Linton Army Camp

Linton Military Camp is the largest New Zealand Army base and is home to the Headquarters 1(NZ) Brigade. It is located just south of Palmerston North.

History

The land that the present Linton Military Camp stands on was purchased by the Government in 1941 for use as a camp for Territorial and other home defence forces, with the first units taking up occupation in tented accommodation in February 1942, with the first prefabricated huts erected in August 1942. Unlike Burnham and Papakura, Linton was not initially intended to be mobilisation camp and as such was provided with minimal facilities. As the war intensified and the threat from Japan increased and the use of infrastructure in Palmerston North for defence purposes stretched to the limit, the decision was made to bring Linton up to the same standard as Burnham and Papakura. Deliberately designed as a precaution against air attack Linton camp was designed with nine Battalion Blocks, with only eight being completed each with a;

* parade ground,
* accommodation
* cookhouse,
* mess building, and
* ablutions.

Wartime construction was completed in 1945, and included;

* 182 Permanent buildings,
*521 two-men huts,
*155 four-men huts,
*480 eight-men huts,
* a power plant,
* water and sewage reticulation,
* rifle ranges,
* assault courses
* magazines.
* Railway siding.

Alternative Names

Linton Camp was accepted in general usage from 1943, with the names Camp Manawatu or Camp Kairanga used earlier. Camp Ravenswood or Camp Whitmore were considered as new names in the 1960s, but uses of theses names never eventuated.

Demographics

Linton Camp, which covers , had a population of 1,668 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 333 people (24.9%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 84 people (-4.8%) since the 2006 census. There were 372 households. There were 1,164 males and 504 females, giving a sex ratio of 2.31 males per female. The median age was 23.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 306 people (18.3%) aged under 15 years, 984 (59.0%) aged 15 to 29, 363 (21.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 15 (0.9%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 70.3% European/Pākehā, 40.5% Māori, 10.4% Pacific peoples, 3.1% Asian, and 7.4% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 10.1%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 62.6% had no religion, 28.1% were Christian, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.2% were Buddhist and 5.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 135 (9.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 63 (4.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $46,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,017 (74.7%) people were employed full-time, 102 (7.5%) were part-time, and 39 (2.9%) were unemployed.

Current units based at Linton

1st (New Zealand) Brigade

HQ 1 (NZ) Brigade commands the NZ Army's field forces day to day (less special forces) and prepares them for operations.

* Headquarters, 1st (NZ) Brigade

Combat Units

* 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
** Alpha Company
** Victor Company
** Whiskey Company
** Support Company
** Combat Service Support Company
*Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles
** Wellington East Coast Squadron
** NZ Scots Squadron
** Waikato Mounted Rifles Squadron
** Support Squadron

Combat Support Units

* 16th Field Regiment, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery
** 161 Battery
** 163 Battery
* 2nd Engineer Regiment
**HQ Squadron
**2 Field Squadron (Combat Engineers)
**25 Engineer Support Squadron
**Emergency Response Squadron
* 1st Command Support Regiment
** Headquarter, 1st Command Support Regiment, Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals
** 2nd Signal Squadron
** 25 Cypher Section

Combat Service Support Units

* 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion, Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment
** Headquarters, 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion
** 10th Transport Company
** 21st Supply Company
** 2nd Workshop Company
** 5th Movements Company
** 38 Combat Service Support Company
* 2nd Health Services Battalion (New Zealand)
** Headquarters, 2nd Health Services Battalion (NZ)
** 2nd Health Support Company
** General Support Health Company
** Logistics Support Company
* Linton Regional Support Centre (Linton Military Camp)

Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command

Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) trains and educates Army's personnel; develops leaders; establishes training standards; manages doctrine; integrates lessons learned and training support across the Army.

* Mission Command Training School
* Collective Training Center
* Land Operations Training Center (Palmerston North)
* School of Military Engineering

Lockheed Martin New Zealand

Lockheed Martin New Zealand provides logistics services for the NZDF including Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul, Managed Fleet Utilisation and warehousing.

* Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul team
* Managed Fleet Utilisation team
*Ration Pack Production Facility

Other Units

*Joint Military Police Unit Linton
*Joint Logistic Support Agency service center
*Human Resources service center

Incidents

A building belonging to the Ordnance Depot was gutted by fire on 18 February 1953

On Saturday 9 June 1956, fanned by an easterly breeze, a fire destroyed the Linton Military Camp cinema.

In October 2012, a series of shots were fired by an armed soldier, believed to be under the influence of alcohol, he then barricaded himself inside a house on the base. The NZ Police Armed Offenders Squad responded as well as the Military Police. After a five-hour siege, the police originally reported the man was apprehended, but later revealed he had committed suicide.

Barracks

Linton Camps barracks are named after New Zealand Recipients of the Victoria Cross.

See also

* Burnham, New Zealand
* Hopuhopu Camp
*Papakura Military Camp
*Trentham Military Camp
*Waiouru Military Camp

References

{{reflist

Installations of the New Zealand Army
Military installations established in the 1940s
Palmerston North
Populated places on the Manawatū River