At home on Camp Mackay
The men of the 1st Marine Division occupied the newly-built Camp Mackay for six weeks in June and July 1942. Abruptly, they were sent to fight at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
Many Marine infantrymen were in their late teens.
A section of Marine Scouts in training at Camp Mackay. Sorce: Paekākāriki Station Museum, Carrigan Collection.
The camp had many specialised buildings. Dot-and-dash lines show water pipes leading to showers, laundries, latrines and mess-rooms. Dashed lines are sewer-pipes carrying waste-water to a treatment plant in Camp Russell (Queen Elizabeth Park).