a bank, one in the Public Trust Office) while the final 

recruit worked in a store.11  

     Overall, it seems that there was support for the war across all 

economic and cultural areas of the Pahiatua region.  However, the 

pattern of 50% or more of the recruits coming from an agricultural 

background was to become a common and at times a controversial 

theme in the Pahiatua region. Even Keith Elliott himself was to 

experience this when he was called up. 

      

     Eventually I was called up for the first Echelon and my sisters gallantly stayed 

at home to run the farm. Someone, however, ruined my chances by telling the 

Army that I was managing the farm for my mother. I received a telegram from 

Headquarters instructing me not to proceed to camp, so I carried on as usual. I 

was considerably upset, as I had gone to a lot of trouble supervising a multitude 

of details in preparation for leaving the farm.12 

 

     At the start of 1940, 14 men from the Pahiatua region were 

selected to train for the Second Echelon of the Special Forces.13 These 

recruits attachment and ties to the region were strongly emphasized 

                                                           
11 Ibid, 3 October 1939, p.4. 
12 Elliott, K & Adshead, R. From Cowshed To Dogcollar, p.32. 
13 The Pahiatua Herald, 6 January 1940, p. 5.  



   51 

in The Pahiatua Herald. They were descripted as ‘born and brought up 

in the district, while others have lived and worked here so long that 

they have become true citizens of Pahiatua.’14  

     The first indications of disapproval towards enlistment rates in the 

Pahiatua region was at the time of the Second Echelon.  There was a 

perceived inferior response to the request for recruits to the Second 

Echelon compared to the First Echelon from the region. To be fair this 

was the experience of not only the Pahiatua region, but nationally. As 

Taylor puts so eloquently, ‘…as the first mood of acceptance and 

excitement waned, recruiting became slower and slower, and…it 

plainly needed gingering up to complete the Second Echelon’.15  The 

lack of response to recruiting for the Second Echelon was put down to 

a number of factors in the region. However, it seems the main one 

seems to have been the fact that after going through all the training 

there was no guarantee that as a soldier you would serve outside New 

Zealand.  The lack of recruits for the Second Echelon in the region, 

compared to the First Echelon, was alluded to in The Pahiatua Herald. 

‘These recruits are of a fine type, as fine as from any other part of the 

country, although their numbers may not be great.’16 It was also, 

tongue-in-check, mentioned that the state of the uniforms for the First 

Echelon could have resulted in the lack of enlistments for the Second 

Echelon.  

                                                           
14 Ibid, 9 January, 1940, p. 4.  
15 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Vol One), p. 68. 
16 The Pahiatua Herald, 19 December 1939, p. 4. 



   52 

     Despite this, the support for these recruits was still extremely 

strong in the region. Across country halls and private houses around 

the region large turnouts of people turned up to farewell these 

recruits for the First and Second Echelon. Marima saw over 150 people 

turn out to farewell one of the recruits on a Tuesday, which was close 

to the entire population of the area.17 This was not an unusual 

occurrence for the region. Every recruit or soldier who left would have 

an evening of dancing, singing and entertainment in their local area 

with a high turnout of the local residents. They would often then be 

given another enthusiastic send off at the local Pahiatua railway 

station. This seems to have been a very different experience from that 

of many other soldiers in larger regions ‘were there were few cheers, 

some crowds were notably silent and women wept.’18  

     This is a good demonstration of how proud the region was of the 

men who enlisted. There was a real feeling that these recruits were 

putting the Pahiatua region on the map and, as such, the region had a 

special admiration for them. This attachment to the local recruits was 

only enhanced by the short biography each recruit received in the 

local paper. 

     Eventually 25 soldiers from the Pahiatua region left with the Second 

Echelon. The pride that was felt in the region towards these men can 

be shown by the response at the farewell to these soldiers on 20 

                                                           
17 Ibid, 28 December 1939, p. 4.  
18 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Vol One), p. 68. 



   53 

March 1940. A ceremony was held for them at Foresters Hall in 

Pahiatua with 15 of the 25 soldiers attending. It was reported that 

over 300 people turned out to say farewell, making it the largest 

crowd of its kind for over twenty years in the region.19 As the Mayor 

stated ‘no greater tribute could have been paid the soldiers than the 

size of the crowd which had come to wish them goodbye and good 

luck. It was a wonderful gesture of esteem.’20 He also stated that ‘On 

a proportionate basis…Pahiatua had probably given more men for the 

service of their country than any other district in New Zealand.’21 

There is a touch of exaggeration to this, as best-case scenario, it was 

only approximately 2 to 3 per cent of the male population in the 

region.22 However, when these figures are compared to several South 

Island districts whose ‘quota figures loomed heavily above 

enlistments’ the Pahiatua region had every reason to be proud of its 

contribution.23 

     Seventeen recruits for the Third Echelon were called up from the 

Pahiatua region on 17 May 1940 to enter camp.24 This number was 

later to increase to 28.25 Once again crowds thronged the Masonic Hall 

in Pahiatua to give them a rousing farewell. There was a definite 

feeling of pride in these young men especially since ‘…that this is the 

                                                           
19 The Pahiatua Herald, 21 March 1940, p. 4. 
20 Ibid. 
21 Ibid. 
22 New Zealand Official Yearbook 1940, p.78-79. The figures I give for the region are based on the Pahiatua 
County and Pahiatua Borough figures from the census.   
23 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Vol One), p. 88. 
24 The Pahiatua Herald, 10 May 1940, p. 4. 
25 Ibid, 9 August 1940, p. 4.  



   54 

Third Echelon, and it is still a voluntary one’.26 One of the recruits, 

perhaps summed up the feelings and expectations of these men best 

when he stated that ‘The men in the last war did their job – we are 

going to do ours.’27 Throughout all these farewells for the First, Second 

and Third echelon ‘it was noticeable that a highly patriotic atmosphere 

prevailed throughout, while it was also evident that those present 

fully realised the great sacrifice being made by the local men in 

uniform.’28  

     There was a definite feeling of patriotism towards these men who 

had enlisted from the Pahiatua region. So much so that it saw The 

Pahiatua Herald publish a special issue of the paper on 13 September 

1940 to allow the businesses and individuals of the area to give special 

greetings to these men. The intention was to help ‘remind those 

overseas of Home’29 and by all accounts the response was such that it 

led to the editor of The Pahiatua Herald to state ‘The response…once 

again demonstrates the fact that when this town sets out to do 

something, it takes no half measures.’30 This was later to be repeated 

the following year on 12 September 1941 with the comment that ‘The 

number of messages in this issue far exceeds the previous one, and 

                                                           
26 Ibid, 15 May 1940, p. 4. 
27 Ibid, 15 May 1940, p. 4. 
28 Ibid, 9 August 1940, p. 4. 
29 Ibid, 13 September 1940, p. 4. 
30 Ibid. 



   55 

plainly illustrates that many more men have left the district to join 

their pals.’31 

 

Conscription 

 

     Conscription, was an issue that dominated discussion in the 

Pahiatua region, as it did in the rest of New Zealand, in the first months 

of the war. There was certainly a feeling within the region that 

conscription was not really necessary. There was a feeling that the 

volunteers for the special force were currently sufficient to meet 

military needs, most of the pick of New Zealand’s manhood had 

already enlisted, volunteer armies were better than conscripted 

armies, and ‘conscription cannot be fully discussed until New Zealand 

knows its precise position in the war.’32  

     There was also a feeling among the people of the region, which 

predominately voted right of centre, that under a Labour government 

conscription was unlikely. It was felt that the majority of the Labour 

Party had been against conscription during the First World War, a 

current Cabinet Minister Mr. P. C. Webb, had been imprisoned for 

refusing military service, the Prime Minister Peter Fraser had been 

jailed for sedition, and that ‘the present Government could not well 

introduce conscription without a great deal of embarrassment. If they 

                                                           
31 Ibid, 12 September 1940, p. 4. 
32 Ibid, 28 October 1939, p. 4.  



   56 

did that they would be presenting a most remarkable reversal of 

form’.33 It is interesting to note that one local organization who 

supported compulsory service at this time was the Pahiatua electorate 

Labour Representation Committee.34 This position of there being no 

need for conscription in the region was to eventually change and 

change quite quickly. 

     One group that very early on came out in favour of conscription, 

were local farmers. It was thought by many in the region that farmers 

would be against conscription, due to the fact that any conscription of 

young men could leave a labour shortage in the farming community.  

     At a Pahiatua Farmers Union meeting at the Pahiatua Dairy 

Company on 13 October 1939 a frank discussion on the issue of farm 

labour volunteering for active service took place. At the end of the 

meeting the following resolution was passed, ‘That the Government 

be urged to set up a national register with a view to introducing 

conscription’.35 However, this resolution was not as noble as it sounds. 

As mentioned, approximately half of the volunteers for military 

service in the Pahiatua region in the first month of the war had come 

from an agricultural background.  The major reason the Farmers Union 

was pushing for conscription is that it would give a reason for the 

Government to refuse to accept farm workers for enlistment. Farming 

could be labelled an essential industry. As one member of the Farmers 

                                                           
33 Ibid, 18 November 1939, p. 4.  
34 New Zealand Herald, 31 October 1939, p. 9. 
35 The Pahiatua Herald, 14 October 1939, p. 4. 



   57 

Union said, ‘I think conscription is the only way to stop the young men 

rushing off hot-headedly when they are needed here.’36  

     Another group that came out in strong support for conscription was 

the Pahiatua Borough Council, becoming one of the first councils in 

the country to do so. On the 22 May 1940 the Borough Council passed 

a resolution that in view of the seriousness of the situation the 

Government be urged to adopt conscription.37 This was despite the 

fact that only three months earlier, in a response from a letter from 

the Defence League, the same Council had publicly stated on the 

conscription issue, ‘It seems absurd that we should be asked to say 

what should happen to the rest of New Zealand. Parliament is the 

proper place for the issue to be decided. It is not our duty as a council 

to express an opinion’.38 The Mayor himself stated that ‘Whatever we 

may feel personally it is certainly not our business as a Council to 

express an opinion about conscription. I am sure that if the necessity 

arises the Government will solve the question in a proper manner.’39 

At the time there was support for this position in the region, with the 

editor of The Pahiatua Herald stating ‘The council is to be 

congratulated upon the stand it has taken’. 40 

     This somersaulting in attitude of the Pahiatua Borough Council was 

due to a perceived feeling, not only amongst the councillors, but also 

                                                           
36 Ibid. 
37 Evening Post, 21 May 1940, p. 6.  
38 Ibid, 13 February 1940, p. 4.  
39 Pahiatua Borough Council Archives, Minute Book, 12 February 1940, 4/1/1/ Vol 12. p. 379. 
40 The Pahiatua Herald, 13 February 1940, p. 4. 



   58 

among the general public of the Pahiatua region, that the war 

situation was becoming extremely serious and therefore conscription 

was now necessary. The following motion was passed ‘That in view of 

the seriousness of the international situation it is the personal and 

considered opinion of the Mayor and Councillors of the Pahiatua 

Borough that the Government should as a war measure urgently 

consider the question of taking a referendum on the matter of 

conscription…’41 The council felt that there could be no argument 

against conscription and that they were reflecting the feelings of the 

region. 

     Once conscription finally came in under the National Service 

Emergency Regulations (1940) the Pahiatua district came under the 

Napier Military Area (No 7). The first ballot for territorial forces, which 

was published locally on 2 October 1940, saw 120 men gazetted from 

the district, with 75 of them being from the Pahiatua region.42 It was 

noted that ‘In the Pahiatua area…a goodly number of farm employees 

are included in the list.’43 

     About one third of these men called up for military service applied 

for a postponement in their obligations.44. Predominately, a large 

number of these men were from farming and associated industries. 

Appeals for the Pahiatua region were to be heard by the Masterton 

                                                           
41 Ibid, 21 May 1940, p. 4. 
42 Ibid, 2 October 1940, p. 5. 
43 Ibid. 
44 Ibid, 19 October 1940, p. 4. 



   59 

Manpower Committee. There were concerns that this committee, 

being from Masterton, would not understand the needs of a 

predominately rural region. This resulted in the secretary of said 

committee being keen to stress that ‘one of the members of the 

committee was a farmer with a comprehensive knowledge of the 

whole district.’45 

     The second ballot saw 122 men called up from the Pahiatua 

region.46 By this stage there were real concerns in the region about 

the large numbers of farm workers who had been included in both 

ballots. One farmer was even quoted as saying that, ‘If it were not for 

the women on farms the cows would not now be milked.’47 There 

were also concerns about the timing of the appeals board, with it 

coinciding with a busy farming season.48 

     At the first Appeals Board meeting in Pahiatua on 12 November 

1940 the Masterton Manpower Committee adjourned four appeals 

and dismissed a further 18, with these men to serve at a later date. It 

became apparent at this Appeals Board meeting that the farming 

community in the region, while saying it was co-operative and 

implying keen to serve, were very concerned about a potential labour 

shortage on the farms if they did serve. ‘One father appealing for his 

son, (who stated) that the Government should find alternative labour 

                                                           
45 Ibid. 
46 Ibid, 7 November 1940, p. 4. 
47 Ibid. 
48 Ibid. 8 November 1940, p. 4.  



   60 

for farmers met with the retort that that was the farmers’ own job and 

the Government was not the father and mother of all.’49 This friction 

between the appeal boards and the farming community of the 

Pahiatua region was to be ongoing throughout the war years.  

     Another common criticism that was made at these territorial 

service appeals boards was the feeling that a lot of the training could 

take place in Pahiatua, rather than in areas like Dannervirke and 

Wanganui, as had been done under the former system of compulsory 

military training. It was felt that there were ‘Great War officers with 

fine records in the district’50 who could supervise the training two or 

three days a week, thereby allowing the men to work and live at home. 

     These concerns were never really addressed by the Appeals Board 

and by the time of the fourth conscription ballot there were still major 

concerns raised about what ‘a substantial drain’51 it was on the 

manpower of the Pahiatua region.  

     While the region might have grumbled about the number of men 

who were being conscripted from the region, there was a certain 

amount of pride with the fact that the majority of these men were 

passing the medical exams. At nearly all of these medical exams over 

55% of the men were passed fit for territorial service. There was a real 

feeling in the region that the military was getting ‘good quality 

                                                           
49 Ibid, 13 November 1940, p. 4. 
50 Ibid, 17 January 1941, p. 4. 
51 Ibid, 5 March 1941, p. 4. 



   61 

manpower.’52 In fact, there was a real sense of regional 

disappointment when only 7 of 17 men passed the medical board 

sitting on 7 December 1940. There was also a perception that the men 

who failed the medical test were not pulling their weight. ‘It has been 

suggested that among many of the youth of the town, there is a feeling 

that their obligation to serve ends the moment they are rejected on 

medical grounds…this is a pity’53 The fact that these youth could and 

should be serving in such organisations, as the Home Guard, was a 

common refrain. 

 

The Home Guard 

 

   The Home Guard in the Pahiatua region was in Group 7B and was 

known as the Pahiatua Battalion. It was renamed to the Bush Battalion 

in approximately mid-1942. It was made out of six companies, the 

Headquarters Company (headquarters at Mangatainoka), A Company 

(headquarters at Pahiatua), B Company (headquarters at Mangahao 

School), C Company (headquarters at Konini Hall), D Company 

(headquarters at Makuri), and E Company (headquarters at 

Pongaroa). Each company had enough men to make three or four 

                                                           
52 Ibid, 5 December 1940, p. 4. 
53 Ibid, 12 April 1941, p.4. 



   62 

platoons.54 A Company later grew to five platoons with the 

establishment of a platoon to act as petrol guards in Pahiatua.55       

   In Nancy Taylor’s The Home Front she makes the claim that in many 

areas of New Zealand there was a feeling of apathy towards the Home 

Guard in the early stages of the Second World War.56 This certainly 

proves to be the case in the Pahiatua region. It is often thought that 

the people in the Pahiatua region were keen to join the Home Guard 

but, at least initially, this does not seem to have been the case. In the 

region, there was also the popular belief that the Home Guard was 

‘formed after the Japanese entered the war in 1941, with the bombing 

of Pearl Harbour’.57  While there was not a lot of initiative in creating 

a Home Guard, the Home Guard in the Pahiatua region certainly 

started well before the end of 1941. It fact its creation was a year 

earlier in December 1940. 

     In The Home Front Taylor also states that the early recruitment for 

the Home Guard in rural areas ‘was more enthusiastic than in the 

towns.’58 However, the Pahiatua region seems to have more in 

common with cities like Auckland and Wellington, where enrolment 

in the Home Guard was slow, than compared to other rural regions. 

                                                           
54 General Staff Instruction No. 10 H.G. [Home Guard] – Bush Battalion, Archives New Zealand, AD-W10 5. 
55 Ibid. 
56 Taylor, N. The Home Front, p. 460. 
57 Eddie, J, (ed.), Mangamaire “A Century of Change” 1897 – 1997, Palmerston North, New Zealand: Stylex Print, 
1997. p. 197. 
58 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Vol One), p. 456. 



   63 

The fact that the Pahiatua region was without a coastline, and 

surrounded by hills may have contributed to this feeling of security. 

     The region was definitely a late starter compared to other rural 

regions. It was not until 17 October 1940 that the Dominion Organiser 

of the Home Guard and the Minister of Manpower’s liaison officer 

visited the Pahiatua region to discuss the creation of a Home Guard.  

     By mid-November 1940 concerns were being raised about the lack 

of co-ordination and how undirected the creation of a Home Guard 

was in the Pahiatua region. There had not been an enthusiastic 

response to the idea of creating a Home Guard and it was seen as 

somewhat disappointing that only approximately 30 men had so far 

tried to volunteer for the Home Guard at the local county and borough 

council offices. One of the problems seemed to be that ‘no 

committee…does not yet appear to be functioning.’59 However, the 

major problem with the delay in setting up a Home Guard in the 

Pahiatua region seems to be simply clerical.  No one at the council 

offices was sure which form the volunteers were supposed to sign. 

This question was eventually solved by asking the Director of National 

Service and it was hoped ‘that since this matter has been clarified, that 

local enlistment for service in the Home Guard will show an 

improvement.’60 Despite this only eight enrolments had been made 

by 11 December 1940.61  

                                                           
59 The Pahiatua Herald, 15 November 1940, p. 4. 
60 Ibid, 21 November 1940, p. 4. 
61 Ibid, 12 December 1940, p. 4. 



   64 

     This attitude in the region is perhaps best described in a letter to 

the editor of The Pahiatua Herald on 10 December 1940. ‘I have 

interested myself in endeavouring to enrol members for the above 

(Home Guard). This is the sort of thing I have come up against: - From 

a member of a labour union: “I would like to join but we might be used 

to break up strikes, etc.?” From a farmer: “We might be used to 

enforce the Small Farms Act.” From another farmer: “Now what do 

they want – increased production, or me to waste time messing 

around parades?” From another: “I will join if …..(a neighbour) joins so 

that we can save petrol” From yet another: “Now what do I actually 

commit myself to?”’62  

     The Pahiatua County Council was also not happy with the attitude 

towards the Home Guard. The chairman stated that ‘the response …is 

to say the least tragic.’ This is very similar to the response of 

Auckland’s Mayor who was still complaining about the poor response 

and apathy towards the Home Guard in mid-December 1940.63 One 

councillor at the same meeting had the opinion that ‘plenty of men 

were willing to join if they felt they were going to serve a useful 

purpose’.64 This seems to have been a key opinion of many in the 

region. There was a willingness to serve but a perceived lack of 

organization and knowledge of what would actually be required had 

resulted in the poor response. For once, it felt like and was apparent 

                                                           
62 Ibid, 11 December 1940, p. 4.  
63 Taylor, N. The Home Front (Vol One), p. 456. 
64 The Pahiatua Herald, 12 December 1940, p. 4. 



   65 

that Pahiatua was behind other areas in the war effort with the 

establishment of a Home Guard. 

     A meeting of the newly created Home Guard Committee on 17 

December 1940 started to make prelim