Papawai Military Camp
Location: Fabians Road, Papawai, Greytown
Soon after setting up Tauherenikau Camp the army began to use the rifle range at Papawai for shooting courses. Training for machine guns also took place here along the banks of the Ruamahanga River with targets on the other side.
A small subsidiary camp was established catering for up to 500 soldiers in tents. Groups of mounted riflemen would be in residence for about a week and specialist troops also used the camp. By 1917 there were some permanent buildings - a headquarters, dining hall, small hospital, post office and a YMCA, but accommodation was always under canvas.
Infantry would march from Tauherenikau and Featherston for a day's shooting at Papawai - a round trip of 20km.
After the war the camp disappeared quickly while the rifle range continued to be used by local clubs.
Here's a good map to see the layout of the military camp in relation to current roads.
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All this information has been supplied by Neil Frances at the Wairarapa Archives. If you'd like to know anything further please contact david@wairarapanz.com.