Encounter: Tunnels at the end of his lights | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

WHO: John Crews
WHAT: Guardian of history
WHERE: Kennedy Park, Castor Bay
WHY: There's something here worth saving

The man standing in the Kennedy Park carpark is small, fragile-looking. He studies our footwear as the photographer and I approach. "Where are your wetsuits?" he laughs, his own feet in tall, grey gumboots.

I thought we were going to stand on the sandy shores of Castor Bay and study machinegun posts and searchlight batteries in the cliffs. The enormous torch in John Crews' hand and the jumbo canister of Raid suggest otherwise.

"Very few people have been in them," he says eagerly, referring to the World War II-era tunnels under the park. "We can take a look if you like."

He shakes the Raid. "I come prepared ever since two huge black hairy spiders ran out one day when I did the locks." Between his arachnophobia and the photographer's claustrophobia, things could get interesting.

That's for later, though. First, to the beach.

We start down the newly installed wooden stairs and John launches enthusiastically into the history lesson. "In World War II, this was known as the 63rd Battalion, Ninth Regiment, Heavy Coastal Regiment, Royal New Zealand Army.

"When I first came here and looked at the WWII installations, I thought they were in the most disgraceful state. How can the council neglect an important part of the country's history?"

He believes foreigners - he's one of them, emigrated from London in 1989 - have a stronger desire to preserve history than do we Kiwis. "Is New Zealand embarrassed of its past?"

He shakes his head and speaks with reverence of well-preserved ancient sites in Europe. I nod, but I can't help thinking how much more attractive a Roman amphitheatre is than these solid, practical lumps.

We're standing on the sand and the bespoke steps protrude from the cliff above us. There's a pause in the lecture - John tends to change topic without warning - and his tone changes.

"I've got a bit of a gripe with your paper: my parents died and nobody bothered to find out."

I'm a little miffed. He's referring to an article last year following his sudden disappearance from his seat on Takapuna Community Board. The article outlined the repeated attempts made to contact him but John is adamant he won't read it.

Before we can tussle further he's moved on and is cheerily describing how this cliff looked 70 years ago.

"The old set of steps were built in 1942 to serve the searchlight battery. I think you'll find the community is upset there was no consultation before removing them. They could have stayed. They were part of the installation. I don't know what it is with the North Shore."

He's worried about the erosion. "Now we're going into the super-city and my fears are that nothing will be done about it and it will just crumble into the sea."

The retired Castor Bay resident is desperate to preserve and share history of Kennedy Park and has established a trust for that purpose (see below).

Back in the park and standing inside the sunken machinegun emplacements, he shares his vision. "We want to restore and save everything here. We want a museum down in the tunnels. We want to give it back to the community for their use."

John pulls out wartime photos of the gun emplacements. Fake roofs and free-hanging sheets of painted canvas made them look like state houses. As he shares his extensive research I start to warm to these concrete lumps. Perhaps he's onto something.

Raid at the ready, it's time for the tunnels. Now I see why John's wearing gumboots. A tiny daddy-longlegs falls from the lock as he fiddles with the keys and he leaps away from the metal grille. He was serious about spiders.

The photographer warns he might have to turn back but manages to control his phobia for the 10 minutes we're underground.

Rivulets of water follow slimy trails along parts of the tunnel's roof. Several rooms are big puddles. John's already cleared a lot of mud and litter from the tunnels and recently organised a working bee to paint over graffiti with help from the council and Resene Paints. He's researched for months, interviewed veterans who served in the 63rd Battalion.

Standing in the torchlight and listening to the stories he's gathered I'm grateful to this man and confident he'll make something quite remarkable of all this concrete.

Intrigued?

Following a public meeting last month, the Kennedy Park World War II Installation Restoration Trust was established. It has five trustees and 30 members but needs an executive secretary. Several committees have been set up for fundraising and hands-on restoration. More info: John Crews, ph 550 8391 or 021 0222 9140.