These were air raid shelters around the coast line of Timaru. The entrance of three air raid shelters can be seen from Station St. Timaru. On Saturday afternoons there would be a drill - all the sirens would go. The Army, Navy and Air Force (ANA) Welcome Club, upstairs in Church St, where soldiers or airmen on leave could come for a social evening, dancing, and a cup of tea. There were 44 concrete tank traps used in the streets of Timaru e.g. Beswick St. The massive concrete cylinders, designed to stop tanks, were dumped in the area after the war ended, and development of the wetland area at the Whales Creek stormwater outlet in February 2009 revealed four. The 6-metre long traps stand about as high as a man and are thought to weigh at least 25 to 30 tonnes. Learn more
Children had to wear round hardboard discs with their name and date of birth on them for easy identification in case they were injured, or killed, during the anticipated invasion. “Every road from the port had large cement cylinder 20 tonne tank traps ready to be rolled together to block any thoroughfare. Black outs were in place at night to prevent residential areas being easily spotted from the air and becoming a target for bombers. Bicycle lights were covered with brown paper and if blinds were not down a warden would come to the house and tell off the residents. Due to the shortage of imported goods, cars were confiscated by the military for use and returned to the owner after the war. Food rationing meant swapping butter coupons for tea. There was no tinned fruit or bird seed unless people had acquired it before the war. New Zealand had lost 12,000 in the war out of a population of two million. When Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945 (New Zealand time), ending the war in Europe, there were a lot of celebrations with a fire on Caroline Bay spelling out VE (Victory England). About 50 million died in total. Learn more
Ray Bennett, pictured inside an air raid shelter, dated 27 November 1996. South Canterbury Museum CN: 2012/186.0804