New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy

New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
	The cruiser HMS Philomel, "Cradle of the Navy"
Active	1921–1941
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Engagements	World War II American Theater Battle of the River Plate ; ; ;

Last updated April 13, 2024

The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy also known as the New Zealand Station was formed in 1921 and remained in existence until 1941. It was the precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy. Originally, the Royal Navy was solely responsible for the naval security of New Zealand. The passing of the Naval Defence Act 1913 created the New Zealand Naval Forces as a separate division within the Royal Navy.

History

At its establishment in 1848, the Australia Station encompassed Australia and New Zealand.^[1] Under the Australasian Naval Agreement 1887 the colonial governments of Australia and New Zealand secured a greater naval presence in their waters, agreed that two ships would always be based in New Zealand waters and agreed contributions to funding that presence.^[2]

In 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia became independent of the United Kingdom. The Australian Squadron was disbanded in 1911 and the Australia Station passed to the Commonwealth Naval Forces. The Australia Station was reduced to cover Australia and its island dependencies to the north and east, excluding New Zealand and its surrounds, which was transferred under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, China and called the New Zealand Naval Forces.^[3]

On 1 January 1921, the New Zealand Naval Forces, which had formerly been under the command of the China Station, were renamed the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.^[4] Funded by Wellington and increasingly manned by New Zealanders, it operated 14 ships over a period of 21 years, including the cruisers HMS Achilles and HMS Leander, the training minesweeper HMS Wakakura, and the cruiser HMS Philomel which was recommissioned as a base training establishment.^[5]

The Commodore's appointment was abolished and forces brought directly under the New Zealand Chief of the Naval Staff from October 1940.^[6] The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy became the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) from 1 October 1941, in recognition of the fact that the naval force was now largely self-sufficient and independent of the Royal Navy.^[7]

Ships of the New Zealand Division

Sortable list covering the period from the inception of the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy in 1921 to the formation of the Royal New Zealand Navy on 1 October 1941.

Name	Pnt	Type	Class	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Notes
HMS Achilles	70	Cruiser	Leander class	1936	1941	1941–1946 was HMNZS Achilles in the RNZN
HMS Auckland	L61	Convoy sloop	Egret class	1938	1939	Nominated only.
HMS Chatham		Cruiser	Town class	1920	1924	Replaced by Dunedin in 1924
HMS Diomede	D92	Cruiser	Danae class	1926	1935	Replaced by Achilles in 1936
HMS Dunedin	D93	Cruiser	Danae class	1924	1937	Replaced by Leander in 1937
HMS Laburnum	T48	Convoy sloop	Acacia class	1922	1935	Flower-class sloop
HMS Leander		Cruiser	Leander class	1937	1941	1941–1944 was HMNZS Leander in the RNZN
HMS Leith	L36	Convoy sloop	Grimsby class	1934	1939	Acquired by the Royal Danish Navy in 1949 and renamed HDMS Galathea.^[8] Circumnavigated the world in 1950–52 doing deep-sea oceanographic research.
RFA Nucula	L61	Fleet oiler		1924	1937	oil hulk 1937–1947
HMS Philomel		Cruiser	Pearl class	1921	1941	"Cradle of the Navy." 1914–1921 was HMS Philomel in the NZ Naval Forces. 1941–1947 became HMNZS Philomel in the RNZN
HMS Puriri	T02	Minesweeper	Converted merchant ship	1941	1941	14 May 1941 struck a German mine nine miles (14 km) northeast of the Whangarei heads and sank with the loss of five crew members.^[9]^[10]
HMS Torch		Convoy sloop		1921	1924	1914–1921 was HMS Torch in the NZ Naval Forces. Also called a gunboat. Wrecked in Chatham Islands.
HMS Veronica	T67	Convoy sloop	Acacia class	1920	1934	Flower-class sloop
HMS Wellington	U65	Convoy sloop	Grimsby class	1935	1947	Survives as a museum ship moored on the River Thames, London.
HMS Wakakura	T00	Minesweeper	Castle class	1926	1941	1941–1945 was HMNZS Wakakura in the RNZN

Commanders

Officers who commanded the New Zealand Division/Station include:^[11]

Rank	Name	Term began
Commodore	Alan Hotham	March 1921
Commodore	Alister Beal, CMG, DSO	August 1923
Commodore	George Swabey, DSO	18 June 1926
Commodore	Geoffrey Blake, CB, DSO	19 July 1929
Rear Admiral	Fischer Watson, DSO	26 February 1932
Rear Admiral	The Hon. Edmund Drummond, MVO	March 1935
Commodore	Irvine Glennie	June 1938
Commodore	James Rivett-Carnac	December 1938
Commodore	Henry Horan, DSC	December 1939
Commodore	Edward Parry	May 1940

Transition to the Royal New Zealand Navy

When Britain went to war against Germany in 1939, New Zealand promptly declared war and expanded its naval forces. In recognition that the naval force was now largely self-sufficient and independent of the Royal Navy, the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy became the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) in 1941.

In 1941 there were:^[12]

2 Cruisers
2 Escort Vessels
1 Survey Vessel
1 Minesweeping Vessel

The prefix "royal" was granted by King George VI on 1 October 1941, and ships thereafter were prefixed with HMNZS (His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship).

Notes

↑ Dennis 2008, p. 54.
↑ "Australian Naval Defence and the 1887 Colonial" (PDF). Sheffield Hallam University. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
↑ Dennis 2008, p. 53.
↑ McGibbon 2000, pp. 45–46.
↑ McGibbon 2000, p. 353.
↑ New Zealand Electronic Text Centre, Appendix Vi — Members Of New Zealand Naval Board|Appendix VI: Members of the New Zealand Naval Board
↑ "The Royal New Zealand Navy". New Zealand History. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
↑ "Danish Naval History: HDMS Galathea". Navalhistory.dk. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
↑ Tonson, A.E. HMS Puriri 1938, NZ Navy, article in Naval Historical Review – March 1983
↑ HMNZS Puriri Archived 24 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Senior Royal Navy Appointments Archived 11 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "Royal Navy History" . Retrieved 12 August 2016.

Related Research Articles

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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.

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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.

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References

Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey; Morris, Ewan; Prior, Robin (2008). The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History (2nd ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-551784-2. OCLC 271822831.
Hocken Collections, 75 Years of the New Zealand Navy bulletin 17, August 1996
McDougall, R J (1989) New Zealand Naval Vessels. Page 9-21. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-477-01399-4
McGibbon, Ian (2000). The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558376-0.
Walters, Sydney David (1956) The Royal New Zealand Navy: Official History of World War II, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington. Chapter 1b: Genesis of Royal New Zealand Navy

External links

New Zealand Navy Museum 1921 The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
The Jellicoe Report
Royal Navy History The Royal New Zealand Navy
HMS Chatham New Zealand's first cruiser

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[1] Dennis 2008, p. 54.

[2] "Australian Naval Defence and the 1887 Colonial" (PDF). Sheffield Hallam University. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

[3] Dennis 2008, p. 53.

[4] McGibbon 2000, pp. 45–46.

[5] McGibbon 2000, p. 353.

[6] New Zealand Electronic Text Centre, Appendix Vi — Members Of New Zealand Naval Board|Appendix VI: Members of the New Zealand Naval Board

[7] "The Royal New Zealand Navy". New Zealand History. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

[8] "Danish Naval History: HDMS Galathea". Navalhistory.dk. Retrieved 13 April 2018.

[9] Tonson, A.E. HMS Puriri 1938, NZ Navy, article in Naval Historical Review – March 1983

[10] HMNZS Puriri Archived 24 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[11] Senior Royal Navy Appointments Archived 11 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine

[12] "Royal Navy History" . Retrieved 12 August 2016.

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New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy
The cruiser HMS Philomel, "Cradle of the Navy"
Active	1921–1941
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Engagements	World War II American Theater Battle of the River Plate