The Otago and Southland Regiment (1948-2012) was a Territorial Force unit of the
New Zealand Army
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. It saw service from 1959-1963 during the
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...
. In 1964 the unit was renamed the 4th Otago and Southland Battalion Group.
The Regiments motto was Kia Mate Toa (Fight unto Death) and Regimental Belt had the Mackenzie Tartan pattern of the Queen's Own Highlanders. The regimental badge uniquely contained a full
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
chief.
Origin and integration
It was originally formed by the amalgamation of the Otago Regiment and Southland Regiment.
In turn, those two regiments were the heirs of the original 4th (Otago Rifles) Regiment, 10th (North Otago) Regiment, 8th (Southland Rifles) Regiment and 14th (South Otago) Regiment formed in the early 1900s.
The regiment become a TF battalion of the
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the parent administrative regiment and corps of regular and reserve infantry battalions in the New Zealand Army. It was originally formed in 1947 with a singular Regular regiment and multiple reserve r ...
in 1964 during the reorganisation of the army. This was until the later reorganisation of 1999, which saw the TF battalions split from the RNZIR to become multi-function battalion groups. The Otago and Southland Regiment became the 4th Otago and Southland Battalion Group, with the following unit types:
*Infantry – Otago Company, Southland Company, New Zealand Scottish Company (formerly unit of
Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps
The Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (RNZAC) is the overall umbrella grouping of Regular Force and Territorial Force units equipped with armoured vehicles in the New Zealand Army. The corps was formed in 1942 as the New Zealand Armoured Corps, ...
)
*Medical – Field Surgical Team, Otago University Medical Company
*Logistics – Unit Supply Team
*Band
In December 2012 4th Otago and Southland Battalion Group merged with 2nd Canterbury (Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast) Battalion Group to form 2/4 Battalion.
*Battle Honours (the regiment perpetuates the battle honours of the 20th, 23rd, 26th, 30th and 37th Battalions, Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force)
**South Africa 1900–1902
**First World War: Somme 1916–1918, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Bapaume 1918, Cambrai 1918, ANZAC, France and Flanders 1916–18, Gallipoli, Egypt 1915–16, Galatas
**Second World War: Mount Olympus, Sidi Rezegh 1941, El Alamein, Orsogna, Tebaga Gap, Cassino 1, The Senio, Solomons
**Second World War (awarded to NZEF Battalions): Solomons, Vella Lavella, Green Islands, South Pacific 1942–44
Alliances
* –
The Highlanders
* –
* –
The Royal South Australia Regiment
Freedoms
The regiment was granted the following
freedoms
Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and F ...
:
*City of
Oamaru
Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...
(1962)
*City of
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 ...
(1964)
*City of
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
(1969)
See also
*
Otago Infantry Regiment (NZEF)
The Otago Infantry Regiment (Otago Regiment) was a military unit that served within the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in World War I during the Gallipoli Campaign (1915) and on the Western Front (1916–1919). This Regiment and the ...
*
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the parent administrative regiment and corps of regular and reserve infantry battalions in the New Zealand Army. It was originally formed in 1947 with a singular Regular regiment and multiple reserve r ...
*
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...
*
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation (also known by its Indonesian / Malay name, ''Konfrontasi'') was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the Federation of ...
References
{{reflist, 33em
External links
www.regiments.org
Infantry regiments of New Zealand
Military units and formations established in 1948