Many were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during as part of the Pacific War.

The US ship to arrive at New Zealand was the USS President Polk (AP-103) on 6 January 1942 into Wellington's Queen's Wharf.

New Zealand had entered the war with Empire of Japan as the Royal New Zealand Navy had lost to ships to Japanese torpedoes on 10 December 1941: the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk by Japanese torpedoes.

The clubs offered a slice of home with US food, library, table tennis and pool, music, and dance.

[5][6] There were some problems like the Battle of Manners Street, a riot at Te Aro, Wellington on 3 April 1943.

[9] About 1,500 New Zealand women joined Operation Magic Carpet as war brides and traveled to the United States.

[1][10] For the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, U.S. forces returned to New Zealand to set up supply lines for the US Antarctic Research Program.

Seabees were sent to New Zealand for rest and relaxation after building bases in the South Pacific, often around the clock.

Turtle Bay Airfield at Naval Base Espiritu Santo and Kukum Field were some of the projects the Seabee worked with the RNZAF to build and operate.

6th Seabees rested and worked at the Victoria Park camp, also the Navy Mobile Hospital at Auckland.