During the New Zealand Wars that fell between 1840 and 1870, responsibility for the provision of Logistical support to the Imperial Forces in New Zealand fell to two organisations; The Commissariat, whose duty was to keep the soldier well fed and the Military Store Department, whose function was to keep the soldier well and comfortably clad and amply supplied with the munitions of war. The smaller of the two organisations, the activities of the Military Store Department have been overshadowed by the much larger and more well-known Commissariat. With its origins with the Board of Ordnance, which sent representatives from their office in New South Wales to the colony of New Zealand in 1840. The Military Store Department provided what is now known as Ordnance support to the Imperial Forces until their departure in 1869, and on the completion of the final administrative clean-up, the last representative of the Military Store Department departed New Zealand in 1870. This article is not intended to be a detailed history of the Military Store Department, but an introduction of the organisation and its personnel and a point of reference for further research.

The origins of the Military Store Department lie with the Board of Ordnance, which under the Master General of the Ordnance existed between 1597 and 1855. The Master General of the Ordnance had a dual civilian and military role, the military function as commander of the Artillery and the Engineers, and a civil role, as head of the Ordnance Department, with responsibility for stores, lands, geographical and geological survey, defensive works, barracks, military hospitals, factories, and contracts. During 1792 the Board of Ordnance established two distinct departments to support the Army;

• the Storekeepers, and
• the Ordnance Field Train

the officers of the latter were called Commissaries of Ordnance and, as such, were employed during the period of the Crimean war.[1]

The Board of Ordnance had due to the logistical failures of the Crimean war, was abolished in 1855 and its functions were placed under the supervision of the War Office while reformation of the British Army’s administrative system took place. In 1857 the two services were amalgamated to form the Military Store Department.[2]

The story of the Military Store Department in New Zealand begins in the Colony of New South Wales when in 1836 the Board of Ordnance established a presence in the Australian Colony. At the time, the commissariat (part of the civil administration) was responsible for general supplies and storekeeping with the Brigade Major (Military) accountable for the guns and gunpowder. On 1 January 1836, these functions were transferred from the Commissariat to the Board of Ordnance (Ordnance Storekeeper) and the Office of the Colonial Storekeeper. Although there was a separation of duties between the Board of Ordnance and the Colonial Storekeeper both had responsibility for guns and gunpowder and shared premises and personnel.[3] Located in George Street North, The Ordnance Storekeeper’s Department under the leadership of storekeeper Richard Rogers; included as his staff his assistant, Percival Wilkinson; and five clerks; John MacDonald, Richard Rogers, William Plummer, Joseph Osbertus Hamley, and Thomas Lawry.[4]

With the establishment of New Zealand as a dependency of New South Wales, the New Zealand colonial administration came from within the ranks of the New South Wales administration, including the Colonial Storekeeper. The Colonial Storekeepers office was included in the First wave of administrators to arrive with Governor William Hobson in January 1840.[5] Mr Charles Hook Gordon Logie of the Sydney based Colonial Storekeepers was appointed on 15 January 1840 to hold the appointment of Colonial Storekeeper in Hobsons administration.[6] The Colonial Storekeeper reported to the Colonial Secretary and was responsible for providing the local colonial militia with arms and accoutrements but had no responsibility for Imperial troops. Imperial troops in New Zealand were the responsibility of the Board of Ordnance. Stores and services provided to the Colonial Storekeeper from Board of Ordnance stocks were on a “repayment” basis, an arrangement that remained in place until the withdrawal of Imperial troops in 1870.

In April 1840 a detachment of 30 rank and file of the 80th Regiment of the British Army arrived from Sydney for service in New Zealand onboard HMS Buffalo.[7] Accompanying them was a representative of the Board of Ordnance to cater for their logistical needs, establishing an Imperial Ordnance presence that remained in New Zealand until 1870.[8] Detachments of the 80^th Regiment were later deployed to Auckland where under the direction of George Graham of the Ordnance Department they undertook the construction of Fort Britomart.[9]

As the strength of Imperial Forces increased and became more of a permanent feature of the early New Zealand colonial landscape, the Board of Ordnance extended its reach into New Zealand from 1842. First establishing an office in Auckland and later Wellington with the responsibility for the construction and maintenance of barracks and ensuring the provision of Imperial military units in New Zealand with munitions and that they remained comfortably furnished with uniforms and necessities.[10]

The Auckland Office of Ordnance located in Princes Street, was under the management of Mr William Plummer, with storage facilities divided between a bombproof magazine at the Albert Barracks and an ordnance store at Fort Britomart. [11] [12]

The Wellington Office of Ordnance, with Mr Joseph Osbertus Hamley as the Acting Ordnance Storekeeper had a magazine at Mount Cook and stone warehouse on Lambton Quay and later a warehouse in Farish Street.[13]

The great earthquake of 1848 which changed the landscape of Wellington also severely damaged the ordnance stores located in the Manners/Farish Street area leading to the granting of 13 acres of land to the Board of Ordnance in what became the military reserve of Mount Cook.[14]  After the earthquake, Hamley set up an office in Willis Street and continued to use the Farish Street warehouse until 1855 when advertised as the “largest and most capacious in Wellington, and being in the centre of the business part of the town” advertised the Farish Street premises for sale.[15]

In December 1852 it was announced that the Master General of Ordnance had made the following promotions and appointments in the Ordnance Department, In New Zealand; [16]

• William Plummer, Esq, to be Deputy Ordnance Storekeeper and Barrack Master at Auckland; and
• Joseph Osbertus Hamley, Esq, to be Deputy Ordnance Storekeeper and Barrack Master at Wellington.[17]

On 4 March 1859, at the age of 39 years, Plummer passed away, resulting in Hamley moving from Wellington and assuming charge of all Ordnance operations in New Zealand.[18]

Following the panic of the Crimean War, and the abolishment of the Board of Ordnance, the Board’s civil officers, were reorganised into a new organisation called the Military Store Department on 1 February 1857. [19], under the title of Military Store Officers, the gradings being:

• Principal Military Storekeeper and Military Storekeeper, both ranking as Lieutenant Colonel,
• Deputy Military Storekeeper ranked as a Major, and
• Assistant ranked as Captain.

The formation of the Military Store Department was one of many organisational reforms were undertaken to modernise and make the administration of the army more effective.[20] [21] The changes soon filtered through to the colonies and the existing Ordnance organisations adapted to the new structures accordingly. Further changes occurred during 1861 with the issuing of Royal Warrants reorganising the Military Store Department and improving the position of the officers.[22] [23] The Royal Warrants granted commissions to the officers of the Military Store Department, [24] organised into five grades:[25]

• Principal Superintendent of Stores, ranked as Colonel,
• Superintendent of Stores; ranked as Lieutenant Colonel,
• Deputy Superintendent of Stores; ranked as Major,
• Assistant Superintendent of Stores; ranked as Captain,
• Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Stores; ranked as Lieutenant.

After some initial conflict in the mid-1840’s New Zealand settled into a period of relative peace, with underlying tensions between Māori and the settlers remaining, resulting in conflict erupting in the Taranaki in 1860. The dispute led to an escalation of Imperial troop levels so that by Mach 1864 the strength of Colonial and Imperial forces in New Zealand had grown from a few hundred in the 1840s, to at its peak a force of about 18000, including [26][27]

• Royal Navy with Royal Marines
• Ten Infantry Battalions,
• Two Batteries of the Royal Artillery,
• Royal Engineers,
• Military Train,
• Commissariat Staff Corps,
• Commissariat Transport Corps,
• Army Medical Department,
• Purveyors Department,
• Military Store Department,
• Colonial Defence Force
  • Cavalry
  • Forest Rangers
• Various Colonial Militia, Volunteer and Military Settler units, Including the.
  • Auckland Militia
  • Waikato Militia
• Pro-British Māori iwi (Kupapa)

Expanding to meet the demands of the growing Imperial Forces the New Zealand branch of the Military Store Department included the following staff;[28] [29]

Assistant Military Storekeeper/ Assistant Superintendent of Stores/ Deputy Superintendent of Stores

• William Plummer, 1857 – 1859.[30]
• Joseph Osbertus Hamley,1857 – 1870.[31]
• Archibald Campbell Macduff, February 1861 – May 1866. [32]

Acting Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Stores

• Edward Foster Holden, from 1864.[33]

Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Stores

• Matthew John Ingram, March1861-1862. [34] [35] [36]
• Joseph Michael Rainsford, 1862-1864.[37]
• Alfred Read Tribe, 1861 -1866[38]
• William Marvin, 1862 – 1867.[39]
• William Sidney Haldane, 1 March1864 – 1 December 1868.[40] [41]
• Thomas Timbrell, March1864 – 1866.[42]
• James White, March1864 -1866.[43]
• William Bell Le Gyet,1863-1866.
• Henry Potter, 1863 -1867.[44]
• Wilmot Holworthy, 1867-1867.
• Dominick O’Loghlan MacDermott, 1867-1867.
• T.G Stack, 1867-1867.
• John Fullarton Beatson, 1867 – 1868,[45]

Other staff that were known to have worked as part of the MSD were.

• Mr Michael Field,[46] [47]
• Mr Maurice Norman Bower, 1857-1862 [48] [49]
• Mr Gorrie,[50]
• Mr Kerr, [51]
• Edward Smith.[52]
• David Evitt, [53]
• Sergeant Alexander Stewart, 1861- 1864 [54]
• Armourer Sergeant John Smith. [55]
• John Fahy, [56]

Store conductors

Store Conductors were Non-Commissioned Officers selected from the Royal Artillery and units of the line based on their superior intelligence and exemplary conduct. [57] Reinforcing their knowledge of stores duties and procedures by attending a six-week course at the Tower and Woolwich Arsenal prepared and confirmed their appointment as Stores Conductors.[58] Known Stores Conductors in New Zealand were;[59]

• 3242 Sergeant -Master Gunner John Bates, Royal Artillery, 5 Mar 1861 – 20 Jun 1866,
  • Served: Waitara, Te Arei Pa and Auckland,
• 3153 Sergeant 3rd Class Benjamin Evans, Royal Artillery, 1861 – 1866,
  • Transferred to MSSC 29 Jun 68
• 687 Sergeant Caleb Bell, Royal Artillery, 1861 – 1866,
• 2787 Sergeant John Brown, Royal Artillery,1 Aug 1861 – 14-Nov-66,
• 1439 Sergeant William Brunkard, Royal Artillery, 1861 – 1866,[60]
• 3074 Sergeant Hugh Carlin, Royal Artillery, 5 Mar 1864 – 1866,
  • Served Waikato and Wanganui,
• 1080 Sergeant Archie Hood, Royal Artillery, 1861 – 1866,
  • Served Taranaki,
• 1313 Sergeant Master Gunner Walter Kelsall, Royal Artillery, 1861 – 1866,
  • Served Auckland and Shepard Bush,18th Regt
• Sergeant Alexander Stewart, Royal Artillery,[61]
  • In charge of the powder magazine at Albert Barracks from 1961 to 1964

From 1857 the military establishment of the Military Store Department was only officers, with civilians and soldiers seconded from other Corps or Regiments as required. The formation of a Military Store Staff Corps as an unformed branch of the British military had been under discussion for some time, with Major Hamley strongly recommending the creation of such as Corps in 1864.[62] Established by royal warrant in 1865 the Military Store Staff Corps created an establishment of soldiers to complement the officers of the Military Store Department.[63] Given that by the time of the granting of the royal warrant, and the establishment of the Military Store Staff Corps in 1866,[64] the Imperial forces in New Zealand were starting to wind down operations and depart New Zealand; it is currently unknown if Major Hamley was able to have his staff transferred to the Military Store Staff Corps.

Uniforms of the Military Store Department

The Army Dress Regulations of 1864 details the specifications for the uniforms of the Military Store Department.[65]

Coat—Tunic, blue, single-breasted, with scarlet collar, cuffs and slash on sleeve. The collar rounded off in front; cuff round, two and three-quarter inches deep, and ten and a half round; slashed flap- on sleeve six inches long and two and a quarter inches wide, with three loops of halfinch lace, staff pattern, and uniform buttons; eight buttons in front at equal distances. The skirt ten and a half inches deep for an officer 5 feet 9 inches in height, with a variation of half an inch, longer or shorter”, for every inch of difference in the height of the wearer; blue flap on the skirt behind, ten inches deep, two buttons on flap, and one on waist, with three loops of halfinch lace. The coat, collar, cuffs, and flaps edged with scarlet cloth, quarter-inch, and the skirts lined with scarlet.

Distinctions of Rank according to the relative ranks in the army. Principal Superintendent of Stores, and Superintendent of Stores, the latter, after five years’ standing as such, as Colonel; the collar laced round the top and bottom, with a crown and star at each end of collar.

Superintendent of Stores, under five years’ standing, as Lieutenant-Colonel, same lace as Principal Superintendent, with a crown at each end of collar.

Deputy-Superintendent of Stores, as Major; the same lace, with a star at each end of collar.

Assistant- Superintendent of Stores, as Captain; the lace round top only of collar, a crown and star at each end.

Deputy-Assistant Superintendent of Stores, as Lieutenant; the same lace as Assistants, with a crown at each end of collar.

Officers ranking with Field Officers to have two rows of half-inch lace round the top of the cuff, and an edging of the same on the sleeve and skirt flaps, and down the edge of the skirts behind.

Officers under that rank to have one row of lace round the cuff, none on the skirts, and loops only on the skirt and sleeve flaps.

Lace —gold, staff pattern, half an inch in width.

Buttons—gilt, with the crown and “Military Store Staff ” raised thereon.

Hat—cocked, the fan on back part nine inches, the front seven inches and a half, each corner five inches, uniform buttons gold lace loop, and tassels of gold crape fringe, with crimson underneath. Feather—black and white, cock-tail; top white, and bottom black, five and a half inches long, mushroom shaped.

Stock—black silk.

Trousers—blue cloth, with gold lace one and three-quarter inches broad, staff pattern, down outward seam.

Boots—Wellington.

Spurs—screw, yellow metal, crane neck, two inches long for Officers ranking with Field Officers; steel for Officers under that rank drawing forage.

Sword—as for Officers of Infantry.

Scabbard—brass, for Officers ranking with Field Officers, steel for all other ranks.

Sword-Knot—crimson and gold, with acorn tassel.

Sword-Belt—for Officers ranking with Field Officers, black morocco leather, one inch and a half wide, with two rows of gold embroidery in a scroll. Slings, embroidered on one side; plain gilt buckles to slings. For Officers under that rank, plain black morocco, without embroidery.

Plate —round gilt clasp, with V.R., surmounted in silver upon the centre-piece, and ” Military Store Staff” with a laurel, also in silver, on outer circle.

Frock-Coat—blue, double-breasted, with stand-up collar, rounded off in front ; cuffs and lapels all blue, cuff, ten and a half inches round, and two and three-quarter inches deep ; slashed flap on sleeve five and a quarter inches long, and one and a half inch wide, with three small uniform buttons, two rows of uniform buttons down the front, eight buttons in each row at equal distances. Flaps on skirt behind ten inches deep, with two buttons on flap and one on waist; the skirt lined with black, and seventeen inches deep for an Officer five feet nine inches in height, with a variation of half an inch, longer or shorter, for each inch of difference in the height of the wearer. The Officers ranking with Field Officers to have the badge of their rank (as crown or star) embroidered in gold at each end of the collar. The collars of all other Officers to be plain.

Waistcoat—blue, single-breasted, with uniform buttons, plain gold braid round collar, seams and pockets, finished with a crow’s foot at each end of pocket.

Undress Trousers—blue cloth, with scarlet stripe, one and three-quarter inches in width down outer seam, for Principal Superintendents of Stores and Superintendents after five years’ service.

For other ranks—blue, with two scarlet welts down each outward seam.

Forage-Cap—for Principal Superintendents of Stores and Superintendents after five years’ standing, blue cloth, with embroidered peak and gold lace band, staff’ lace, one and three-quarters inches in width, gold netted button on top.

For other ranks —blue cloth, with plain leather peak and chin-strap, with two rows of gold lace five-eighths of an inch wide, staff pattern, for band, showing scarlet between the lines, gold netted button on top.

Shell-Jacket— blue, with scarlet facings and uniform buttons.

Cloak—blue pattern, as for Officers of Infantry, with uniform buttons.

Horse Furniture—as for Medical Officers.

Infrastructure

Commensurate with the growth of the Imperial Forces, The Military Store Department, alongside the much larger Commissariat [66][67] had kept pace and by 1864 Fort Britomart and Albert Barracks in Auckland had become the central storage and distribution depot (Logistic Hub in modern terms) for all the Imperial troops stationed throughout New Zealand.[68] The Military Store Department infrastructure in Fort Britomart consisted of the following; [69]

• No 1 Store – A generous 65ft x 60ft building with an estimated storage capacity of 1000 Utilised at the “Receiving Store,” it is the store that all inwards goods are received, sorted and classified before distribution to customer units or placed into storage into other stores for later use.
• No 2 Store – A bulk store for all manner of goods from scythes to swords, including in-numerable bales of grey blankets
• No 3 Store – Clothing and necessities store for regimental for the 13 different corps in the colony. At the time uniforms were provided to men at one-third of the cost for which they were available from civilian vendors.
• No 4 Store – Hospital stores and manner of necessaries, comforts or luxuries for sick soldiers.
• No 5 Store – The delivery store where goods as pocked and addressed for the delivery to customers. Also serving as a store for trophy weapons captured during the war. Captured weapons were all carefully labelled, waiting to be claimed by the men who secured them when the war was over.
• No 6 Store – Armoury for artillery stores and small arms such as rifles.
• No 7 Store – Used for artillery fittings for 6Lb and 12Lb Armstrong batteries of the Imperial forces.
• No 8 Store – The packing store, where tradesmen such as carpenters and painters prepare and pack goods for delivery.
• No 9 Store – Reception store for camp equipage returned from regiments, and for its inspection and refurbishment to make it ready for reissue. This store also included an armourers workshop responsible for the repair and cleaning of rifles, swords, and other warlike implements. This building also included quarters for the twenty-five men of the Military Store Department
• Magazines – Located in Albert Barracks and consisting of several buildings surrounded by a stone wall, the magazines held the entire supply of ammunition for the army in New Zealand. Stocks were held as either prepared cartridges (four and a half million rounds in March 1864) or as components such as shot and powder. Constructed of arched brick the magazines resembled strong rooms with the ammunition packed in cases and barrels on racks on each side with a narrow passage between the stock. Designed to be intrinsically safe within the walls of the magazine, with all nails and tools were made from copper so that every precaution was taken to prevent sparks and explosions. Magazine keepers were hand-picked, and the slightest sign of unsteadiness or neglect of duty resulted in instant dismissal.

Military Store Department operations were not only restricted to Auckland but across the country wherever Imperial troops were serving. Embedded in Regiments, Stores Conductors provided the link between Regimental Quartermasters and the Store Department.  Hamley and his deputy Macduff spent considerable time in the field supervising stores distribution. An example is in March 1864 when McDuff personally oversaw the distribution of blankets, clothing and necessities to troops and Te Awamutu during the Waikato campaign.[70] During the Taranaki Campaign, the strength of the Military Store Department in New Plymouth in June 1863 was 1 Staff and 3 Sergeants.[71]

By 1866 the conflict in New Zealand had reached a stage where colonial forces were conducting the bulk of military operations, resulting in a drawdown and withdrawal of Imperial units. As the Imperial commitment decreased with the departure of five Imperial Regiments in 1866, the Military Store Department also had to reduce and optimise its operations. The reduction of troops necessitated the closing of its provincial Depots such as the Depot in Whanganui in March of 1867, and its stores returned to Auckland.[72] [73] With the departure of four more regiments in 1867, the closure of the Tauranga Depot soon followed.[74] The final Imperial Regiment departed New Zealand in February 1869.[75] [76]

The dismantling of Fort Britomart had commenced in January 1869, with all the military content of Fort Britomart and Albert Barracks belonging to the Imperial Government, such as guns, ammunition and stores shipped to the United Kingdom on the SS Himalaya. [77] With the withdrawal of Imperial Forces completed by July 1870,[78] and the full responsibility for defence matters was handed over to the New Zealand Colonial Defence Force.[79] Defence store-keeping responsibility was handed over to the Colony’s Defence Stores under the control of the Colonial Storekeeper, Captain John Mitchell.[80] [81]  Transfers of equipment on a cost-recovery basis to the New Zealand Forces was facilitated, with the surplus was either disposed of by tender or redistributed around the empire. [82] [83]

After 32 years of colonial service, Hamley apart from the Imperial officer remaining to pay pensioners was the last remaining Imperial Officer in New Zealand to return to England.[84] Hamley continued to be employed in Ordnance related services, serving in Ireland, Chatham, the War Office, Dover, and Aldershot retiring with the honorary rank of Major General.

In 1870 the Military Store Department, the Commissariat and the Military Train were amalgamated into one organisation called the Control Department. From the perspective of the Military Store Department, it was a disastrous and ill-thought-out experiment in combined logistics, leading to the amalgamation being reversed in 1876 with the Military Store Department renamed the Ordnance Store Department, which in turn, after several name changes became the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in 1918.[85]

In conclusion, the Military Store Department served with distinction during the New Zealand Wars.

In assessing the performance of the Military Stores Department, Cameron reported that,

no department in New Zealand was more efficient or came less into collision with other departments than the Military Store Department.[1]

Arthur Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services (London: The Medici society, ltd., 1929), 167

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The story of the Military Store Department is the story of Major Joseph Osbertus Hamley. Hamley progressed through the ranks from being an 18-year-old in the Ordnance Department in Sydney to Deputy Ordnance Storekeeper in Wellington in 1847 and then the head of the Military Store Department during the crucial war years of the 1860s. Newspaper articles of the period are full of praise for Hamley and the skilful leadership of his department and few if any find any fault with him. This article provides an introduction into Hamleys Military Store Department, which as an organisation unfairly overshadowed by the much larger and more well-known Commissariat is deserving of having its story told and further research is required to understand the full story of this exceptional man and the organisation he managed.

Copyright © Robert McKie 2018

Notes:

[1] Robert Curran, “Ordnance Stores and the Ordnance Storekeeper in the Colony of New South Wales,”  http://users.tpg.com.au/borclaud/ranad/ordnance_storekeeper.html#imp.

[2] A.H. Fernyhough, History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps 1920-1945 (Royal Army Ordnance Corps, 1958), IX.

[3] Curran, “Ordnance Stores and the Ordnance Storekeeper in the Colony of New South Wales”.

[4] ” Old Sydney,” Truth (Sydney, NSW: 1894 – 1954), 4 August 1912.

[5] “Government Notice,” Sydney Herald, 3 July 1840.

[6] “Letter from Charles Logie Colonial Storekeeper, Bay of Islands to Willoughby Shortland, Esquire, Acting Colonial Secretary Item Id R23629593, Record No 1840/76 (Wellington: Archives New Zealand),”  (1840).

[7] MNZM  Gerald J Elliott, “British Regiments in New Zealand 1840-1847,”  http://ellott-postalhistorian.com/articles/80th-96th-99th-Regiments.pdf.

[8] Major J.S Bolton, A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (Trentham: RNZAOC, 1992).

[9] Una Platts, The Lively Capital, Auckland 1840-1865 (Christchurch: Avon Fine Prints, 1971), Non-fiction, 24.

[10] 158Adam Davis, “The Imperial Garrison in New Zealand, 1840-1870 with Particular Reference to Auckland” (University of Bedfordshire, 2004).

[11] “Tender for Supply of Straw,” New Zealander,  Volume 1, Issue 41, 14 March 1846.

[12] “Communication with the Interior “, New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 69, 26 September 1846.

[13] “Sealed Tenders,” Wellington Independent, Volume II, Issue 149 1847.

[14] “Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, Law and Order and the Military,”  https://mch.govt.nz/pukeahu/park/pukeahu-history-7.

[15] “Freehold Allotment of Land,” Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 259,, 25 April 1855.

[16] “Promotions and Appointments,” New Zealand Spectator and Cooks Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 772, 25 December 1852

[17] Hamley has first arrived in New Zealand in 1847 as the ordnance Clerk in Wellington.

[18] “Projected Departure of Mr Hamley,” Wellington Independent, Volume XXV, Issue 3017, 9 July 1870.

[19] War Officer Circular 139 Dated 15 September 1857. J.M. War office Bannatyne, Royal Warrants, Circular, General Orders and Memoranda, Issued by the War Office and Horse Guards, Aug. 1856- July 1864 (1864), 302.

[20] Brigadier A H Fernyhough, A Short History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (First Edition) (RAOC Trust 1965), 14.

[21] Arthur Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services (London: The Medici society, ltd., 1929), 149.

[22] “Commissions Granted to Officers Serving in the Military Store Department,” London Gazette No 22567, 19 November 1861, 4642-45.

[23] “Military Store Detachment – Promotions,” London Gazette No 22545, 18 July 1862, 3584.

[24] Fernyhough, History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps 1920-1945, ix.

[25] Forbes, A History of the Army Ordnance Services, 41.

[26] James Belich, The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict (Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press, 2015 This edition 2015, 2015), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 125-26.

[27] Davis, “The Imperial Garrison in New Zealand, 1840-1870 with Particular Reference to Auckland,” 79.

[28] Colonel H.G Hart, “Hart’s Army Lists – 1839-1915,” National Library of Scotland,, https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/100739612.

[29] “Matters Military “, New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 247, 27 August 1864.

[30] Plummer had arrived in New Zealand in 1842 as an Ordnance Clerk in Auckland from the New South Wales Ordnance Office.  Passed away 4 March 1859, at the age of 39 years

[31] Served in New Zealand from 1847 until 1870. Remained in Government service after returning to the United Kingdom and retired after more than forty-two years of service as Commissary General with the honorary rank of Major General.Una Platts, Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists: A Guide & Handbook (Christchurch, N.Z.: Avon Fine Prints, 1980, 1980), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, Collective biography.

[32] Second in command of the department who volunteered his services for New Zealand at the beginning of the war. Promoted to Assistant Superintendent of Stores on 2 August 1862

[33] Never appointed D.A.S.S, was only appointed acting D.A.S.S locally after the death of Rainsford.

[34] Departed England on the Norwood January 1861. “Continuation of Journal of Events to Jan 19,” Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 9, 26 January 1861.

[35] Arrived 6 March 1861 on the Norwood “Shipping Intelligence, Poort of Auckland,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1380, 5 March 1861.

[36] Joined the MSD at Hong Kong November 1862  “Martime Record,” New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1741, 12 November 1862.

[37] Passed away 15 April 1864 “Military Funeral,” New Zealander, Volume XX, Issue 2104, 30 April 1864.

[38] Departed United Kingdom in the Ship African to take charge of the military stores on the outward voyage to New Zealand April 1861 “English Shipping,” Wellington Independent Volume XVI, Issue 1518, 30 April 1861.

[39]  In 1864 Marvin was employed in the demands office, responsible for maintaining the proper proportion of stores to meet the requirements of the army, either by obtaining the stores from England or purchasing them in the local market. Left the department in 1866 and returned to the UK “Military Items,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 3101, 25 June 1867.

[40] Arrived on Ship Golden City with Timbrell and White March 1864 “Naval and Military Extracts,” Colonist, Volume VII, Issue 665, 11 March 1864.

[41] “Military Items,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3390, 28 May 1968.

[42] “Naval and Military Extracts.”

[43] Ibid.

[44] In charge of Issues, joined the department from Tasmania at the beginning of the war, completed service with the department in 1867″Military Items.”

[45] completed service with the department in 1868 “Military Intelligence,” Taranaki Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 816, 14 March 1868.

[46] Clerk in the Military Store Department. 1860 – Chapman’s New Zealand Almanac – New Zealand Official Directory,  (The University of Auckland Library, 1860), 164.

[47] In control of the finance department. “Matters Military “, New Zealand Herald, Vol 1 Issue247, 27 August 1864.

[48] Clerk in the Military Store Department. 1860 – Chapman’s New Zealand Almanac – New Zealand Official Directory, 164.

[49] Bower arrived in Auckland in 1857, joined the Military Store Department, in which he remained until the outbreak of the Waikato War. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Vol. 6. Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Wellington Provincial Districts: Industrial, Descriptive, Historical, Biographical Facts, Figures, Illustrations,  (Cyclopedia Company, 1908), 308.

[50] Department ledger keeper. “Matters Military “.

[51] Performed the general duties of a clerk. Ibid.

[52] Armourer attached to the MSD at Britomart Barracks 1863 “Police Court,” New Zealander, Volume XIX, Issue 1897, 18 June 1863.

[53] Gunsmith working as a contractor to the MSD, at Britomart Barracks 1863. Ibid.

[54]  In Charge of the Powder Magazine Mount Albert for three and a half years “Coroners Inquest,” New Zealander, Volume XXI, Issue 2215, 5 September 1864.

[55] Engaged as Armourer Sergeant MSD Britomart Barracks.  ibid.

[56] Found drowned, near the Queen-street Wharf, on the 3rd July 1862, formerly of the Royal Artillery, and latterly employed in the Military Store Department. “Died,” New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1701,, 5 July 1862.

[57] “Matters Military “.

[58] Bolton, A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, 38.

[59] Terry Shattock, “Unpublished Work on New Zealand War Medals,” (2018).

[60] “Deaths,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXII, Issue 5288, 23 September 1876.

[61] “Military Funeral,” New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 254, 5 September 1864; ibid.

[62] “Matters Military “.

[63] Fernyhough, History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps 1920-1945, ix.

[64] “The New Military Store Staff Corps,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2713, 28 March 1866.

[65] Horse Guards Adjutant-General, Dress Regulations for the Army (London: Printed under the Superintendence of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office,, 1864), 116-18.

[66] Julia Millen, Salute to Service: A History of the Royal New Zealand Corps of Transport and Its Predecessors, 1860-1996 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1997, 1997), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 24-25.

[67] “The Role of the Commissariat During the Waikato Campaign, 1863 – 1864,” http://www.soldiersofempire.nz/the-role-of-the-commissariat-during-the-waikato-campaign-1863—1864.html.

[68] Davis, “The Imperial Garrison in New Zealand, 1840-1870 with Particular Reference to Auckland,” 131.

[69] “Fort Britomart,” New Zealand Spectator and Cook’s Strait Guardian, Volum XIX, Issue 1942, 12 March 1864.

[70] “Te Awamutu,” New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 124, 6 April 1864

[71] “Taranaki. The Kaitake Pa Shelled, Abandonment of Tataraimaka, Withdrawal of the Troops (from Our Special Correspondent) New Plymouth June 29,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 1885, 1 August 1863.

[72] “Wanganui,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3003, 11 March 1867.

[73]  The Whanganui Depot had been established by Assistant Superintendent of Stores A.C. Macduff in 1864.   “Tenders for Supply of Straw,” New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 344, 19 December 1864.

[74] “Page 2 Advertisements Column 5,” New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1079, 30 April 1867.

[75] A. H. McLintock, “British Troops in New Zealand,”  http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/british-troops-in-new-zealand

[76] “The Troops and the Home Government,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3643, 23 March 1869.

[77] “Dismantling of Fort Britomart,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3616, 19 February 1869.

[78] “Projected Departure of Mr Hamley,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 4007, 25 June 1870.

[79] Garry Clayton, The New Zealand Army: A History from the 1840’s to the 1990s ([Wellington, N.Z.]: New Zealand Army, 1990, 1990), Non-fiction, 26.

[80] “Militia and Volunteer Appointments,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume 2075, Issue XX, 14 March 1864 1864.

[81] Bolton, A History of the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps, 49.

[82] “Page 1 Advertisements Column 5,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3596, 27 January 1869.

[83] “The Daily Southern Cross,” Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXV, Issue 3595, 26 January 1869.

[84] “Projected Departure of Mr Hamley.”

[85] Fernyhough, A Short History of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (First Edition) 16-17.