June 2021 was a significant month for the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (RNZAOC), and its successor, the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (RNZALR). This month marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the establishment of Burnham Camp. It also celebrates the continuous presence of one unit at Burnham since 1921: the NZAOC Ordnance Depot, now 3 Catering and Supply Company, RNZALR.
The site where Burnham Camp now stands was originally the Burnham Industrial School for neglected and delinquent children, established in 1875. The Territorials used it as a training site from 1914, and it was recommended in 1918 that the school and grounds continue to be used for future Territorial Force annual camps.
Burnham Industrial School. Archives New Zealand Reference: photographs CH438/1
The Industrial School closed in 1918. With wartime training ceasing, the need for a permanent army camp to act as a mobilisation centre in the South Island was recognised. Burnham’s facilities served the Army well during the war, prompting negotiations to transfer the industrial school buildings and land from the Education Department to the Defence Department.
On 11 September 1920, the Education and Defence Departments agreed to hand over the Burnham Industrial School to the Defence Department for use as a military training camp and ordnance depot.
Since 1906, the NZAOC had maintained two mobilisation and ordnance stores in the South Island to support the southern military districts. One store was located at King Edward Barracks in Christchurch, and it was responsible for the Canterbury and Nelson Military District. The other was in St Andrew Street, Dunedin, serving the Otago and Southland Military Districts. Post-war reorganisation of the New Zealand Military Forces and the arrival of new military equipment from the UK led to the establishment of a South Island Ordnance Depot at Burnham. On 15 November 1920, the NZAOC took over the existing Education Department buildings at Burnham for an ordnance depot. Concurrently, approval was granted for a new North Island Ordnance Depot at Hopuhopu to serve the Northern Military District.
With the closure of the Dunedin store and the imminent transfer of stores from the North Island, establishing the new ordnance depot became urgent. Accordingly, £500 (2021 NZD 48,639.23) was approved in November 1920 for purchasing and erecting shelving. An additional £600 (2021 NZD 58,367.07) was approved for erecting new buildings, including twenty-five from Featherston Camp and relocating Buckley Barracks from Lyttelton for use by the ordnance depot.
As the Canterbury and Nelson Military Districts and the Otago and Southland Military Districts were combined into the Southern Military Command, Captain Arthur Rumbold Carter White was appointed Ordnance Officer Southern Command on 27 May 1921. White was appointed Defence Storekeeper for the Canterbury District in 1906. He was reclassified as the Assistant Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores, granted honorary rank in February 1916, and commissioned as Captain in the New Zealand Army Ordnance Department (NZAOD) in 1917.
With the transfer between the Education and Defence Departments finalised on 31 May 1921, Major E. Puttick of the NZ Staff “Q” Duties formally received the property and buildings of Burnham Camp from the Education Department. Confirming Burnham’s status as a New Zealand military camp, General Order 255 of 20 June 1921 appointed Captain A.R.C. White, NZAOD, as the first Commandant of Burnham Camp, a position he would hold until 1930.
Captain A.R.C White NZAOC. M.Dart/Public Domain
The ordnance depot remained in the Industrial School buildings until 1941, when a purpose-built warehouse and ammunition area was completed. Since 1921, Burnham Camp has undergone many transformations and remains, one hundred years on, the South Island home of the NZ Army.
Despite many units coming and going from Burnham Camp, the only unit to retain a constant presence has been the Ordnance Depot. Over the past century, as the nature of logistic support and its delivery have evolved, the original Ordnance Depot has undergone many reorganisations, role, and name changes, including:
1921-1942, Southern Districts Ordnance Depot
1942-1948, No 3 Ordnance Sub Depot
1948 was renamed and split into
Southern Districts Ordnance Depot (SDOD)
Southern Districts Ammunition Depot (SDAD) and
Southern Districts Vehicle Depot (SDVD)
1961 SDOD reorganised to include the SDVD and SDAD
1968 Renamed 3 Central Ordnance Depot (2 COD)
16 October 1978 Renamed to 3 Supply Company
1990 Renamed to 3 Field Supply Company
9 December 1996 became 3 Supply Company, Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (RNZALR)., and later renamed 3 Catering and Supply Company, RNZALR
Although other corps and regiments have been tenants at Burnham Camp, the Ordnance Store has been a constant and unbroken tenant from 1921 as an NZAOC unit, then an RNZAOC unit, and now an RNZALR unit. This service record in one location is unmatched by any other unit of the New Zealand Army.
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For all those interested in discovering more about their ancestors military service, accessing the individual’s service record and understanding what is written in it can be a daunting exercise,first in gaining the service record and then interpreting the peculiar language used by the military and making sense of the many abbreviations used, reading a service record often leads to more questions than answers.
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Locations visited.
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Post 1921 Records
Service records from 1921 including the Second World War, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, South Vietnam, CMT & National Service, Peacekeeping and Territorial and Regular service in New Zealand)
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Nestled just north of the small Waikato town of Ngāruawāhia, Hopuhopu Military Camp served as the Upper North Island base for the Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps (RNZAOC) for sixty-two years. Set along the banks of the Waikato River and adjacent to the Main Trunk Railway, Hopuhopu’s rural location south of Auckland might seem an unlikely choice for an Ordnance Depot. Yet, this site holds a special place in the RNZAOC’s history.
Hopuhopu was New Zealand’s first purpose-built Ordnance Depot for the Corps, equipped with state-of-the-art warehousing and ammunition storage facilities that were among the most advanced used by the New Zealand military. This establishment served as a key logistical hub and marked a significant evolution in the nation’s military infrastructure.
Purpose-built Military storage infrastructure had been constructed early in the 20th Century at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin; however, this infrastructure had been built on a small scale to service the pre-war military districts. The Post-Bellum New Zealand Army was in an advantageous position; it had an experienced cadre of men to draw upon to train the building blocks of any future force. Additionally, the Army was flush with enough new and modern equipment to form and sustain an Expeditionary Force of at least one Infantry Division, a mounted Rifle Brigade, an Artillery Regiment and a Line of Communications troops.[1]
The bulk of the equipment was held by Ordnance at Trentham and Featherston Camps, utilising wartime infrastructure designed to accommodate soldiers and not large quantities of military material. Smaller amounts of stores to support training and initial mobilisation were distributed to the new mobilisation camp at Burnham in the South Island and the Mount Eden depot in Auckland. Whilst both Trentham and Burnham had room for expansion, the existing infrastructure at those camps was deemed, with a few additions, adequate for the time being, with no purpose-built infrastructure constructed until 1939/40. However, in Auckland, the depot at Mount Eden was inadequate and unable to support the Northern districts. More robust mobilisation and storage infrastructure were required.
Another concern was ammunition storage. Existing ammunition storage across New Zealand consisted of many 19th-century powder magazines and converted coastal defence batteries, with the bulk of New Zealand’s ammunition supply stored at Wellington’s Fort Balance. These existing ammunition storage arrangements were unsatisfactory, and a more permanent solution in the form of a purpose-built facility was needed.
By 1921, the site of a new Mobilisation and Ordnance Depot to support the Northern Districts had been decided upon. In one of the largest defence infrastructure projects undertaken in New Zealand, construction of the new camp at Hopuhopu continued throughout the 1920s, with the Ordnance Depot opening in 1927. A significant project at the time, the progress of construction at Hopuhopu was widely reported on with this Auckland Star article from 1925 describing the plans for the camp. [2]
GREAT MILITARY CAMP
WORK AT HOPUHOPU
DOMINIONS’ AMMUNITION DEPOT
A SPLENDID TRAINING GROUND
Midway between Ngaruawahia and Taupiri, bounded by the railway and the Waikato River, is a long strip of land, some 500 acres in area, level excepting for an extensive hill that rises to an elevation of some ninety feet. This is Hopuhopu, site of the old mission station of the name. Once the home of peace, it is now being transformed by the engineers and men of the Public Works Department into a camp of training for war. Acquired by the Defence Department about three years ago, the Hopuhopu mission site has already been used as a camp for trainees, but it is in the rough, and the plans on which the engineers are now working aim at its conversion into a thoroughly equipped permanent military depot, to be officially known as the Ngaruawahia Mobilisation Base. When the plans are completed, it will be the chief military magazine, for the Dominion, and probably the greatest ordnance depot.
Through the courtesy of the Defence authorities and Mr E. K. James, the engineer in charge of the work, a “Star” representative was permitted to inspect the camp in the making yesterday. The site at once suggests itself as an ideal one for the purpose intended, and this idea is backed by expert engineering and military opinion. There has been some criticism of the area on the ground that it is damp, but this has proved to be a matter that can and will be easily overcome. After heavy rain, there is a degree of surface damp, caused by the matting of thick vegetable growth, but the sinking of a number of test holes has revealed a porous, sandy soil beneath, which, when the “matting” is removed, will readily allow all moisture to percolate and leave a dry surface. In fact, the site lends itself readily to perfect draining. About one hundred men are engaged in the work of clearing and building, and they have been greatly hampered in their preliminary operations by the amount of furze and blackberry that ‘successive owners of the land (including the Government) have allowed to grow on it.[3] The furze is not so hard to clear, but an instance of the pertinacity of the blackberry was shown in a patch that was again springing to vigorous growth two months after it had been cut. Over one hundred acres have been cleared, and there remains another 150 acres to be dealt with by hook and fire.
A Varied Terrain
The great value of the Hopuhopu site is that it is adaptable to every branch of military training. A detraining platform a quarter of a mile long will be constructed on the main railway line for the embarkation and disembarkation of troops; there are large level areas for parade grounds; there are hills for reconnoitre and signalling; there is the river for bridge-train and pontoon drill, and in fact, the contour of the country will enable training in every department of military tactics. When the camp is completed, its huge stores, magazines and hutments will spread over an area of 200 acres. It is proposed to provide sanitary drainage from the latrines by a large pipe running along the railway into septic tanks, and thence into the river. The first part of the plan provides for the accommodation of a full battalion, and this will gradually be extended to mobilise and house a brigade of about 5000 men. Next year trainees of the Northern Command will sleep beneath the roofs of solid huts, instead of in tents.
In arriving at the decision to construct this great camp at Hopuhopu, the authorities were doubtless influenced by other considerations additional to the natural suitability of the site for training purposes. It is a reasonable distance from the city; yet not too near. It is not advisable that men in training should have the temptations of a city that is in too close proximity, and it is essential really that a camp containing immense stores of ammunition should be out of range of shelling by a possible hostile fleet operating, for instance, in the Hauraki Gulf. Besides, Hopuhopu is a very handy site for the mobilisation of the thousands of trainees who reside in the closely settled districts of the Waikato.
Some acres of the campsite, between the Old South Road and the river, have been reserved for residences for officers of the permanent staff, the building of which has already been commenced in the corner adjacent to the railway, line. These houses are being constructed of concrete. The whole of the ordnance department is to be transferred to the camp, which will take over a great deal of the stores now housed at Featherston. The extent of the future ordnance department at the new base may be gauged from the fact that the plans provide for five sheds measuring 40 x 500 ft, 40 x 300 ft, 40 x 200 ft, 40 x 100 ft, and 40 x 350 ft. These will lie alongside the camp railway, which runs into the camp for a distance of half a mile from, the mainline, so that stores may be received and dispatched with a minimum of labour and a maximum of speed. From the terminus of this extension, a wooden tramway is to be constructed to the foot of the hill along the base of which the magazines are being built.
The Magazine Section
No fewer than ten magazines for the storage of explosives and ammunition are provided for, and several of these are nearing completion while excavating and banking is being carried out on the site of the great laboratory to be attached to this department. The magazines are built into the hillside. They are constructed of concrete, with double walls, in between which are formed the inspecting chambers. From these chambers’ sentries may see through observation windows the thermometers which register the temperature inside and by this guide check or increase ventilation, as needed, for the explosives must be kept at a certain degree Fahrenheit. Also, the double-wall is a protection against fire. Between each magazine, a pyramid is erected from the spoil taken from the excavation. These are eave high with the roofs of the magazines and are designed to break the force of any possible explosion of one magazine, so that others may not be exploded also. The magazines are also faced by a long embankment, and are, of course, backed by the hill, so that an explosion would be confined as far as possible to the magazine area.
On top of the hill, there has been constructed an 80,000-gallon reservoir for the camp water supply. The water is pumped by a 30 hp motor from a settling tank alongside the river and ten feet below the level of its bed. The water is well filtered and regarded as pure after it has percolated into its tank, but as an additional safeguard, a chlorinating plant is to be installed.
Negotiations are proceeding with landowners on the other side of the river for the acquirement of land for a rifle range.
“Great Military Camp,” The Auckland Star, vol. LVI, no. 83, p. 5, 8 April 1925.
The Ordnance Depot opened in 1927. The original plan called for five warehouses measuring 40 x 500 ft, 40 x 300 ft, 40 x 200 ft, 40 x 100 ft, and 40 x 350 ft; what was eventually construed was a single large warehouse measuring 100 x 322 ft.
1938 Military Camp, Hopuhopu, Waikato. Whites Aviation Ltd: Photographs. Ref: WA-55972-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23181165
An additional Ordnance warehouse was constructed adjacent to the original building during the Second World War. The wartime era also saw the nationwide expansion of the NZ Army’s Ammunition infrastructure with additional magazines added to the existing ten magazine at the Hopuhopu Storage area and a new Ammunition Depot established outside of Hopuhopu Camp at the nearby Kelm Road.
1961 Hopuhopu Military Camp from the air. Whites Aviation Ltd: Photographs. Ref: WA-55339-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22480584
Aerial oblique view of Ngāruawāhia (Hopuhopu) Army Camp, March 1962. Image ref OhG3046-62, RNZAF Official.
Hopuhopu and its Ordnance Depot survived until 1989, when, as part of many rationalisations across the New Zealand Defence Forces, the Hopuhopu camp was closed and its functions transferred to other locations.
Hopuhopu 2020. Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development
Notes
[1] Mark McGuire, “Equipping the Post-Bellum Army,” Forts and Works 2016.
[2] “Great Military Camp,” The Auckland Star, vol. LVI, no. 83, p. 5, 8 April 1925.
This period would see the RNZAOC. Continue to support Regular, Territorial and Compulsory Military Training. Ongoing support to Kayforce would continue.[1]
Key Appointments
Directorate of Ordnance
Director of Ordnance Services – Lieutenant Colonel F Reid, OBE
DADOS 2– Maj & QM K.A Bailey, MM
OOP (G) – Capt & QM R.P Kannedy
Inspection Ordnance Office
Technical Assistant – Captain N.C Fisher (Until 24 July 1953)
Technical Assistant – Warrant Officer L Smith (From 25 July 1953)
Northern Military District
District Headquarters
District Inspecting Ordnance Officer – Captain E.D Gerard (until 9 Aug 1953)
Northern District Ordnance Depot
Ordnance Officer – Maj M.R.J Keeler
Northern District Ammunition Depot
IOO – Captain E.D Gerard (from 28 Aug 1953)
Northern District Ammuniton Repair Depot
Officer Commanding– Captain C.C Pipson (From 28 Aug 1953)
Central Military District
District Headquarters
DADOS – Maj C.A Penny (From May 1953)
DIOO – Captain N.C Fisher (From 9 Aug 1953)
Southern Military District
Southern District Ordnance Depot
Ordnance Officer – Captain A.A Barwick
Southern District Ammunition Repair Depot
Officer Commanding – Capt & QM G.W Dudman
Compulsory Military Training
During this period three CMT intakes marched in;[2]
9th intake of 2954 recruits on 9 April1953
10th intake of 2610 recruits on 2 July 1953
11th intake of 2610 recruits on 24 September 1953
12th intake of 2200 recruits on 5 January 1954
On completion of CMT recruit training, recruits were posted to Territorial units close to their home location to complete their CMT commitment, with RNZAOC CMT recruits posted to either
1st Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Hopuhopu
2nd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Mangaroa.
3rd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Burnham
Ordnance in the New Zealand Division
The RNZAOC elements of the Territorial Force had been reorganised in 1948, this had been a reorganisation that had taken place over three stages with Officers and then NCOs recruited, followed by the soldiers recruited through the CMT scheme to fill the ranks.[3] By September 1953 the RNZOAC units within the Division had rapidly grown and the CRAOC of the NZ Division provided clarification in the organisation and duties of the RNZAOC units in the NZ Division.
HQ CRAOC
Duties included.
RNZAOC representative at Division Headquarters.
Exercised Regimental command and Technical control of RNZAOC unit in the Division.
Divisional Ordnance Field Park
The functions of the OFP were.
Park HQ – Technical Control of the OFP
Regimental Section – Regimental Control of the OFP
Delivery Section – Collects and delivers operationally urgent stores
MT Stores Platoon – Carried two months of frequently required spare and minor assemblies for vehicles held by the Division
Tech Stores Platoon – Carried two months of frequently required spares for all guns, small arms, wireless and Signals equipment of the Division.
Gen Stores Platoon – Carried a small range of frequently required items of clothing, general stores, and the Divisional Reserve of Industrial gases.
Mobile Laundry and Bath Company
The functions of the Mobile Laundry and Bath Company was to provide bathing facilities and to wash troops under clothing.
RNZAOC Stores Sections
One RNZAOC Store Sections was attached to each Infantry Brigade Workshop, maintaining a stock of spares required for the repair of the Divisions equipment. The Stores sections would demand direct from the Base or Advance Base Ordnance Depot not the OFP.
Brigade Warrant Officers
RNZAOC representative at Brigade Headquarters
Presentation of Coronation Trophy
In celebration to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the Coronation Trophy was presented to the Central Districts Training Depot by All Ranks of the RNZAOC from the Central Military District. The exact criteria for the presentation of the trophy has been long forgotten, however from the 11th CMT intake the Coronation Trophy would be awarded to an outstanding student of each CMT intake. 76
Acquisition of additional Training areas by NZ Army
To provide suitable training areas in all three military districts, firing and manoeuvre rights were obtained over 30000acres of land adjoining the Mackenzie District near lake Tekapo. The allowed all South Island units the ability to carry out realistic tactical training during their summer camps.
Flood Relief
In July 1953 Serious flooding affected the Waikato with soldiers from Hopuhopu Camp taking a prominent part in the relief operations. Solders from the 1st Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park, utilising vehicles with extended air intakes and exhausts and operating in areas that had been flooded to a depth of 1.4 meters deep assisted in rescuing families and livestock and distributing fodder to marooned animals.
Robert McKie RNZAOC School CollectionRobert McKie RNZAOC School CollectionNDOD Flood Assist 1953. Robert McKie RNZAOC School CollectionNDOD Flood Assist 1953. Robert McKie RNZAOC School Collection
Tangiwai Railway Disaster
The Tangiwai disaster occurred at Christmas eve 1953 when the Whangaehu River Railway bridge collapsed as the Wellington-to-Auckland express passenger train was crossing it with a loss of 151 Lives. With Waiouru in proximity, the army was quick to respond, with rescue teams deploying from Waiouru with the first survivors admitted into the Waiouru Camp Hospital by 4 am. Representing the RNZAOC in the search parties were Warrant officer Class One P Best and Corporal Eric Ray.
Railway disaster at Tangiwai. Dominion Post (Newspaper): Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post and Dominion newspapers. Ref: EP-Accidents-Rail-Tangiwai rail disaster-01. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23201427
Royal Tour 23 December 1953 – 31 Jan 1954
Camp Commandants Bodyguard 1954. Robert Mckie RNZAOC School Collection
Emergency Force (Kayforce)
The RNZAOC continued to support Kayforce with the dispatch of regular consignments of Maintenance stores and with all requests for stores by Kayforce met.
This period saw the first RNZAOC men rotated and replaced out of Kayforce;
Out of Kayforce
Private Dennis Arthur Astwood, 8 December 1953
Lance Corporal Thomas Joseph Fitzsimons, 6 January 1954
Lance Corporal Owen Fowell, 2 September 1953
Private Gane Cornelius Hibberd, 13 May 1953,
Corporal Leonard Ferner Holder, 4 September 1953
Corporal Wiremu Matenga, 6 January 1954
Into Kay force
Private Richard John Smart, 25 June 1953
Private Abraham Barbara, 30 December 1953
Private Ernest Radnell, 29 December 1953
Sergeant Harold Earnest Strange Fry, 29 January 1954
Corporal Edward Tanguru, 25 February 1954
Gunner John Neil Campbell, 24 March 1954
Seconded to Fiji Military Forces
Lieutenant and Quartermaster Rodger Dillon Wederell remained seconded to the Fiji Military Forces.
Ordnance Conferences
Ordnance Conference 18-19 August 1953
The Director of Ordnance Services hosted a conference of the Districts DADOS and the Officer Commanding Main Ordnance Depot (MOD) at Army Headquarters over the period 21-23 April 1953. No detailed agenda remains.
Headquarters Group, Main Ordnance Depot, 1954. Robert McKie RNZAOC School Collection
Main Ordnance Depot, NZ Royal Womens Army Corps, 1954. Robert McKie RNZAOC School Colection
Routine Ordnance Activities
Over this period the RNZAOC in addition to its regular duties of provision, holding and the issue of multitudinous stores required by the Army including the additional issue of training equipment to the territorial Force allowing all unit’s enough equipment for normal training.
Ammunition Examiner Qualification
The following soldiers qualified as Ammunition Examiners
Corporal G.T Dimmock (SMD)
Corporal M.M Loveday (CMD)
Corporal Roche (MMD)
Lance Corporal H.E Luskie (SMD)
Lance Corporal Radford (NMD)
Small Arms Ammunition
Production of small-arms ammunition had met the monthly target, with the ammunition, fully proofed and inspected before acceptance.
Support to the French War in Vietnam
During this period the RNZAOC prepared a second consignment of stores and equipment for transfer to the French in Vietnam. Transferred from surplus and obsolete stocks held in RNZAOC depots, the following items would be dispatched to Vietnam;[4]
Bofors Guns Trentham, 1 March 1954. Evening Post illustrations file and prints. 1950-2000. (PA-Group-00685). [Series]
Introduction of New Equipment
As new equipment was introduced, the RNZAOC would play an essential role in the acceptance processes. Upon delivery from the supplier, the equipment, its accessories and spares would be received into an RNZAOC Depot. The equipment would be inspected and kitted out with all its accessories before distribution to units. Depending on the equipment, several examples may have been retained in RNZAOC Depots as War Reserve/Repair and Maintenance Stock. Maintenance stocks of accessories and spares were maintained as operating stock in RNZAOC depots. If the new equipment was or contained a weapon system, ammunition specific to the equipment was managed by RNZAOC Ammunition Depots.
During this period, the following equipment was introduced into service;[6]
57 M20 Mk 2 3.5-inch Rocket Launchers
Anti-Tank Grenade No 94 Engera
1 120mm BAT L1 Recoilless Rifle
3 Centurion Tanks
150 Series 1 80″ Land-Rovers
Honours List
Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.)
PrivateGeorge Thomas Dimmock to Lance Corporal – 1 April 1953
Temporary Warrant Officer Class Two Alick Claude Doyle to Substantive WO2, 1 April 1953
Lieutenant J. Harvey to Captain. 9 December 1953.[8]
Captain (temp. Major) H. McK Reid to Major. 22 January 1954.[9]
Lieutenant-Colonel (temp Colonel) A. H. Andrews, OBE, BE, to Colonel. 21 October 1953.[10]
Lieutenant and Quartermaster T Rose to be Captain and Quartermaster. 1 May 1953.[11]
Enlistments into the RNZAOC
John Gunn, 21 September 1953
Leonard T Conlon, 16 June 1953
Keith A Parker, 17 July 1953
Appointments into the RNZAOC
Edward Francis Lambert Russell, late Captain RAOC, appointed as Lieutenant (on prob.), with seniority from 26 November 1949, posted as Vehicle. Spares Officer, Vehicle Spares Group, Main Ordnance Depot, 26 November 1953.[12]
The following RNZAOC soldiers were re-engaged into the New Zealand Regular Force;
Sergeant W.J Smith for one year from April 1953, in the rank of Private
Warrant Officer Class One W.S Valentine, on a month to month basis until 31 March 1954
Corporal H.H Regnault, on a month to month basis until 31 March 1954
Civic Appointments
On 16 July 1953 Maurice Richard John Keeler, Ordnance Officer, Northern; District Ordnance Depot, RNZAOC Ngaruawahia, was authorized to take and receive statutory declarations under section 301 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1927.[17]
Notes
“Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army.” New Zealand Gazette No 9, 4 February 1954.
“Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army.” New Zealand Gazette No 13, 25 February 1954.
“Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army.” New Zealand Gazette No 15, 11 March 1954.
“Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army.” New Zealand Gazette No 72, 17 December 1953.
“Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army.” New Zealand Gazette No 35, 3 June 1954.
“Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army.” New Zealand Gazette No 48, 20 August 1953.
“Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army.” New Zealand Gazette No 1, 7 January 1954.
Cooke, Peter. Fit to Fight. Compulsory Military Training and National Service in New Zealand 1949-72. Auckland: David Ling Publishing, 2013.
“Coronation Honours List.” New Zealand Gazette No 33, 11 June 1953.
Fenton, Damien. A False Sense of Security : The Force Structure of the New Zealand Army 1946-1978. Occasional Paper / Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand: No. 1. Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington, 1998. Bibliographies, Non-fiction.
“H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 April 1954 to 31 March 1955 “. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (3 July 1955 1955).
“Officer Authorized to Take and Receive Statutory Declarations “. New Zealand Gazette No 42, 23 July 1953.
Rabel, Roberto Giorgio. New Zealand and the Vietnam War : Politics and Diplomacy. Auckland University Press, 2005. Bibliographies, Non-fiction.
[1] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 April 1954 to 31 March 1955 “, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1955).
[2] Peter Cooke, Fit to Fight. Compulsory Military Training and National Service in New Zealand 1949-72 (Auckland: David Ling Publishing, 2013), 539.
[3] Damien Fenton, A False Sense of Security : The Force Structure of the New Zealand Army 1946-1978, Occasional Paper / Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand: No. 1 (Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington, 1998), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 8-9.
[4] Roberto Giorgio Rabel, New Zealand and the Vietnam War : Politics and Diplomacy (Auckland University Press, 2005), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 16.
[5] Possibly surplus 37mm rounds used on New Zealand’s Stuart tanks which would have been compatible with weapon platforms in use with the French
[6] Fenton, A False Sense of Security : The Force Structure of the New Zealand Army 1946-1978, 21.
[7] “Coronation Honours List,” New Zealand Gazette No 33, 11 June 1953, 911.
[8] “Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army,” New Zealand Gazette No 9, 4 February 1954, 180.
[9] “Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army,” New Zealand Gazette No 13, 25 February 1954, 294.
[10] “Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army,” New Zealand Gazette No 15, 11 March 1954, 384.
From 1920 to 1996, Trentham Camp in Wellington’s Hutt Valley was home to New Zealand’s Army’s principal Ordnance Depot. During its 76-year tenure as an Ordnance Depot, also every New Zealand Army Ordnance Officer and Soldier, at some stage of their career work at, passed through or had some interaction with the Trentham Ordnance Depot.
Using a 1983 Depot plan as a reference point, this article takes a look back at how the Trentham Ordnance Depot developed from 1920 to 1996.
Depot Plan, 1 Base Supply Battalion. Robert McKie Collection
Entrance to the Ordnance Depot 1998, Upper Hutt City Library (19th Mar 2020). Trentham Camp buildings, unidentified; barrier in fence. In Website Upper Hutt City Library. Retrieved 11th Oct 2020 08:03, from https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/29474
Building 73. Upper Hutt City Library (19th Mar 2020). Trentham Camp building; multi-bay warehouse. In Website Upper Hutt City Library. Retrieved 11th Oct 2020 08:05, from https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/29475
1920
In 1920 the NZAOC had its Headquarters and main depot located at Alexandra Barracks at Mount Cook, Wellington. In the regions, Ordnance Stores were maintained at Mount Eden, Palmerston North, Trentham Camp, Featherston Camp, Mount Cook, Christchurch and Dunedin.
As part of the post-war reduction of the Army and the rationalization of the Ordnance Services, the early interwar years were a transition period. In the South Island, the Dunedin and Christchurch Ordnance Stores closed and relocated to Burnham Camp. In the North Island, the Palmerston North Depot closed, and the main depot at Mount Cook relocated to Trentham Camp to establish the Main Ordnance Depot.
The Featherson Camp and Mount Eden Ordnance Stores remained in operation until 1928 when construction of a new Purpose-built Ordnance Depot at Hopuhopu in the Waikato was completed.
With no purpose-built storage accommodation, the NZAOC Main Ordnance Depot at Trentham Camp in the years leading up to the Second World War utilise up to one hundred different existing camp administrative and accommodation structures as its primary means of warehousing.
Upper Hutt City Library (31st Mar 2018). Trentham Camp 1920; aerial view looking east.. In Website Upper Hutt City Library. Retrieved 10th Oct 2020 15:04, from https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/464
1940
Seen here shortly after its construction in late 1940/early 1941, this warehouse (Building 73) was constructed as part of a wider nationwide program of defence works. With the construction contracts let in 1938 and construction beginning in 1939, Building 73 was constructed using reinforced concrete and designed with nine bays that allowed the loading and unloading of Trains on one side and Motor transport on the other. The design and layout of building 73 were utilised as the model for new warehouses that were later constructed at Burnham and Waiouru.
Upper Hutt City Library (5th Mar 2018). Trentham Camp 1938-1943 (approximate). In Website Upper Hutt City Library. Retrieved 10th Oct 2020 15:28, from https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/25874
1941
From this November 1941 photo, the full size of Building 73 can be appreciated in comparison to the World War One era buildings in which many of the Main Ordnance Depots Stores had been held during the inter-war years. Under construction is Building 68, which in later years became the Direct Support Section (DSS), Building 87 (Dental Stores) and Building 88 (Detention Block)
Trentham Camp, November 1941. National Archives, AAOD,W3273, Box 19, Record WDO 9811, R18059582
1943
Although Building 73 provided a huge increase in storage capability, wartime demands soon necessitated further increases in storage infrastructure; immediately obvious is Building 74. Building 74 was a near duplicate of building 73, with the main exception that due to wartime constraints, it was constructed out of wood instead of reinforced concrete.
Building 86 has been completed, and connected to it is Building 70, which later become the Textile Repair Shop.
Buildings 64, 65 and 66 have been completed, with Buildings 60 and 61 under construction.
1944
By 1944, despite the wartime expansion of the Main Ordnance Depot, storage requirements still exceeded available storage at the Main Ordnance Depot, with a large number of items held in Sub Depots at Māngere, Linton Camp, Whanganui, Waiouru, Lower Hutt and Wellington.
Twelve additional warehouses can be seen to the East of Buildings 73 and 74, and Building 26 is under construction.
Upper Hutt City Library (14th Feb 2018). Aerial view; Trentham Military Camp 1944.. In Website Upper Hutt City Library. Retrieved 10th Oct 2020 14:56, from https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/625
1945
These two photos from late 1945 show the extent of the wartime expansion of the Main Ordnance Depot.
The latest additions are Buildings 27,28,29. 30 and 31. These buildings had originally been built for the United States Forces at Waterloo in Lower Hutt by the Public Works Department. Surplus to the United States requirements due to their downsizing in New Zealand, the buildings had been transferred to the NZ Army. The first building was disassembled and re-erected at Trentham by the end of September 1945, with the follow-on buildings re-erected at a rate of one per month, with all construction completed by February 1946
Upper Hutt City Library (27th Feb 2018). Trentham Camp overall view 1945; Carman block, 1945. Panoramic view.. In Website Upper Hutt City Library. Retrieved 10th Oct 2020 14:57, from https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/565
1966
Twenty Years later, much of the wartime infrastructure constructed for the Main Ordnance Depot and much of the First World War camp accommodation remains in use. During the 1950s, the compound at Dante Road had been developed for the Central Districts Vehicle Depot. When that unit relocated to Linton in 1958, the compound became the Main Ordnance Depot Vehicle Sub-Depot. On the right side of the photo, the large building, the Ordnance Depot, is the General Motors Plant.
1974
By 1974, much of the central infrastructure remains, however, the eleven sheds constructed in 1943/44 have been demolished.
1980
1n 1979 the Main Ordnance Depot was renamed as 1 Base Supply Battalion, RNZOAC. There has been a slight change to the WW2 Infrastructure.
1988
In one of the largest infrastructure investments since 1939 and the first modern warehouse built for the RNZAOC since 1972, a new warehouse was opened in 1988. Designed to accommodate 3700 pallets and replace the existing WW2 Era Storage, the new award-winning warehouse was constructed for $1.6 million. In addition to the high-rise pallet racking for bulk stores, a vertical storage carousel capable of holding 12,000 detail items was installed later.
2020
On 8 December 1996, the RNZAOC was amalgamated into the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment, ending the Ordnance Corps association with Trentham Camp that had existed since 1920.
Further developments occured in January 1998 when the entire military warehousing and maintenance functions in Trentham camp were commercialised and placed under the control of civilian contractors.
This period would see the RNZAOC. Continue to support Regular, Territorial and Compulsory Military Training. Ongoing support to Kayforce would continue.[1]
Key Appointments
Ordnance Directorate
Director of Ordnance Services – Lieutenant Colonel F Reid, OBE
Southern Military District
Southern District Ordnance Depot
Ordnance Officer – Captain A.A Barwick
Southern District Ammuinition Depot
Officer Commanding – Capt & QM S.H.E Bryant
Small Arms Ammunition Production Proof Office
Inspector – Capt & QM G.A Perry. ED
Compulsory Military Training
During this period three CMT intakes marched in;[2]
6th intake of 2850 recruits on 19 Jun 1952
7th intake of 2645 recruits on 11 Sept 1952
8th intake of 2831 recruits on 8 Jan 1953
On completion of CMT recruit training, recruits were posted to Territorial units close to their home location to complete their CMT commitment, with RNZAOC CMT recruits posted to either;
1st Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Hopuhopu.
2nd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Mangaroa.
3rd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Burnham.
1 Armoured Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon.
Territorial Force
The Ordnance Headquarters of the New Zealand Division, was on 19 Apr 1952 re-designated as Headquarters CRNZAOC New Zealand Division (HQ CRNZAOC NZ Div).[3]
Kayforce
The RNZAOC continued to support Kayforce with the dispatch of regular consignments of Maintenance stores and with all additional requests for stores by Kayforce met.
This period saw the first RNZAOC men rotated and replaced out of Kayforce;
Out of Kayforce
Staff Sergeant Neville Wallace Beard, 3 Jun 1952
Lance Corporal James Ivo Miller, 21 Jun 1952
Lieutenant Colonel Geoferry John Hayes Atkinson, 15 Jan 1953
Corporal Desmond Mervyn Kerslake, 18 Mar 1953
Into Kay force
TEAL Flight from Auckland,15 May 1952
Private Dennis Arthur Astwood
TEAL Flight from Wellington, 7 Jun 1952
Corporal Wiremu Matenga
TEAL Flight from Wellington, 14 Jun 1952
Sergeant Barry Stewart
TEAL Flight from Auckland, 30 Jun 1952
Lance Corporal Thomas Joseph Fitzsimons
Private Gane Cornelius Hibberd
TEAL Flight from Wellington, 30 Aug 1952
Staff Sergeant James Russell Don
1 Sept 1952
Corporal Gordon Winstone East
TEAL Flight from Auckland, 23 Dec 1952
Captain Patrick William Rennison
TEAL Flight from Auckland, 3 Mar 1953
Lance Corporal Alexander George Dobbins
Coronation Contingent
On 2 Jun 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned as monarch of the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth of nations. To commemorate the coronation, New Zealand provided a contingent of 75 Officers and men. RNZAOC soldier Temporary Staff Sergeant Earnest Maurice Alexander Bull was appointed as the Contingent Quartermaster Sergeant.[4] T/SSgt Bull would travel with the contingent on the long and uncomfortable return trip to the United Kingdom on the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney. Despite some controversy on the inadequate accommodation provided on the HMAS Sydney and quality of the New Zealand uniforms compared to the Australians, it was still considered a privilege to be part of the contingent.[5] A highlight for Bull was when he held the appointment of Sergeant of the Guard at St James Palace.
At Sea. 1953. Army members of the Australian and New Zealand Coronation Contingent engaged in rifle drill aboard the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney, while en route to England for the coronation of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Copyright expired – public domain
Ordnance Conferences
Ordnance Conference 16 – 18 September 1952
The Director of Ordnance Services hosted a conference of the Districts DADOS and the Officer Commanding Main Ordnance Depot (MOD) at Army Headquarters over the period 16-18 September 1952.[6]
Ordnance Conference 21-23 April 1953
The Director of Ordnance Services hosted a conference of the Districts DADOS and the Officer Commanding Main Ordnance Depot (MOD) at Army Headquarters over the period 21-23 April 1953.
Items discussed at the conference included;
Corps Policy
Corps Establishments
Estimation of expenditure
Provision
Vehicles and Spares
LAD tools
Standard packages
District problems
Routine Ordnance Activities
Over this period the RNZAOC in addition to its regular duties of provision, holding and the issue of multitudinous stores required by the Army including the additional issue of training equipment to the territorial Force allowing all units sufficient equipment for normal training.
Ammunition Examiner Qualification
Private Luskie qualified as an Ammunition Examiner as AE No 75
Small Arms Ammunition
Production of small-arms ammunition had met the monthly target, with the ammunition, fully proofed and inspected before acceptance.
Introduction of New Equipment
As new equipment was introduced, the RNZAOC would play an essential role in the acceptance processes. Upon delivery from the supplier, the equipment, its accessories and spares would be received into an RNZAOC Depot. The equipment would be inspected and kitted out with all its accessories before distribution to units. Depending on the equipment, several examples may have been retained in RNZAOC Depots as War Reserve/Repair and Maintenance Stock. Maintenance stocks of accessories and spares were maintained as operating stock in RNZAOC depots. If the new equipment was or contained a weapon system, ammunition specific to the equipment was managed by RNZAOC Ammunition Depots.
During this period, the following equipment was introduced into service;[7]
It was announced in December 1952 that a trial to replace the famous “Lemon Squeezer” hat was to be undertaken.[9] Reintroduced in 1949 as the official peacetime headdress, the Lemon Squeezer was found to be unsuitable because it could not be rolled up or placed into a pocket without losing its shape.[10] One it the items to be trialled was a Canadian style peaked ski caps made of brown serge wool used in the Battle Dress uniform.
Trentham Camp Commandant
For the first time since 1931, the appointment of Trentham Camp Commandant would be filled by an Ordnance Officer. In December 1952, Major D Roderick the incumbent Officer Commanding of the Main Ordnance Depot would take up the additional appointment of Trentham Camp Commandant.[11] Assisting Major Roderick as the Regimental Sergeant Major of bothTrentham Camp and the Main Ordnance Depot was Warrant Office Class One Alfred Wesseldine.[12]
Linton Fire
A fire in the ordnance store at Linton Military Camp on 15 February destroyed a quantity of Army stores and records and left a large part of the building gutted with losses valued at £11695 (2021 NZD$706492.66).
Hope Gibbons Fire
On 29 July 1952, fire broke out in the Hope Gibbons building in Wellington. Located in Dixon Street, the eight story Hope Gibbons office block became a towering inferno after a vat of industrial thinners caught alight in an adjacent building to the rear. One of the unsatisfactory and dispersed locations of the government archives, the building held numerous public records from the Public Works, Lands and Survey, Labour and Employment, Agriculture, Marine and Defence Departments. Many of the paper records dating back to 1840 were destroyed or damaged. Some records were salvaged and are still undergoing conservation work.
Included in the Defence Department files were many of the records of the Colonial Storekeeper, Defence Stores Department and the early Ordnance Corps, including records from the 1st and 2nd World Wars. The destruction and damage of these records created a significant gap in the historiography of the New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps.
The tremendous loss of public records in this fire prompted the establishment of the National Archives in 1957.[13]
Honours List
Long Service and Good Conduct
Warrant Officer Class One Bernard Percy Banks, Southern Districts Vehicle Depot, 16 Oct 1952.[14]
Warrant Officer Class One William Galloway, Central District Ordnance Depot, Waiouru Sub Depot, 25 Sept 1952
Enlistments into the RNZAOC
Brian Gush –16 May 1952
Robert J Plummer – 16 Sept 1952
John B Glasson – 9 Dec 1952
Thomas Woon – 17 Jun 1952
Transferred into the RNZAOC from other Corps
Warrant Officer Class One William Galloway from NZ Regiment to RNZAOC, June 1952
Warrant Officer Class One Ronald William Stitt from The Royal New Zeland Artillery to be Lieutenant and Quartermaster, RNZAOC from15 March 1953.[15]
Re-Engagements into the New Zealand Regular Force
With effect 1 Apr 1952, the undermentioned members of the RNZAOC were re-engaged into the NZ Regular Force;
Warrant Officer Class Two (Temp WO1) Ronald John Crossman [17]
Warrant Officer Class One George William Dudman[18]
To Lieutenant
1952, Lieutenant (on probation) J. H. Doone, with seniority from 25 Oct 1948.[19]
Transferred to Reserve of Officers
The following officer was transferred to the Reserve of Officer with effect 17 Nov 1952;[20]
Lieutenant R. K. Treacher
Notes
[1] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 April 1952 to 31 March 1953 “, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1953).
[2] Peter Cooke, Fit to Fight. Compulsory Military Training and National Service in New Zealand 1949-72 (Auckland: David Ling Publishing, 2013), 539.
[3] Chief of Royal New Zealand Army Ordnance Corps “Units Resignated,” New Zealand Gazette No 32, 19 April 1953, 554.
[4] Howard E. Chamberlain, Service Lives Remembered : The Meritorious Service Medal in New Zealand and Its Recipients, 1895-1994 ([Wellington, N.Z.]: H. Chamberlain, 1995), 67-68.
[5] ” N.Z. Contingent Protests on Coronation Voyage,” Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 – 1954) 7 May 1953
[6]Conferences – Ordnance Officers, Item Id R17188101 (Wellington: Archives New Zealand, 1950).
[7] Damien Fenton, A False Sense of Security : The Force Structure of the New Zealand Army 1946-1978, Occasional Paper / Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand: No. 1 (Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington, 1998), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 21.
This period would see the RNZAOC continue to support Regular, Territorial and Compulsory Military Training, while also providing ongoing support to Kayforce.[1]
Key Appointments
Director of Ordnance Services
Lieutenant Colonel F Reid, OBE
Southern Military District
Ordnance Officer
Captain A.A Barwick.
Compulsory Military Training
During this period three CMT intakes marched in;[2]
3rd intake of 3011 recruits on 2 August 1951
4th intake of 2981 recruits on 3 January 1952
5th intake of 2694 recruits on 27 March 1952
Unlike the previous intakes of 18-year-olds, the 4th intake consisted of many 20-year-olds.
On completion of CMT recruit training, recruits were posted to Territorial units close to their home location to complete their CMT commitment, with RNZAOC CMT recruits posted to either
1st Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Hopuhopu.
2nd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Mangaroa.
3rd Infantry Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon, Burnham.
1 Armoured Brigade Ordnance Field Park Platoon.
Kayforce
In July 1951 the New Zealand Government decided to increase its commitment to Kayforce with an expansion draft. Between July and 2 August 1951, the RNZAOC would outfit and equip the expansion draft with the necessary clothing and personal and equipment along with many additional stores and equipment for Kayforce including,
The expansion draft of 579 officers and men departed Wellington on 2 August 1951. However, on 15 August 1951, a day after departing Darwin, the Wahine ran aground in the Arafura Sea. All the crew and soldiers safely evacuated, continuing their journey to Korea by air, in what would be the first mass airlift of troops conducted by New Zealand. In an attempted salvage attempt a small number of personal kitbags and thirty cases of rifles were saved, with the 25 Pounder Guns disabled by the removal of their breech blocks, the remainder of stores and equipment remaining in the hold of the Wahine to this day.[4]
The loss of stores shipped on the Wahine threw an unplanned and additional task onto the RNZAOC. Within fourteen days, RNZAOC units would assemble and pack the required replacement stores to ensure that no hardship would be occasioned to the Force in Korea.[5] The replacement stores were dispatched by sea from Auckland on 4 September 1951.[6]
“Wahine” aground on the Masela Island Reef off Cape Palsu in the Arafura Sea
During this period, the RNZAOC provide the following reinforcements to Kayforce;
3rd Reinforcements, SS Wanganellella, 21 January 1952,
Lance Corporal Owen Fowell
Corporal Leonard Farmer Holder
Private Desmond Mervyn Kerslake
New Zealand Army Act, 1950
The New Zealand Army Act 1950, together with the Army regulations 1951 and the Army Rules of Procedure 1951 issued under the authority of the Act, came into force on 1 December 1951, Placing the administration of the New Zealand Army entirely under the legislative control of the New Zealand Government and independent of the United Kingdom
Ordnance Conference 11 -13 April 1951
The Director of Ordnance Services hosted a conference of the Districts DADOS and the Officer Commanding Main Ordnance Depot (MOD) at Army Headquarters over the period 11 -13 April 1951.[7]
Items discussed at the conference included.
Corps Policy
Kayforce
TF Recruit intakes
Estimation of expenditure
Payment of Accounts
Provision
Vehicles and MT Spares
Personnel
Ammunition
Pay and Allowances
During this period, new scales of pay and allowances for the Armed Forces were authorised. The new pay code provided an opportunity for the introduction of an improved system of “star” classification for all Other Ranks. The “Star” Classification system would by utilising trade tests allow pay to be related to trade ability.
Routine Ordnance Activities
Over this period the RNZAOC in addition to its regular duties of provision, holding and the issue of multitudinous stores required by the Army and the issue and dispatch of equipment and personnel for Kayforce had undertaken several other significant tasks.
The relocation of stores from Waiouru and Seaview to Mangaroa
The transfer of stores from Waiouru to Mangaroa was completed during this period. The transfer of stores from Seaview to Mangaroa and Trentham continued, with a further ten thousand square feet (930 square meters) of storage at Seaview made available to other Government departments.
Inspection of Ammunition
The Inspection Ordnance Officers Group (IOO Gp), which remained understaffed, was fully extended in the inspection of ammunition required for ongoing training requirements.
Small Arms Ammunition
Production of small-arms ammunition commenced in December 1951 at the Colonial Ammunition Company factory at Mount Eden in Auckland. The Proof Officer reported that the ammunition so far received was of high quality.
Introduction of New Equipment
As new equipment was introduced, the RNZAOC would play an essential role in the acceptance processes. Upon delivery from the supplier the equipment, its accessories and spares would be received into an RNZAOC Depot. The equipment would be inspected and kitted out with all its accessories prior to distribution to units. Depending on the equipment, several examples may have been retained in RNZAOC Depots as War Reserve/Repair and Maintenance Stock. Maintenance stocks of accessories and spares were maintained as operating stock in RNZAOC depots. If the new equipment was or contained a weapon system, ammunition specific to the equipment was managed by RNZAOC Ammunition Depots.
During this period, the following equipment was introduced into service.
In a move to calculated to enhance New Zealand’s national security by being seen abetting our allies in their efforts to contain Communism in South-East Asia, The New Zealand government in 1952 provided tangible support to the French in Vietnam by authorising the transfer of surplus and obsolete lend-Lease weapons and ammunition to the French Forces. Transferred from stocks held in RNZAOC depots, the following items would be dispatched to Vietnam;[9]
13000 rifles
700 Machine Guns, and
670000 rounds of small arms ammunition.
The rifles, machine guns (and ammunition) were lend-lease weapons that had urgently been provided to New Zealand in 1942 when the threat of Japanese invasion was very real. Chambered in the American 30-06 calibre the weapons served with the Home Guard and New Zealand units in the pacific, notably with RNZAF units co-located with American Forces.
Fiji Military Forces
Captain E.R. Hancock IOO SMD undertook a tour of duty in Fiji.
[1] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 April 1951 to 31 March 1952 “, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1952).
[2] Peter Cooke, Fit to Fight. Compulsory Military Training and National Service in New Zealand 1949-72 (Auckland: David Ling Publishing, 2013), 539.
[3] Howard Weddell, Trentham Camp and Upper Hutt’s Untold Military History (Howard Weddell, 2018), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 184-5.
[4] I. C. McGibbon, New Zealand and the Korean War (Oxford University Press in association with the Historical Branch, Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1992), Non-fiction, Government documents, 199.
[5] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 April 1951 to 31 March 1952 “.
[6] McGibbon, New Zealand and the Korean War, 200.
[7]Conferences – Ordnance Officers, Item Id R17188101 (Wellington: Archives New Zealand, 1950).
[8] A total of 16 guns, delivered in groups of Four on a mixture of MkI and MkII carriages would be supplied to the NZ Army between 1951 and. Damien Fenton, A False Sense of Security : The Force Structure of the New Zealand Army 1946-1978, Occasional Paper / Center for Strategic Studies: New Zealand: No. 1 (Center for Strategic Studies: New Zealand, Victoria University of Wellington, 1998), Bibliographies, Non-fiction, 21.
[9] Roberto Giorgio Rabel, New Zealand and the Vietnam War : Politics and Diplomacy (Auckland University Press, 2005), Bibliographies, Non-fiction.
The first intake of CMT consisted of 1846 recruits marched into the three district training camps on 3 May, followed by the second intake of 4053 recruits on 4 January 1951.[2]
For the First CMT intake Captain S.M King from the Main ordnance depot at Trentham was seconded to Burnham Camp to act as an instructor.[3]
Emergency Force (Kayforce)
Following the North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950, the New Zealand Government announced on 26 July 1950 the commitment to raise a force for Service in Korea. With a brief recruiting period closing on 5 August 1950, 5982 men volunteered their service, with those selected marching into the District Training Camps on 29 August 1950. On completing the four-week basic training, the majority of the Force concentrated at Waiour to continue training, with the specialist of Signals, EME and Ordnance competing their trader specific training at Trentham.[4]
The Ordnance Section of the Force would be small and consist of one Officer and five Other Ranks. Commanded by Captain Geoffrey John Hayes Atkinson, an officer with recent operational Ordnance experience gained in J-Force during the post-war occupation of Japan, the five OR’s would all be serving RNZAOC Soldiers;
Lance Corporal Neville Wallace Beard,
Lance Corporal Bruce Jerome Berney,
Private Keith Robert Meynell Gamble,
Lance Corporal James Ivo Miller,
Private Thomas Allan (Tom) Hill.
Private Desmond Mervyn Kerslake
The Ordnance effort on equipping the forces was considerable two sets of equipment for Kayforce had to be concentrate and issued from existing stocks or withdrawn from regular units;[5]
One set of approximately 1000 tons for loading on the freighter SS Ganges, including;
35 Twenty Five Pounder guns,
345 Vehicles
62 Gun trailers
10 Tones of tentage
170 Tones of Ammunition
Various other stores to support initial operations
A second set of equipment in equal proportions was also prepared and issued to the contingent to facilitate its training.
Lance Corporal Berney represented the RNZAOC as part of Advance Party No 2 of 1 officer and 14 OR’s that accompanied the stores on the SS Ganges, which departed Wellington on 25 November 1950.
Captian Atkinson and Lance Corporal Miller departed for Korea by RNZAF Dakota as part of Advance Party No 1 on 7 December 1950
The main body, Including Lance Corporal Beard and Privates Gamble and Hill, departed from Wellington on 10 December 1950 on the SS Ormonde.
The main body arrived at Pusan, Korea, on 31 December 1950. The Ganges had arrived some days earlier and already discharged much of Kay Forces equipment onto the Pusan docks. HQ K Force and the advance party had wasted little time and acquired accommodation for the Headquarters in downtown Pusan and had shelter for the main body prepared at an abandoned school on the city’s outskirts.
New Zealand Army Act, 1950
The New Zealand Army Act received Royal assent on 1 November 1950. This Act replaced the outdated Defence Act 1909, the Army Board Act 1937, the Army Act (Imperial) and the King’s Regulations. The NZ Army Act established the New Zealand Army as a Military Force independent of United Kindom legislation and under the legislative control of the New Zealand Government in both peace and war, serving within and beyond New Zealand.[6]
Ordnance Conference 24 -26 May 1950
The Director of Ordnance Services hosted a conference of the Districts DADOS and the Officer Commanding Main Ordnance Depot(MOD) at Army Headquarters over 24-26 May 1950.[7]
Items discussed at the conference included;
Ordnance staff establishments
CMT intakes 1,2 and 3 anticipated Ordnance problems in supporting and improvements
Payment of Accounts
Combined Indent and Voucher forms
Clothing;
Provision Supply
Sizing for CMT
Vehicles A & B
MT Provision
Army estimates in relation to Ordnance
Progress returns
Ammunition
Equipment for TF Units
Distribution of Artillery Stores
Ordnance Conference 26 -28 September 1950
The Director of Ordnance Services hosted a conference of the Districts DADOS and the Officer Commanding Main Ordnance Depot(MOD) at Army Headquarters over 26-28 September 1950.[8]
Items discussed at the conference included;
General Ordnance Policy
K Force
Personnel
A Vehicles and spares
B Vehicles and spares
Clothing
Camp Equipment
Technical Stores
Ammunition
Provision
Estimates
Authorisation of expenditure
Industrial Disputes
Early in March, the Army, Navy and the Air Force were called upon to assist in maintaining essential services as a consequence of the waterside industrial dispute. Ordnance Soldiers played their part and assisted in the continual operation of the wharves.[9]
Routine Ordnance Activities
Over this period, the RNZAOC, in addition to its regular duties of provision, holding, and the issue of multitudinous stores required by the Army and Kayforce, had undertaken several other significant tasks;
The relocation of stores from Waiouru and Seaview to Mangaroa.
As Waiouru was to be used more extensively for training, the large quantities of stores held in troop accommodation were rationalised and relocated to the newly established depot at Mangaroa. This depot also received large amounts of stores from the wartime warehouses at Seaview, resulting in 48000 Square feet (4460 Square meters) of space at Seaview released to other Government Departments.
Inspection of Ammunition
The inspection and repair of Small Arms and Gun ammunition conducted by the Inspection Ordnance Officers Group (IOO Gp) had continued as staffing levels permitted. However, due to staff restrictions, much repair work on Gun Ammunitions and the disposal of unserviceable rounds led to the deferral of this work.
Ammunition Course
Staff Sergeant Arthur James from Trentham Camp attended a five month Ammunition course at the RAAOC School at Broadmeadows, Melbourne from July to December 1950. The only New Zealander on the course, SSgt James topped the course.
Break-in in at Belmont
On 18 May, the police were called in following the discovery that two magazines at the Belmont Ammunition Depot had been broken into and two more interfered with. It was believed that the break-in had occurred between the end of March and 18 May. Five live 40mm Anti-Aircraft shells were thought to be missing from a steel box of 24, which had been in a magazine that was entered by removing a padlock. In another magazine entered through a ventilator, a box of grenades was opened, but none of these was removed. An officer and 20 men permanently staffed the depot, and regular tours were made with close inspections of the buildings conducted less at less frequent intervals. Following the discovery of interference to one store on 18 May, all others were subjected to scrutiny.[10]
Enlistments into the RNZAOC
Robert J Sontgen – 15 July 1950
Promotions
Sergeant Alick Dick Doyle to Staff Sergeant – 1 April 1950
Sergeant Maurice Sidney Phillips to Staff Sergeant – 23 May 1950
Sergeant Murry Alexander Burt to Staff Sergeant – 8 January 1951
Notes
[1] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 April 1954 to 31 March 1955 “, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1955).
[2] Peter Cooke, Fit to Fight. Compulsory Military Training and National Service in New Zealand 1949-72 (Auckland: David Ling Publishing, 2013), 539.
[3] “Instructors Fr Trainees,” Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26086, , 13 April v.
[4] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 April 1954 to 31 March 1955 “.
During this period, the peacetime Army undertook a reorganisation so that in the event of war it would be trained and equipped to rapidly and efficiently conduct operations. Based on this principle, units and formations of the Army were structured as follows:
Army Troops; including Army Headquarters, Army Schools, and base units.
District Troops; including District and Area Headquarters, Coast and Antiaircraft Artillery.
NZ Division
In general, Army Troops contained the machinery for the higher command and administration of the New Zealand Army; District Troops the home defence and elementary training element; and the NZ. Division as the mobile striking force for employment within or outside New Zealand as the situation may demand.
Compulsory Military Training
Required to build and sustain the Army’s new structure, Compulsory Military Training (CMT) was the tool utilised to provide a sustainable military force. Instituted under the provisions of the Military Training Act 1949 and supported by a public referendum, CMT was an ambitious scheme designed to turn individual recruits into capable soldiers. CMT obliged eighteen-year-old males to undertake fourteen weeks of Initial training followed by a three-year commitment to serve in the Territorial Army with a six-year reserve commitment. The CMT experience began with fourteen weeks of recruit training conducted at Papakura, Waiouru, Linton and Burnham after which recruits would spend three years posted to a Territorial unit. Unlike previous peacetime compulsory military training schemes that have been a feature of New Zealand life since 1909, the 1949 system would include Ordnance units sustained by regular intakes of recruits.[2]
Senior Ammunition Officers Conference
Over the period 21-24 June, the Director of Ordnance Services held the first conference of RNZAOC Senior Ammunition Officers.[3]
Attending the Conference were;
Lieutenant Colonel A.H Andrews, DOS
Major F Reid, DADOS (1)
Major I.S Miller, CIOO
Captain J.G.R Morley, SIOO
Captain N.C Fisher, Tech Assistant
Captain E.C Green, DIOO Northern Military District
Captain G.H Perry, DIOO Central Military District
Captain R. P Kennedy, OC Central District Ammunition Depot
Captain E Hancock, DIOO Southern Military District
Captain W Ancell, OC Southern District Ammunition Depot
Major M.J Leighton, OC Main Ordnance Depot
Captain M.J Keeler, Main Ordnance Depot
Captain W Langevad RNZA, OC Army Ammunition Stores Depot
Item discussed at the conference included;
The Ammunition Organisation in New Zealand, including;
Shortages of Staff
DIOO Office and Staff
Depot IOO’s
Accounting
Provision of Staff
Control of Ammunition personnel
Regimental Duties
Promotion – Other Ranks
Issues between Depots
General turnout of Staff at Depots
Demonstration of the Cordite Heat Test
Responsibilities, including
CIOO
SIOO
Army Ammunition Stores Depot
Inspection and Proof Section
District IOO’s
District Ammunition Repair Depots
Depot IOO’s
OC Ammunition Depots
Reports and Returns
General Ammunition Subjects, including
Advance information regarding dumping
Ammunition courses and refresher training
Verbal Instructions
Conveyance of Government Explosives by road
Explosive Limits NMD
Magazine Regulations
Ammunition Storage in Fiji
Policy, including
Increase of new Establishments
Trentham and Linton Magazines
Training of unit representatives
Visit to Army HQ Ammunition Accounts Section
Ordnance Conference
The Director of Ordnance Services hosted a conference of the Districts DADOS and the Officer Commanding Main Ordnance Depot(MOD) at Army Headquarters over the period 8-10 March 1950.[4]
Items discussed at the conference included;
Distribution of equipment for CMT between Districts and from the MOD to Districts,
Ordnance staff establishments,
Issue of Ammunition and explosives for CMY including priority of repair and alternatives,
Army estimates in relation to Ordnance
Submission of District concerns
Ammunition for Defence Rifle Clubs
Ordnance activities over the period
Over the period the RNZAOC conducted the following activities[5]
A large quantity of general and technical stores, weapons, ammunition and many Vehicles were overhauled, inspected, repaired where necessary, and distributed from the main depots to camps and smaller depots. Careful organisation and selection of priorities contributed to a substantial overtaking of the arrears of work which had accumulated as a result of the post-war reduction in staff.
The RNZAF stores depot at Mangaroa was taken over by the Army, and the extra storage space provided enabled much equipment to be moved out of the Government storage area at Seaview, where 95,000 square feet (8825 square meters) was made available to other Government Departments.
The Inspecting Ordnance Officers Group concentrated on the preparation of ammunition and explosives required for Territorial recruit training. In addition, the disposal of unserviceable stores by burning or detonation continued when personnel were available for this task. The service proof of all small-arms ammunition stocks had been under effective action for nine months at the Proof Office, Mount Eden. This revealed a general decline in the condition of stocks. The annual inspection and proof of ammunition were undertaken, being the basis of all operations of the Group.
Disposal of surplus assets (general stores) continued. A total of seventy-eight vehicles were disposed of during the period under review.
The general maintenance and preservation of ordnance equipment had been curtailed to some extent by staff shortage, but it was anticipated that these arrears would be overtaken soon.
New Years and Birthday Honours List
His Excellency the Governor-General announced that the King was graciously pleased, on the occasion of the New Year and Birthday, to confer the following Honours on the following members of the RNZAOC: -Military Division:
Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Warrant Officer Class One William Sampson Valentine, RNZAOC, of Christchurch.[6]
WO1 Valentine originally listed in 1915 and saw active service in Egypt, Gallipoli and France. After serving as a POW Repatriation Guard in 1919, Valentine enlisted into the Temporary Branch of the NZAOC at Featherston Camp. Transferring into the Permanent Staff of the NZAOC in 1924 and transferred to Burnham Camp. WO1 Valentine was transferred into the Civil Staff in 1931, remaining employed by the NZAOC at Burnham. Recalled to the colours in 1942, Valentine enlisted in the New Zealand Temporary Staff, remaining with the NZAOC at No 3 Ordnance Sub Depot, Burnham Camp. Transferred into the RNZAOC in 1947, WO1 Valentine was re-engaged into the NZ Regular Force in 1950. Retiring in 1954, WO1 Valentine Passed away in 1959.[7]
Warrant Officer Class I Edward Coleman, RNZAOC.
Transfer of IOO personnel
As a result of the raising of a new establishment for the IOO Group and the recommendations of the Senior Ammunition Conference held in June 1949 , the system of having all members of the IOO Group on the strength of Army Headquarters was changes so that were posed to the unite in which they were employed in. Accordingly, with effect 10 October 1949 the following appointments were made;
Northern Military District
Captain K.C Green, Struck of Strength of Army HQ to HQ Northern Military District as District IOO located at the District HQ
Lieutenant C.L Sanderson, Remained on Strength of IOO Group Army HQ as IOO in Charge Inspection and Proof Section, NMD, Located at Hopuhopu
Warrant Officer Class One F.W Chambers, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Northern District Ammunition Depot as Ammunition Examiner.
Sergeant E.C Sherman, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Northern District Ammunition Depot as Ammunition Examiner.
Lance Corporal M.J Corcoran, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Northern District Ammunition Depot as Ammunition Examiner.
Staff Sergeant W.H Kerr, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Northern Military District Ammunition Repair Depot.
Sergeant E.A Clarke, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Northern Military District Ammunition Repair Depot.
Corporal W.E Stevenson, Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Northern Military District Ammunition Repair Depot.
Private J.R Roche, Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Northen Milirary District Ammunition Repair Depot.
Central Military District
Captain E.D Gerard. Struck of Strength of Army HQ to HQ Central Military District as District IOO located at the District HQ
Captian E.T Marriot, Struck of Strength of Army HQ to Central District Ammunition Depot as Depot IOO
Staff Sergeant C.S Crichton, , Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central District Ammunition Depot as Ammuniton Examiner.
Sergant J.D Smith, Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central District Ammunition Depot as Ammuniton Examiner.
Sergeant K.W Kibblewhite, Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central District Ammunition Depot as Ammuniton Examiner.
Sergeant W Foster, Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central District Ammunition Depot as Ammuniton Examiner.
Corporal W.E Beasley, Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central District Ammunition Depot as Ammuniton Examiner.
Warrant Officer Class Two E.C.L McvKay, Struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central Military District Ammunition Repair Depot,m Belmont as Laboratory Foreman.
Sergeant A.N.J Swain, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central Military District Ammunition Repair Depot as Ammunition Examiner.
Corporal J.J Hawkins, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central Military District Ammunition Repair Depot as Ammunition Examiner.
Corporal W.B DFoughe, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Central Military District Ammunition Repair Depot as Ammunition Examiner.
Southern Military District
Captain E, R Hancock, Struck of Strength of Army HQ to HQ Sothern Military District as District IOO located at the District HQ
Captain F.J Mitchell, Captain E.T Marriot, Struck of Strength of Army HQ to Southern District Ammunition Depot as Depot IOO
Staff Sergeant J Leslie, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Southern District Ammunition Depot as Ammunition Examiner.
Warrant Officer Class Two C.W Ludman, Taken in strength of Southern Ammunition Repair Depot as Laboratory Forman.
Sergeant G.A Bailey, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Southern Military District Ammunition Repair Depot, Burnham as Ammunition Examiner.
Private E.A Burt, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Southern Military District Ammunition Repair Depot, Burnham as Ammunition Handler.
Private I.E Maxwell, struck off strength Army HQ, take on strength of Southern Military District Ammunition Repair Depot, Burnham as Ammunition Handler.
Main Ordnance Depot
Captain L.C Williams, Technical Assistant, AID, Remained on Strength IOO Group Army HQ, Local Admin by MOD.
Captain W Langevad RNZA, OC Army Ammunition Stores Depot, Remained on Strength IOO Group Army HQ, Local Admin by MOD.
Corporal R.C Fisher, Technical Assistant, AID, Remained on Strength IOO Group Army HQ, Local Admin by MOD.
Private F.W Harris NZ WAC, Technical Assistant, AID, Remained on Strength IOO Group Army HQ, Local Admin by MOD.
Re-Engagements into the New Zealand Regular Force
With effect 1 April 1950 the undermentioned members of the RNZAOC were re-engaged into the NZ Regular for a period of one year;
31976 Cpl (T Sgt) G.H Bailey
31964 LCpl E.A Burt
31236 WO1 E.C Forgie
31881 Cpl A.J Grimwood
31240 WO2 (T/WO1) C.W Hall
31878 Pte C.W Hindle
31878 SSgt J Leslie
SSgt G.J Martin
31870 Cpl R. O’Keefe
31241 WO2 J.L Peterson
31865 LCpl CE Peach
31864 Sgt S.F Pyne
31247 SSgt I.F Roberts
32470 Cpl E.H Regnault
31233 W.S Valentine
31642 W.M Wilkinson
31859 E.J Wilson
Notes
[1] “Appointments, Promotions, Transfers, and Resignations, of Officers of the New Zealand Army “, New Zealand Gazette No 35, 9 June 1949, 1326.
[2] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 June 1949 to 31 March 1950 “, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives (1950).
[3] “Establishments – Ordnance Corps “, Archives New Zealand No R22441743 (1937 – 1946).
[4]Conferences – Ordnance Officers, Item Id R17188101 (Wellington: Archives New Zealand, 1950).
[5] “H-19 Military Forces of New Zealand Annual Report of the General Officer Commanding, for Period 1 June 1949 to 31 March 1950 “.
[6] “New Year Honours List “, New Zealand Gazette No 2, 12 January 1950.
[7] “William Sampson Valentine,” Personal File, Archives New Zealand 1915-1954.
Lieutenant Colonel Ron Cross is a military man through and through, A Regular Force Cadet, Artilleryman, Infantryman, a Graduate of the Officer Cadet School, Portsea and RNZAOC Officer, including a stint as Chief instructor of the Ordnance School from November 1972 to August 1974 and Officer Commanding of the NZAOD from April 1976 to May 1978, Ron is a proud soldier.
In this Memories of Service video produced by the New Zealand Returned Services Associaton. Ron recounts the experiences that shaped his life. Joining up as a regular Army Cadet, Ron served in both the Malayan conflict and the Vietnam War. From the comedy of preparing for jungle warfare in snow-covered hills around Tekapo to the tension of being fired on at close range on the roads of Vietnam, Ron’s vivid recollections are captivating.
