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Kōrero: Wellington region

US marines

US marines

In 1942 Wellington became a training base for American forces fighting in the Pacific war. With thousands of New Zealand men away fighting in North Africa, local women often formed friendships with the visiting Americans. These women are enjoying a walk with two servicemen along the beach at Oriental Bay, around 1942.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-045134; F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Chris Maclean, Wellington region – New growth and attitudes: 1940–1975, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/13258/us-marines (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Chris Maclean, i tāngia i te 3 March 2009, updated 1 August 2015.

Comments

Tim Norman
19 November 2023
The woman on the right with the US soldier is Eileen Gyles (ne Goodman), my late mother in law. She was proposed marriage by the soldier but married a Kiwi, Herbert (Bert) Gyles, a notable businessman and owner of Gyles Print.