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Pacific Islands Coastwatchers

During the Second World War, military personnel and civilians in New Zealand and other Pacific Islands manned a network of stations keeping watch for enemy aircraft and ships. They were the coastwatchers.

13 October, 2022

By late 1941, the New Zealand-controlled coastwatching organisation included: mainland New Zealand, Chatham Islands, the sub-Antarctic islands, 11 stations (later increasing to 14) in the Cook Islands group, three in the Tokelau Islands, and five in Western Samoa. After the outbreak of war with Japan, the Western Samoan and Tokelau stations were handed over to the US authorities.

With Japanese advances into the Pacific in 1942, these stations became very dangerous places. The brutal murder of 17 New Zealand coastwatchers and five other Allied prisoners by Japanese personnel on Tarawa on 15 October 1942, showed the real risks of this service.

Tai Nicholas, a ‘Polynesian cadet’ at work at the government radio station in Rarotonga. Nicholas was one of the locally recruited, civilian radio operators who had a central role in the Cook Islands coastwatching network. Credit: An Archives New Zealand A post-war photograph of William Cuthers (Kiri) who at the age of 16 years old was employed as a coastwatching organisation radio operator in the Cook Islands. Reproduced with the permission of the Cuthers family. Two coastwatchers, one of whom is manning the radio, in a hut on Auckland Islands in 1942. Credit: Alexander Turnbull Library, Fleming, Lady :Glass negatives taken by Sir Charles Fleming on the Auckland Islands in 1942, 1/4-066868-G.

Left, Tai Nicholas at work at the government radio station in Rarotonga. Middle, William Cuthers (Kiri), aged 16, employed as a radio operator in the Cook Islands. Right, coastwatchers on Auckland Islands*

After the family of a Cook Islands civilian coastwatcher raised concerns about his lack of medallic recognition, the New Zealand Government asked the New Zealand Defence Force to conduct research into whether Second World War Pacific Island coastwatchers had been appropriately recognised for their service.

The report prepared by Defence Historian John Crawford found that it appeared no consideration was given to attesting civilians in the Cook Islands who performed coastwatching duties very similar to those undertaken by attested military personnel.

This report is a valuable historical record of the service of Cook Islanders and other civilians employed by the New Zealand coastwatching organisation during the Second World War.

Download the report here (pdf, 5.9MB) 

 

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*Full image captions: 

Left: Tai Nicholas, a ‘Polynesian cadet’ at work at the government radio station in Rarotonga. Nicholas was one of the locally recruited, civilian radio operators who had a central role in the Cook Islands coastwatching network. Credit: An Archives New Zealand photograph reproduced with the permission of the Nicholas family.

Middle: A post-war photograph of  William Cuthers (Kiri) who at the age of 16 years old was employed as a coastwatching organisation radio operator in the Cook Islands. Reproduced with the permission of the Cuthers family.

Right: Two coastwatchers, one of whom is manning the radio, in a hut on Auckland Islands in 1942. Credit: Alexander Turnbull Library, Fleming, Lady :Glass negatives taken by Sir Charles Fleming on the Auckland Islands in 1942, 1/4-066868-G.