Weraroa State Farm for religious objectors, 1918-1919
During the First World War between 1,500 to 2,000 objectors and defaulters were convicted, or came under state control, for their opposition to war. Some of these religious objectors ended up at Weraroa State Farm in Levin. The Farm itself had been in government hands since 1894 (www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/9494), and during the war the Department of Agriculture made room for the religious objectors eventually detained on the site.
There are conflicting accounts of how many were sent to the Farm on 7 January 1918 – one Army Department record lists 21 names, while another mentions ‘about 28’. When they arrived there were no buildings for them so they lived in bell tents without floors, some of which were ‘old and leaky.’
In March 1918 sketches of possible buildings were made based on the huts at Featherston Camp, and in July materials were finally purchased. The objectors themselves were tasked with constructing the buildings pictured here: the living quarters were completed in September, and the dining/kitchen hall, toilets etc were finished in October.
Around this time a further 32 objectors were due to be sent to the Farm, but because of the delay in organising accommodation and with the war over, they were never sent. The 21 objectors still at the farm were finally released in February 1919 – the buildings they had recently completed were sold or demolished.
Archives Reference: AD81 Box 5/ 7/14
collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search#/?q=R3898818
Material from Archives New Zealand