Arbutus departed the United Kingdom for New Zealand on 1 August 1944, but ran aground off Viwa Island. She suffered damage to her rudder, propeller and a 25 foot length of her hull. HMNZS Aroha towed Arbutus to Auckland for repairs, which were not complete until April 1945.[2] In May, Arbutus was offered for service in the British Pacific Fleet and sent to Sydney for fitting out as a radio and radar maintenance ship. She joined the fleet train in Japanese waters on 28 July and serviced at least forty ships of Task Force 37. Arbutus was then assigned to escorting supply ships and was present in Hong Kong for the Japanese Surrender.[3]
Post-war
In early February, Arbutus was deployed on a two-month show the flag cruise around the Pacific Islands.[4] The deployment had seen several incidents, the first of which occurred while the ship was docked in Tahiti; sailors who were meant to be guarding the ship became drunk, after which a crowd of Tahitians attempted to board the ship and remove equipment.[5] On departure, the corvette sailed into a heavy storm, which lasted for several days.[6] Waves breaking over the bow rendered the bridge unusable, and many aboard—including the ship's cat, for the first and only time in its life—were seasick.[6] Water contamination of the fuel oil taken on in Tahiti damaged the propulsion machinery, further adding to the problems.[6] When Arbutus finally limped into port at the end of March, the ship's company were informed that they would only remain at HMNZSPhilomel long enough to take on aviation fuel and supplies to be delivered to the Cook Islands.[6]
At the time of Arbutus' return to Philomel, there were problems affecting sailors across the RNZN.[7] The main cause of unhappiness was a pay review due to be released in the next few days; the review was a year late, and sailors learned that they would still be underpaid in comparison to Army and Air Force equivalents, and that the government had backed down on its promise to backdate the pay to the original due date of the review.[8] In addition, attempts to improve the working and living conditions aboard RNZN ships through lower-deck committees had proven to be ineffective.[8]
On the morning of 1 April, 100 sailors at Philomel refused duty at morning parade; they were later joined by personnel from HMNZS Black Prince which was undergoing refits at the base.[9] The ship's company of Arbutus had been confined to the ship in preparation for their imminent departure, but at 14:00, representatives of the mutineers walked up to the dock next to the corvette and began discussions with those aboard.[10] All the sailors aboard Arbutus joined the mutiny, bringing the numbers up to 200.[10] That afternoon, the mutineers marched off the base.[10] Although the government agreed to make the new pay rates retrospective, the mutineers intended to remain off base until the rest of their demands were met. This did not happen; on 3 April, the sailors were ordered to return to work and accept punishment or be discharged.[11] Of the 200, only 23 men returned to the base, they, along with 18 British loan personnel were used to man Arbutus and get her underway for the Cook Islands that afternoon.[12] In their haste to separate the loyalists from further mutinous influences, the ship was not properly provisioned, and all aboard were forced to eat canned pilchards for the entire voyage.[12]
Walters, Sydney David (1956) The Royal New Zealand Navy: Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-45, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington Online
Frame, Tom; Baker, Kevin (2000). Mutiny! Naval Insurrections in Australia and New Zealand. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN1-86508-351-8. OCLC46882022.
McDougall, R J (1989) New Zealand Naval Vessels. pages 49–51. Government Printing Office. ISBN978-0-477-01399-4
HMAS Lachlan (K364/F364) was a River-class frigate that served the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1945 to 1949. The vessel was later transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy serving as surveyor until 1975 and was eventually scrapped in 1993.
HMAS Echuca (J252/M252), named for the town of Echuca, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent purchase of the cruiser HMS Philomel, which by 1921 had been moored in Auckland as a training ship. A slow buildup occurred during the interwar period, and then perhaps the infant Navy's most notable event occurred when HMS Achilles fought alongside two other Royal Navy cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate against the German ship, Graf Spee, in December 1939.
The Bathurst-class corvettes were a class of general purpose vessels designed and built in Australia during World War II. Originally classified as minesweepers, but widely referred to as corvettes, the Bathurst-class vessels fulfilled a broad anti-submarine, anti-mine, and convoy escort role.
HMAS Pirie (J189/B249/A123), named for the city of Port Pirie, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built on Admiralty order but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
HMAS Australia was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. Ordered by the Australian government in 1909, she was launched in 1911, and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1913. Australia was the only capital ship ever to serve in the RAN.
HMNZS Te Kaha (F77) is one of ten Anzac-class frigates, and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The name Te Kaha is Māori, meaning 'fighting prowess' or 'strength'.
HMNZS Te Mana (F111) is one of ten Anzac-class frigates and one of two serving in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The name Te Mana is Māori, approximately translating as 'status' or 'authority'. The ship was laid down under the joint Anzac project by Tenix Defence at Williamstown, Victoria in 1996, launched in 1997, and commissioned into the RNZN in 1999.
HMS Bellona was the name ship of her sub-class of light cruisers for the Royal Navy. She was the first of the fourth group of Dido-class cruisers. Built to a modified design with only four twin 5.25-inch turrets, but with remote power control for quicker elevation and training, combined with improved handling and storage of the ammunition. The light AA was improved over earlier Dido cruisers, with six twin 20mm Oerlikons and three quadruple 40mm "pom pom".
HMS Black Prince was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, of the Bellona subgroup. The cruiser was commissioned in 1943, and served during World War II on the Arctic convoys, during the Normandy landings, and as part of the British Pacific Fleet. In 1946, the cruiser was loaned to the Royal New Zealand Navy, becoming HMNZS Black Prince. The cruiser was docked for modernisation in 1947, but in April, her sailors walked off the ship as part of a series of mutinies in the RNZN. The shortage of manpower resulting from these mutinies meant that the modernisation had to be cancelled, and Black Prince was placed in reserve until 1953. She returned to service after refitting with simplified secondary armament with a single quad "pom pom" in Q position and eight Mk3 40mm Bofors guns. The ship was decommissioned again two years later, and returned to the Royal Navy in 1961. Black Prince did not re-enter service, and was towed from Auckland to Osaka for scrapping in 1962.
The history of the Royal New Zealand Navy leads back to early New Zealand-based gunboats used in controlling the British interests in the new colony, as well as to the strong linkages to the British Navy itself.
HMNZS Canterbury (F421) was one of two broad beam Leander-class frigates operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) from 1971 to 2005. She was built in Scotland and launched in 1970. Commissioned in 1971, Canterbury saw operational service in much of Australasia and other regions like the Persian Gulf. She undertook operations such as supporting UN sanctions against Iraq and peace-keeping in East Timor. With her sister ship HMNZS Waikato she relieved the Royal Navy frigate HMS Amazon in the Indian Ocean during the Falklands War. Early in HMNZS Canterbury's career, in 1973, she relieved the frigate HMNZS Otago, as part of a unique, Anzac, naval operation or exercise at Moruroa during anti-nuclear protests, supported by a large RAN tanker, providing fuel and a large platform for Australian media. This was due to F 421 being a more modern RNZN frigate, with then current Rn surveillance radar and ESM and a more effectively insulated frigate from nuclear fallout, with the Improved Broad Beam Leander steam plant, for example, being remote controlled and capable of unmanned operation and therefore the ship provided a more effective sealed citadel for operations in areas of nuclear explosions.
HMS Philomel, later HMNZS Philomel, was a Pearl-class cruiser. She was the fifth ship of that name and served with the Royal Navy. After her commissioning in 1890, she served on the Cape of Good Hope Station and later with the Mediterranean Fleet.
HMNZS Philomel is the main administrative naval base of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Originally a training base on board the cruiser it takes its name from, it is part of the Devonport Naval Base in North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand.
Vice Admiral Sir Peter Phipps, was a senior officer of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) from the 1940s to 1960s.
HMAS Moresby was a 24-class "Fleet Sweeping" sloop that served in the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as a minesweeper, anti-submarine vessel, and survey ship. The ship was involved in both World Wars, and was the venue of the Japanese surrender of Timor on 11 September 1945.
During April 1947, the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) experienced a series of non-violent mutinies amongst the enlisted sailors of four ships and two shore bases. Over 20% of the RNZN's enlisted personnel were punished or discharged for their involvement. The main cause was the poor rates of pay compared to the rest of the New Zealand Defence Force and equivalent civilian wages, exacerbated by the release of a long overdue government review which failed to address the issue. Sailors saw the new pay rates as still inferior to the other branches of the military, with the increases being consumed by taxes, inflation, and the cancellation of allowances and benefits. The poor living and working conditions aboard RNZN ships was another issue, compounded by sailors having no effective way to make dissatisfaction known to the higher ranks. Dissatisfaction with peacetime duties and opportunities also contributed, with many sailors locked into enlistment periods of up to 12 years, and demobilisation efforts prioritising those enlisted specifically for the duration of World War II.
Commodore George Raymond Davis-Goff was a senior officer in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).
The Torpedo Bay Navy Museum is the official museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy. It opened in 2010, to replace an earlier naval museum. The museum is in Devonport, Auckland.
The Royal New Zealand Navy Band is the musical arm of the Royal New Zealand Navy, serving its musical needs from its headquarters at HMNZS Philomel on Devonport Naval Base, North Shore City, Auckland.
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