Rear Admiral Ian Alexander Hunter (23 October 1939 – 8 December 2022) was an officer of the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) 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 ...

, who served as Chief of Naval Staff from March 1991 to April 1994.

Biography

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on 23 October 1939, Hunter was educated at

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven Ro ...

. He joined the navy as a midshipman in 1957, and trained at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He served in various

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

submarines and New Zealand naval ships, and in exchange postings with the Royal Navy on shore and at sea. He qualified as a submarine watch officer, an anti-submarine warfare specialist, and a naval diver. During the summer of 1962–1963 he was in the Antarctic and then served in HMNZS ''Rotoiti'' as navigating and communications officer. In 1965, Hunter married Hilary Rankin Sturrock, and the couple went on to have two sons. From 1965 to 1966, Hunter was a member of the instructional staff at the joint Royal Navy /

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Anti-Submarine School, and was the Royal Navy's diving officer and bomb and mine disposal officer for Northern Ireland. He later served as the executive officer on HMNZS ''Blackpool'' as the leased ship was returned to the Royal Navy, and was the first operations officer on HMNZS ''Canterbury'' following her commissioning in 1971. In 1976, Hunter was promoted to the rank of commander. In 1979, he gained command of HMNZS ''Waikato'', and then was the first commander of HMNZS ''Southland'' from 1982. Promoted to the rank of commodore in 1987, Hunter was appointed assistant chief of defence staff (development plans). The following year, he became commodore Auckland (marine commander, New Zealand), and in 1989 he was appointed an additional aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II. Hunter was promoted to rear admiral and appointed Chief of Naval Staff with effect from 29 March 1991. He served in that role until retiring on 8 April 1994. Following his retirement from the navy, Hunter was a trustee of the Wellington Civic Trust, serving as chair from 1996 to 1999, and then deputy chair until 2004. Between 1994 and 2001, he was a trustee of the Wellington Museums Trust. Hunter was patron of the Wellington branch of the

Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, best known simply as the RSA, is one of the largest voluntary welfare organisations in New Zealand and one of the oldest ex-service organisations in the world. Wounded soldiers returnin ...

. Hunter died in

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ōt ...

on 8 December 2022, aged 83.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Hunter received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the

1993 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1993 Queen's Birthday honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's ...

, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Ian 1939 births 2022 deaths Military personnel from Dunedin People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Royal New Zealand Navy admirals New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath