WWII dump in spotlight

One of the largest-ever residential subdivisions in Carterton was put under the microscope yesterday at a resource consent hearing and was turned on its face when objectors revealed it was the site of a World War II army camp that was buried on site in 1946 lock, stock, jeep and bren gun carrier.
Warnings of subsidence and ground pollution surfaced as Anderson's Line residents initially sat passively as they listened to the applicant's proposal.
But they could not contain their anger when it became obvious the war camp burial site was not going to be mentioned ? unless they bought it up.
"This is important information, why did we not know about it?" asked Tyler Ross, from Tomlinson and Carruthers surveyors, giving evidence on behalf of the applicant, Cameron Holdings Ltd.
John Cameron, the director of Cameron Holdings, admitted he knew something about the land's history, but wondered whether it was reality or folklore.
Around five years ago he leased a Geiger counter to survey the property. "I thought I might be in to find myself an old army jeep or something, but all I got was some old water pipes," he said.
Mr Cameron said he knew there had been large pits in the area with the pit metal being used for roading in the district but wondered about the camp stories. In his brief rundown on the history of the Carrington property he had described the camp as an "army tent city".
"Just how much all this is reality or folklore is a matter for discussion," Mr Cameron said.
The "folklore" comment got Lionel Hunt to his feet. He was one of the Andersons Line residents and submitters to the proposal who with his wife, Margaret were initially not against the proposal, only expressing concerns about traffic speed and the effect on their bore water supply.
But as stories about the camp burial site surfaced, he got increasingly agitated and asked to be heard.
"I have enjoyed your meeting, but you are missing things," he told the hearings committee. "It wasn't just buildings and tents that went into the huge trenches dug, but bren gun carriers, their trailers and jeeps."
He said the equipment came from Carterton's Belvedere Road, the site of a large army camp during the war, as well as from Solway showgrounds, where American soldiers were based, and from Memorial Park in Masterton.
He said the best way to see the effect on the site is from the air.
"I treated my wife to a flight over the district and it was this experience which alerted us to the major indentation in the land and areas where grass will not grow properly."
Mr Hunt said the major dumping occurred in two massive trenches bordering Andersons Line.
It's reputed to have taken nearly a week and continuous convoys of army trucks to transport the equipment to the burial site.
The Hunts have become fascinated by the story of the camp and are surprised how little information are checking out files at the National Archives in an effort to learn more.
The hearings committee reserved its decision on the subdivision application.