Events In History
-
24 May 1943Turning point in Battle of the Atlantic
In the Battle of the Atlantic, one of the most important campaigns of the Second World War, 24 May 1943 was a crucial date. Thousands of New Zealanders took part in this long and bitter struggle. Read more...
-
19 December 1941HMS Neptune lost in Mediterranean minefield
In New Zealand’s worst naval tragedy, the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Neptune struck enemy mines and sank off Libya. Of the 764 men who lost their lives, 150 were New Zealanders. Read more...
-
30 April 1917William Sanders awarded New Zealand's only naval VC
William Sanders received the Victoria Cross (VC) for bravery during a German U-boat (submarine) attack on his ship. He became the first – and only – New Zealander to win the British Empire’s highest military decoration in a naval action. Read more...
-
31 May 1916HMS New Zealand fights at Jutland
In the misty North Sea on the last day of May 1916, 250 warships from Britain’s Royal Navy and Germany’s High Seas Fleet clashed in the First World War’s greatest and bloodiest sea battle. Read more...
-
8 February 1915Turkish ambush kills New Zealand seaman
Able Seaman William Edward Knowles became one of the first New Zealanders to die in the First World War as a result of enemy action. Read more...
-
12 April 1913HMS New Zealand begins tour of nation’s ports
The Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS New Zealand arrived in Wellington to begin a 10-week tour during which half a million New Zealanders inspected the vessel. Read more...
Articles
D-Day
It was one of the largest amphibious landings in history. On 6 June 1944 a huge Allied military machine embarked on the invasion of German-occupied France. Thousands of New Zealand sailors and airmen were on active duty that day.
-
Page 6 – New Zealanders at sea
By 1944 more than 4700 New Zealanders were based in the United Kingdom and were serving in Royal Navy ships.
Battle of the River Plate
When HMS Achilles opened fire on the German 'pocket battleship' Admiral Graf Spee on 13 December 1939, it became the first New Zealand unit to engage the enemy in the Second World War. More than 80 years later, the Battle of the River Plate still holds a special place in this country’s naval history.
-
Page 2 – New Zealand's naval forces
New Zealand’s naval forces and strategy before the outbreak of the Second World War.
-
Page 3 – The outbreak of war
The outbreak of the Second World War and New Zealand naval involvement in the Battle of the Atlantic.
-
Page 4 – Into the South Atlantic
HMS Achilles joins the Royal Navy's South America Division patrolling the South Atlantic in search of German raiders.
-
Page 5 – The battle
The British cruisers Achilles, Ajax and Exeter engage the German ‘pocket battleship’ Admiral Graf Spee.
-
Page 6 – After the battle
The aftermath of the battle and the return of HMS Achilles to New Zealand.
The Gallipoli campaign
Each year on Anzac Day, New Zealanders (and Australians) mark the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings of 25 April 1915. On that day, thousands of young men, far from their homes, stormed the beaches on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Türkiye.
- Page 3 - InvasionAllied forces landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915. British (and later French) forces made the main landing at Cape Helles on the southern tip of Gallipoli, while
The Merchant Navy
3 September is Merchant Navy Day, which was first officially commemorated in New Zealand in 2010. The date marks the sinking of the first Allied merchant ship in 1939, just hours after the Second World War began. This is the story of the 'fourth service' at war.
- Page 4 - The Battle of the AtlanticAlthough it was waged half a world away, few military campaigns were as vital to New Zealand's interests as the Battle of the Atlantic. A German victory, which would have severed
Merchant marine
On 3 September New Zealand honours Merchant Navy Day. Here we explore the little-known but vital role played by the merchant marine during the First World War, when these civilian seafarers often found themselves in the front line of the war at sea.
- Page 5 - The Wahine's wanderingsMost requisitioned ships continued to carry people or cargo. One Union Company ship, however, entered the Royal Navy and bore the prefix HMS. The Wahine was no ordinary
British Empire
Key information and statistics about countries who fought as part of the British Empire during the First World War
- Page 8 - United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandKey information and statistics about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the First World
The Royal New Zealand Navy
Seventy years old in October 2011, the Royal New Zealand Navy is today an integral part of the New Zealand Defence Force. But its 1941 establishment was the result of a long process of naval development.
- Page 4 - NZ Division of the Royal NavyThe First World War experience convinced Allen that New Zealand’s approach to naval defence had been on the right lines.
HMS Philomel
New Zealand's first warship, HMS Philomel formed the core of the country's naval forces during the First World War. The aged and largely obsolete vessel was commissioned in New Zealand in July 1914, and went on to serve in the Pacific, Mediterranean and Middle East.
- Page 1 - NZ's first warshipNew Zealand's first warship, HMS Philomel formed the core of the country's naval forces during the First World War. The aged and largely obsolete vessel was commissioned in New
Biographies
-
Sanders, William Edward
William Sanders commanded a submarine-decoy vessel in the First World War, and became the only New Zealander to win the Victoria Cross in a naval action.
Read more... -
Hall-Thompson, Percival Henry
Percival Hall-Thompson served as captain of New Zealand’s first warship, HMS Philomel, during the First World War. In this role he was also the naval adviser to Wellington; effectively guiding the New Zealand government’s naval policy during and immediately after the war.
Read more...
Related keywords
- WW1 home front
- hms philomel
- royal new zealand navy
- devonport
- war art
- hms new zealand
- battle of jutland
- WW1 stories
- last post stories
- german samoa occupation
- samoa
- gisborne
- cartoon
- WW1
- percival hall-thompson
- borneo confrontation
- flags
- william sanders
- victoria cross
- ottoman empire
- edward knowles
- merchant marine
- ferries
- south african war
- DDay
- WW2
- WW2 stories
- oral history
- battle of the river plate
- HMS Achilles
- graf spee sinking
- navy
- waerenga-a-hika
- merchant navy
- seafarers
- new zealand wars
- tauranga
- gate pa
- NZ Wars memorial
- rangiriri
- waikato wars
- shipping
- italian campaign
- battle for crete
- parliament
- disasters
- lyttelton
- british empire
- united kingdom
- british army
- royal new zealand air force
- normandy landings
- royal air force
- anzac
- gallipoli campaign
- anzac cove
- winston churchill
- trenches
- cape helles
- dardanelles attack
-
Main image: New Zealand seamen welcomed home in 1917
New Zealand ‘Jack tars’ - seamen who had served on the cruiser Philomel - attend a civic luncheon in their honour in Wellington in March 1917.