Norman Donald Cameron was a keen young territorial officer with the Wellington (East Coast) Mounted Rifles, promoted to captain at the age of 20 when WWI broke out.
Born in 1893 at Black Rock, he moved with the family in 1904 to ‘Sherwood’ at Upper Plain, Masterton. Norman attended Fernridge School and Wellington College before returning to farm at ‘Sherwood’. Norman enlisted in Masterton, joining the Wellington Mounted Rifles, service number 11/216. He helped to assemble recruits and on 13 August 1914 led the first mounted rifles group of 32 into camp at Palmerston North. He was made a lieutenant in the NZEF and went overseas to Egypt.
With casualties in the Battle of the Landing at Gallipoli being so heavy, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force decided to use the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and the Australian Light Horse as infantry reinforcements. Norman and 470 men of the Wellington Mounted Rifles landed at Anzac Cove on 12 May and the regiment went into the line at Russell’s Top (part of Walker’s Ridge) the very next day. No.3 Outpost, a position north of the ANZAC perimeter, was occupied by Turkish snipers. It was attacked by the Canterbury Mounted Rifles on the night of 28 May. After evicting the Turks, the Canterburys were relieved by the Wellington Mounteds, including Norman Cameron. A large Turkish force counterattacked during the night and, by daylight, it became obvious the New Zealanders were occupying an isolated position dominated by Turkish fire. After unsuccessful daylight attempts to reinforce No. 3 Outpost, the depleted Wellingtons were relieved on the night of 30 May and, shortly after, the position was abandoned. Norman Cameron, along with three officers and 15 men of the Wellington Mounteds did not survive the ill-planned battle. Another 50 men of the unit were wounded. As the position remained in Turkish hands, Norman’s body was not recovered and he is memorialised on the Lone Pine Memorial at Gallipoli.
The idea of a memorial sports ground in Masterton emerged as the war was ending in 1918. The old showground in Dixon Street was acquired by a local committee which raised money for the project. Two of the group were Donald and Robert Cameron, the father and uncle of Lieutenant Norman Cameron and the family name was incorporated into the park’s name – Cameron and Soldiers’ Memorial Park. This is one of the few cases in New Zealand where an individual soldier was commemorated.
However, the Masterton public preferred a traditional war memorial so the park did not become the main World War One memorial. In 1943 it became a temporary military camp for the US Marines and, later, the N.Z. Army.
A new grandstand was built in the 1960s and in 2015 was revamped and renamed as the Sir Brian Lochore Stand, after the ex-All Black captain and local farmer. The grandstand was first opened in 1963, the same year Sir Brian was selected to the All Blacks.
In 2008, a naming rights deal allowed the park to be known as ‘Trust House Memorial Park’.
Information from https://www.wairarapa100.co.nz/