The tents and huts are gone, we now sell pizza, not fruit cake and ice-creams come in wrappers not cones…
Still, memories remain of Paekākāriki village, as a home away from home for almost 15,000 U.S. Marines during World War II. Eighty years on, Paekākāriki still enjoys a wonderful seaside environment that harks back to a time when Americans out-numbered the locals by 15 to 1!
The railway still runs alongside the coast, with magnificent outlooks to Kāpiti Island, before it arrives at the historic Paekākāriki Station - so familiar to U.S. Troops as they disembarked to march to into camp in 1943.
The station is now home to a The Station Museum, housing the Friend in Need exhibition - here you can learn the story of the three Marines camps. Enlivened by videos, photographs, maps and memorabilia it recalls the ‘friendly invasion’ of U.S. Armed Forces 1942-44.
Needless to say, the village has been ‘funked up’ a bit, with the old Holtom’s Building, hosting a new deli-café and bakery, now painted bright pink and turquoise. However, the familiar railway crossing and wide main street remain and you’re still allowed to park in the middle of the road while you post a letter or visit the shops.
Finns has replaced the old pub and is still a great ‘watering hole’ – highly rated by visiting Marines and veterans over the last ten years.
The newly renovated St Peter’s Village Hall, which hosted wartime dances and concerts, is still the centre of community activity and continues to host events that ‘won’t quit’. The U.S. Marines Band played here in 1943 and the MARFORCE Band treated the village to an up-tempo lunchtime concert in 2023.
Just 20 minutes’ walk away from the village, Camp Paekākāriki is now commemorated by an attractive new Memorial Wall and out-door picture galley (opened in 2022). You can stay nearby in the Paekākāriki Holiday Park, and still see the remains of old concrete tent decks in their gardens.
The Memorial Wall is only five minutes’ walk from beautiful Paekākāriki beach and walk or cycle to the former Camp Russell via Te Ara O Whareroa in about 20 minutes. Look for the Yankee Trail for the most direct route to Camp Russell, home of the U.S. Marines Memorial, the Sailors Memorial and a restored US Marines Hut telling the WWII story of how the camps were built.
