Boom Boom with a view

To many, New Zealand's location at the far-end of the planet represents a shield of sorts. But it is also a vulnerability.

I keep stumbling across the ghosts of New Zealand military installations from World War II. Though no shots were ever fired in anger from the Aotearoa homeland during the Second World War, the very presence of these concrete ghosts is testament to the fear felt by Kiwis at the time.

On the way up to the Brooklyn Wind Turbine that towers above Wellington, we stumbled across the Pol Hill Gun emplacements.



This was an anti-aircraft battery. The scenery from up there is spectacular, a view to a kill. Built in 1942, it could house 109 military personnel and four 3.7" anti-aircraft guns.

The Kiwis, as they have done since their very beginnings as a member of the British Empire, declared war on the Germans at the same time as England did. Only when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor did New Zealand begin to feel in peril. That brought the war - and a hostile enemy - into the neighborhood.

Most of the New Zealand fighting force was in Europe or North Africa, leaving a gaping vulnerability back home. Churchill declared that he could spare no troops to defend New Zealand. Roosevelt, however, obliged. Over the years, a total of around 100,000 U.S. Marines and other American military personnel were stationed in New Zealand. The Kiwis also rapidly built up a Home Army, reaching 100,000 men and women at its height.



The exposure was terrifyingly highlighted in March of 1942. A Japanese seaplane was launched off a submarine in the Cook Strait - in and of itself a stupendous maneuver. The pilot, later identified as Nobuo Fujita, overflew Wellington in his Yokosuka E14Y plane, sending locals into a panic. Fujita flew low over the wharves and docks, searching for America ships to report to his submarines. His brazenness underscored the defenselessness of the country.

I believe the American and domestic military build-up in New Zealand prevented any further such overflights.



Like the abandoned gun emplacements at Somes, Point Dorset, and Fort Opau the old fort on Pol Hill is haunting and a poignant tie to times long gone. Looking down at the opulence of today's Wellington in the glorious sunshine of summer, almost makes it seem an aberration, as much of history is in good times.

The battery, best I can tell, is made up of four octagonal buildings. What little documentation I could find says there was a control room and observation post. It is one of six anti-aircraft locations around the city, with just three surviving - this one, the one on Somes and the one at Massey Point.

I'm not sure if Pol Hill is open to the public - we had to hop a little chain. There are certainly no historical markers - something we're getting used to in New Zealand. But, with the outrageous views on offer as well as your imagination as a guide, it's an awesome place to spend some time.