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 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 ...

. Originally, the

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 F ...

was solely responsible for the naval security of New Zealand. The passing of the Naval Defence Act 1913 created the

New Zealand Naval Forces New Zealand Naval Forces was the name given to a division of the Royal Navy. The division was formed in 1913 and it operated under this name until 1921, when it became the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. History Originally the British ...

as a separate division within the Royal Navy. __TOC__

History

At its establishment in 1848, the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

encompassed

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

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 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

(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.

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.

Commanders

Officers who commanded the New Zealand Division/Station include:

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: * 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

References

* * 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. * * Walters, Sydney David (1956) ''The Royal New Zealand Navy: Official History of World War II'', Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington

External links

1921 The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy History
The Royal New Zealand Navy
HMS Chatham
New Zealand's first cruiser {{Royal Navy fleets Royal Navy divisions Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II Royal New Zealand Navy fr:Royal New Zealand Navy ja:ニュージーランド海軍 no:Royal New Zealand Navy