New Zealand Division Of The Royal Navy

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.

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

 

At its establishment in 1848, the Australia Station encompassed Australia and New Zealand. 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.

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.

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. 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.

The Commodore's appointment was abolished and forces brought directly under the New Zealand Chief of the Naval Staff from October 1940. 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.

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. 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.
	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

 

Officers who commanded the New Zealand Division/Station include:

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:

• 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).