Demobilisation of Godley Head

After Compulsory Military Training (CMT) finished, Godley Head was used for other purposes.

Toc H

The army formerly vacated the area in 1966 and a youth organisation, Toc H (from Talbot House), leased the camp area for retreats. In 1977 the army resumed control of the reserve after Toc H found the maintenance costs too high. Occasional exercises were held there until 1983 when the Department of Lands & Survey took over the complete management of the reserve. The management was then passed to the Department of Conservation.

DSIR

A station to observe the upper ionosphere and to take soundings was established at Godley Head in 1949. It was managed by the Geophysical Observatory by the DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research). Initially they were housed in the headquarters of the WW2 anti-aircraft camp.

Later a hut was erected on the foundations of a temporary military building. This was in turn replaced by a concrete block building, located near the pond and adjacent to the present carpark. The main purpose of the station was to gather data for the ionospheric predication of soundings for long distance high-frequency radio. Such systems were used for the military, broadcasting and civil aviation.

It was one of only twelve reference stations in the world and the only one in the South Pacific. The station was closed in 1980 and its operations shifted to Eyrewell. There is no evidence left of the Godley Head building or aerial. It was demolished and the site cleared after decommissioning. Army personnel based on the head at the time were firmly of the opinion that the DSIR work was related to monitoring the British atomic tests taking place then.

Current Usage of Godley Head

There are four original buildings still in regular use:

Recreation

Although not given formal recognition as a recreation area until 1979, Godley Head has long been considered an important area for walkers, picnickers and bach holders alike. As early as 1893 interest was expressed in securing Godley Head for public recreational use. A Mr Joyce of the Lyttelton Borough Council asked that “… the reserve at the heads extending from Sumner to Port Cooper should be vested in the Sumner Town Board for the purpose of recreation.”

Road access

In 1906 it was suggested by the Crown Land Ranger that a road be built out to the heads, it being argued that this would “… afford what would become a very popular and comparatively easy way by which the many visitors to Sumner could ramble via the picturesque coastline of the lighthouse reserve.”

The current road is fully paved from Evans Pass to the Godley Head carpark.

Picnics

In 1910 the Clerk of Sumner Borough Council, in writing to the Minister of Lands, described Taylors Mistake and Godley Head as a very popular picnic ground. Certainly the area was well patronized. In a Press article of 1911, between 300 and 400 picnickers from Christchurch were described as using the area on a Sunday.

Recreational use of the area was not confined to picnickers. Baches began to be built along the seafront between Taylors Mistake and Boulder Bay in the late 19th and early 20th century. By 1911 there were thirty baches in and between the two bays.

Today the Head is open every day and a new picnic facility at the Godley Head carpark provides good seating, tables, and a magnificent view. There are also toilet facilities at the carpark.

Farm Park

The establishment of a farm park in 1979 extended the tradition of public recreational use of Godley Head. In 1983, after the army relinquished use of its portion of the reserve, it was incorporated into the farm park, with the exception of the land leased to the Lyttelton Harbour Board. The farm park ended in 1987 when the Department of Conservation became the managers of the land. However, farming still continues on the Head.

Today

Today the walking tracks across the headland get regular use and the many military structures encountered along the way are part of the varied attractions of the area. A recently completed mountain bike track is also very popular. Godley Head is visited by as many as 100,000 people a year.