News Flash everyone – This morning Anne Hine delivered a number of copies of “75 Years of Memories – Women in the RNZN” to the Navy Museum in Devonport.  The publication is available for sale at a very reasonable price of $40.  If you are not personally able to visit the museum check out http://navymuseum.co.nz/shop-category/books/

For a limited time only during the 75th RNZNWA Reunion (13-15 Oct 17) these books will be available at a specially reduced price of $30. This is a one off discount price as part of the 75th celebrations. After publication costs are covered, all profits from this book are going to the RNZN Women’s Association.   Well done Anne this is a great effort.

On the 6 October 2017, the RNZN Communicators Association celebrated 50 years since its inauguration on the 6 October 1967. The Association celebrated the milestone with a Cocktail Party at the National Museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy in Devonport, Auckland.

Seventy-two ex and serving Communicators and their guests attended the event. It was pleasing to note that 18 of those 72 were serving Communicators. The camaraderie between ex and serving members was plainly evident.  Click HERE to view images from the evening.

There were three Awards made during the evening.

• ‘Communicator of the Year Trophy’ awarded to recognise outstanding performance in the Naval Communications Trade. The 2017 winner was LCWS Nikita Leeks. Jim Blackburn presented Nikita with her trophy.
•  ‘The Ruth Slight Memorial Cup” awarded for the best all-round female Communications Warfare Specialist for the Advanced Training Course. The 2017 winner was LCWS Jessica Abrahams. Jessica was presented with her Award by Paul (Sid) Slight, Ruth’s husband at the time of her passing.
• ‘The Jim Dell Cup’ awarded to the best all-round Communications Warfare Specialist of the POCWS (Q) Course. The 2017 winner was LCWS Jimmy Motu. Jim Dell presented Jimmy with his trophy.
• Mrs Laurie Rands was made an Honorary Member of the Association in recognition of  her valuable research contribution to the Association.  The badge was pinned on her by her husband Frank Rands.

From L to R – LCWS Jess Abrahams, LCWS Nikita Leeks, LCWS Jimmy Motu

The Association would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance received from Museum staff members Ann Martin-Stacy and ASTD Danni Turnbull leading up to the event and on the night. They made a significant contribution to the evening’s success.

A special thanks must also go to Heather Bourke, our caterer and to the members of the TS Leander Sea Cadet Unit ably led by Ensign Sonia Porter and who undertook Steward duties for the event.

The evening was a brilliant and fitting way to celebrate the Association’s 50th.

Here is an image taken at the 75th Anniversary of the WRNZNS Association. There are a number of Communicators here can you name them.  I can count eleven.

The Band of the Royal New Zealand Navy will visit New Plymouth in November 17.

Some of you may remember the removal of the propeller from the old HMNZS HINAU
at Kaiaua, Firth of Thames in the early 1980s. This was quite an evolution and the propeller was eventually placed on a plinth in front of the flag pole at Ngapona’s HQ in St Mary’s Bay.

Hinau was once a proud naval patrol craft. These 134′ trawler-type vessels were originally built in great numbers for the Admiralty in the latter days of the first world was, as Castle-class ships. Hilariously outdated (steam powered) by the time WWII was in full swing, the NZ Marine Department curiously chose to commission a few more for minesweeping duties, and Hinau was launched in Auckland in 1942.

Following the war she was mothballed at Devonport due to a shortage of coal, and eventually sold for scrap in September 1954. She was spared the cutting torch, and instead was beached at Stevenson’s gravel quarry near Whakatiwai to serve as a breakwater. She is still there today, more or less intact and highly photogenic. She will be known to many Kiwi’s as the ship on the cover of Dave Dobbyn’s 1998 album, The Islander.

Does anyone recall what happened to the plaque which was attached to it or the time capsule which was buried beneath it? Withe the decommissioning of the St Mary’s Bay site, the propeller was moved to the grounds of the Navy Museum at Torpedo Bay, minus the plaque!

Rear Admiral Keith Michael Saull RNZN CB.
Chief of Naval Staff: April 1980 – April 1983

Keith Saull joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman RNR on graduating from HMS
Conway, a Merchant Navy training school, in 1945. He was immediately posted to
the British Pacific Fleet and joined the battleship HMS Duke Of York.

Early tasks included assisting in the re-occupation of Hong Kong, attending
Japanese war trials and patrolling the waters of the Dutch East Indies whilst serving
in the frigate HMS Black Swan. Rather than being demobbed he joined an Extended
Service Commission scheme and was posted to Palestine where he commanded the
motor launch HMS Moreta intercepting illegal Jewish immigrants. He was Mentioned
in Despatches for his service in Palestine.

He transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1951 and within a few days of
arrival in New Zealand found himself as the Gunnery Officer of the Loch-class frigate
HMNZS Taupo heading to the Korean War. Taupo was to be involved in action in
the Han River and at Yang do Island in 1952.

After specialising in gunnery he served in a variety of ships including the cruiser
HMNZS Royalist and as First Lieutenant and Commanding Officer of the Loch-class
frigate HMNZS Kaniere [sister-ship to Taupo].

In 1959 he became the first Executive Officer of the modern frigate HMNZS Otago whose commissioning was a cornerstone in the development of the modern RNZN.

Staff appointments included the Commanding Officer of the training establishment
HMNZS Tamaki then at Narrowneck and postings to HMNZS Wakefield (HQ
Wellington) and command of the frigate HMNZS Taranaki lead to 1971 when Admiral
Saull was promoted to Captain and was posted to command the new Leander-class
frigate HMNZS Canterbury.

In 1973 Admiral Saull proceeded to Washington as Naval Attaché. Prior to returning
to New Zealand as The Commodore, Auckland (COMAUCK) he spent a year at the
Royal College of Defence Studies. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1980 and
served until 1983 as the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS). He retired from the RNZN at the
conclusion of his term as CNS on 6 April 1983 and was placed on the RNZN List of
Retired Officers on 17 April 1983. Admiral Saull died on 28 February 2016, aged 88.

The following email was received from Tony Forsyth who some of you will remember as the Staff Officer Reserves in the 80’s. Tony sent the email in response to the article about  Rear Admiral Laurie Carr (CNS 1970)

Laurie Carr and I were both associated with Irirangi. As far as Commanding Officers we were the Alfa and the Omega. He was the first and I was the last. The story is told that when the new sports field was developed down at the old IRIRANGI camp they thought they would name it after the first CO, but on second thoughts decided ‘Carr Park’ was not an apt name for it, so named it Thorne Park after the second CO.  What they then did was name a new housing road in Waiouru Military Camp as ‘Carr Crescent.’ It was meant to be for navy to use but I think they lost out to army. If you Google Carr Crescent Waiouru you can still see it there.

The first time I came across him was when he was CO of Taranaki and I was on Royalist in 1964. Both ships were alongside the North Arm at HMS Tamar in Hong Kong. Taranaki was berthed inside the basin directly over the wharf to us. Both ships had just played a game of rugby and Royalist won. Both were very good teams in their own right and collectively had a number of inter-service, navy, Auckland reps (one being an All Black trialist). Both teams swept the floor of all teams on the Far East Station. I suspect that Laurie didn’t realise that one of the largest Royalist players on the paddock was a just promoted ordinary seaman who would also be the last CO of Irirangi. Time came for Taranaki to go to sea and Laure was making a hash out of backing his ship through the gap out of the basin. To be fair it was quite a narrow gap. Anyway members of Royalist’s crew took it upon themselves to offer a lot of loud gratuitous advice, on how to do so, across the wharf. Don’t think it went down too well but as an Ordinary Seaman I was highly amused. Anyway Taranaki had the last laugh as we were both at sea and Taranaki was alongside for a jackstay transfer. As they pulled away (showing off) they fired the Mortars over us. Problem was they had loaded them with toilet paper, a lot of vegetable scraps etc. Father was not pleased.

Built in Scotland in 1889 as the gunboat HMS Sparrow, this 165’ three masted barque saw active service in the Persian Gulf and around Africa in the suppression of the Congo slave trade. She migrated to Sydney, but served the crown again as an escort for the Royal yacht Ophir when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) toured New Zealand in the winter of 1901.

Five years later she was purchased by the NZ government, renamed Amokura, and converted to a maritime training ship for 12-14 year old boys. Living aboard the Amokura (in port) sixty boys at a time were prepared for careers at sea, being schooled in seamanship, navigation, gun drill, and marine engines, and crewing on summer cruises to the sub-Antarctic Islands and the Kermadecs. The training scheme was a success on one hand, but tremendously expensive on the other, and when Amokura failed her survey in 1919 the government gave up on the controversial program, and the Amokura.

Stripped and sold in February 1922, her remaining days were spent as a “coal hulk” (a floating storage bunker), a far cry from her tropical escapades with the Royal Navy. The years she lay tied up in Port Nicholson, Wellington, must have been especially heartbreaking to the local sailors, many of whom could fondly recall their apprenticeships aboard her as this was where she had been based as a training ship. She was finally sold one last time in 1953, and towed to Saint Omer Bay in the Kenepuru Sound for use as a store hulk and jetty. Though reported to be broken up in 1955, she was in fact only stripped, and Amokura‘s collapsed hull is still here in Saint Omer Bay.

Vice Admiral Sir Neil Anderson RNZN KBE, CB.
Chief of Naval Staff: December 1977 – April 1980

Vice Admiral Sir Neil Anderson was born in Hastings and educated at Hastings High School. During WWII, most NZ high schools supported a School Cadet unit. In Hastings, Neil won a prize as top school Army cadet, but he displayed his commitment to the Navy: “I was the Sergeant Major of the cadets in High School. In October 44 a Brigadier came to interview me, telling me about … the Australian Military College at Duntroon. I said, “But I am going to England … to join the Navy.‟ I wanted to go to sea and it seemed the RNZN was a very good deal.”

Neil joined the RNZN in November 1944 as a Special Entry Cadet and was sent to the Royal Naval College (which had been evacuated to the Midlands). At first he found it hard. “I found I didn’t fit the training; I just had to fit in somehow. My marks were not particularly good. The next term when we were training in a ship HMS FROBISHER they shot up. I was awarded the King’s Telescope for the best all-round cadet that year. Since then I have managed to get the right results.” He served under training in various RN ships from 1945-49, including HMS DUKE OF YORK (a battleship) during the Occupation of Japan. One incident that tested his leadership was at the naval China Fleet Club in Hong Kong on Christmas Eve when fighting broke out among the sailors. As the duty officer, Neil told his platoon of armed sailors: ‟What we are going to do to clear them out, we will go inside and we will form up at one end. Fix bayonets and we will tell everyone to leave.‟ we just moved them quietly outside. That was the end of it.

Sport was important to him; Neil was selected for the RNZN Rugby First XV in 1950. “I once added up and I had played rugby in 50 countries. I played rugby until I was 32.” As a Lieutenant, Neil was appointed as Navigator of HMNZS ROTOITI (the Loch-class frigate). He was set a good example of delegation by his Commanding Officer: “LTCDR Tony Blomfield would delegate. He had expectations that you would do the job.” After undertaking the Royal Navy’s Long ‘N’ specialist Navigation and Direction course Neil stayed on exchange and was appointed Navigator of HMS VANGUARD (the UK’s last battleship) for the 1953 Coronation Fleet Review. This appointment speaks volumes for Neil’s professional abilities and his high standing; there must have been many officers coveting that post at that time. Command at sea in 1960.

CDR Anderson was appointed as the commissioning CO of HMNZS TARANAKI (F148), our second Type 12 frigate. He worked up the frigate in the UK and brought it home to New Plymouth. “Going in command of the TARANAKI, brand new, was the most exciting thing. The sailors also enjoyed being in this new ship, with all bunks and no hammocks and all sorts of things like that. “We had great problems with one of the propeller shafts. They got it wrong somehow when the ship was being built. We went back to Portsmouth on one shaft and went into dry dock. I had planned to go to Oslo as the ship’s company’s overseas trip and we were running short of time. I said to the ship’s company, “We will go to Oslo if we possibly can, but I don’t want to take the ship to Oslo unless it is
really smart.‟ The First Lieutenant said, “Well, we will have to paint the ship, how
about painting ship in dry dock? ‟ Not a usual practice because of the danger of
falling on to the concrete below. I said, “Well okay, I will be the first over the side and
the other one on the stage will be the First Lieutenant,‟ and so we did. It took more
trials and another docking before the shafts were satisfactory. But there was no time
to get to Oslo, instead he arranged for “a run ashore on the Continent” at St Malo,
France. “And the sailors loved it. Some even went up to Paris.” Diplomacy In 1969

Captain Anderson organised the multi-national naval participation in the Cook
Bicentenary Celebrations at Gisborne. HMNZS BLACKPOOL and ships from four
other navies took part. “I went down to Gisborne for my first visit and learnt a bit
about what people had in mind. I realised that I had a real problem; the Chairman of
the County, the Mayor and the Chairman of the Harbour Board would not talk to each
other. So I started talking to them singularly and eventually managed to get them to
realise that they had to talk. They agreed that, only if I was there!

In January 1973 Neil was promoted as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff. The Government wanted to protest against French atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. The Chief of Defence Staff and CDRE Anderson talked with Prime Minister Norman Kirk. I said, “Well the frigates haven’t got enough legs. You can have a frigate certainly, but you need some more fuel from somewhere.‟ I went back to the office and we found that there was a small ex-RFA tanker about to be scrapped. But buying the old tanker would cost half a million dollars, not what the PM had in mind. “So then I said, “Well, you will be going to see the Australian Prime Minister shortly, put the hard word on him. If you want to go to Mururoa, you can go … providing you get a tanker.‟ He [Kirk] came back having talked to Whitlam. “Yes, their tanker [HMAS SUPPLY] could do the job.‟ HMNZS OTAGO was sent to Mururoa. The frigate maintained a radio teleprinter link directly to Navy Office; CDRE Anderson and Rear Admiral Ted Thorne (then CNS) worked watch and watch, sleeping in the office ready to respond to any query from OTAGO or, later, CANTERBURY, and be a link to the government. Flying his flag at sea In 1977 Neil was promoted to Rear Admiral and became Chief of Naval Staff.

Even as a senior officer Neil had time for personal courtesies—one officer recalls missing out on a promotion, but as CNS, Admiral Anderson sent for him to explain why his class mate was to be promoted ahead of him; a kind act of understanding by the CNS that the officer concerned still remembers. The Admiral never forgot the excitement of being at sea; it is a clear theme throughout his oral history. “One day I was looking at the fleet forecast, and realised that … we had three weeks when we were going to have all four frigates running. I said to the Commodore Auckland, “Look this is never going to happen again, to have four running together. You can have all four from Auckland to Napier and I will take over from Napier to Wellington.‟ “We came into Wellington harbour I turned them together to go along the Petone foreshore in line abreast. Then we turned in succession to come down to Wellington. That was very exciting, I liked that.”

In April 1980 Admiral Anderson was promoted to Vice Admiral and posted as Chief of Defence Staff. He was known for being calm and relaxed, but with a rapid grasp of policy papers and of events. He was willing to sit down with his staff officers and expose his thoughts to the rigours of the collegial staffing process.

Rear Admiral Ray Gillbanks was a Lieutenant in 1980 and he recalls a visit by the then CDS. “He and Barbara visited HMNZS TARAPUNGA in Napier in 1980.
TARAPUNGA was a newly commissioned Inshore Survey Craft; Mrs Anderson was
TARAPUNGA’s “launching lady‟ and I invited her to visit. “I knew that the Andersons
were on holiday but I had expected the CDS to arrive rather more formally than he did—in their own small car, with the Admiral driving. As we welcomed them onboard it was plain to us that Admiral Anderson had set aside his status in favour of his wife. She was the guest of honour and this was her day. “However, when we went to sea to demonstrate our newly-fitted electronic surveying equipment Admiral Anderson’s specialist “N‟ background emerged and we were very professionally quizzed. Thereafter I knew why he was held in such high regard; he was natural and friendly with the ship’s company, interested in them and their roles onboard and deeply interested in the hydrographic survey work we were doing.”

VA Anderson was awarded the KBE in June 1982, becoming Sir Neil. His extensive RN experience meant he retained the manners of an English gentleman throughout his life, but there was no doubt that he was a loyal New Zealander with the RNZN’s interests at heart. His postings overseas meant Sir Neil had an extensive professional network which
he drew on throughout his career. He retired in 1983. In 2009 Sir Neil agreed to give
his name to the Cup awarded to the top student of the Major Fleet Unit Navigator’s
Course.

A contemporary of Sir Neil, Captain Tom Riddell (Rtd), says that “Neil was a very fine
officer and gentleman. He had great leadership qualities and was highly respected
and generally popular with all ranks.”

Sir Neil Anderson died on 5 June, aged 83. His funeral took place on 10 June at St
Michaels and All Angels Anglican Church, Waikanae Beach.

Rear Admiral John McKenzie, CB, CBE, RNZN
Chief of Naval Staff: December 1975 – December 1977

John Foster McKenzie was born on 24 June 1923 in Waiuku,. He was educated at Timaru
Boys High School and St. Andrews College in Christchurch. He joined the Royal Navy as a
special entry cadet in 1941 aged 17.

Special Entry Cadet
Special Entry Cadets were established by the Royal Navy in 1914, to supplement the
Dartmouth officer entry. Special Entry Cadets were open to the Dominions and between
1914 and end of the Second World War 23 cadets entered the Royal Navy from New
Zealand, after selection by a board that included the Officer Commanding the New Zealand Squadron and often had the Governor-General as President. Following selection successful candidates would travel at their own expense to Britain. By the late 1930s training was undertaken in older warships moored at Portsmouth. But with the outbreak of the war Special Entry training moved to Dartmouth.

At that time a young man with professional ambition as a naval officer was more likely to see a full career in the RN, than in the New Zealand Naval Forces which up until the Second World War had been in essence a cadre navy, focussed on ratings’ training. John McKenzie recorded later that he really felt that he had served his ties with New Zealand and did not expect to have the chance to return for a very long time, if ever. He had joined to be an Engineer, however on arrival in Britain in 1942 he found that the Royal Navy had no record of this and entered him into the Executive Branch.

After training, Midshipman McKenzie was sent to East Africa to join the cruiser HMS
Devonshire; to join her he took passage in the flagship, the battleship HMS Warspite, and
learning among other things to make naval Kye. He then served in the cruiser HMS Hawkins and in 1943 joined HMS Quadrant for his destroyer time. In Quadrant he took part in a U-boat hunt off Aden, and another off Zanzibar. He returned to Hawkins which in February 1944 was escorting a convoy including the troop ship Khedive Ismail. The Japanese submarine attacked and sank Khedive Ismail, with heavy loss of life including a large number of Wrens who were being sent to Ceylon. Two escorting destroyers detected and sank the I-27.

In mid-1944 John underwent his Sub-Lieutenant’s Courses back in England. At the end of
those, he volunteered for submarines, but with time to spare had three weeks at sea in Fairmile D MTBs in the Channel. Their primary role then was to use their high speed to
create waves that would be directed over minefields where German ‘oyster’ mines pressure
mines were laid; the boats would turn away at the last minute and the wave would roll ahead and cause the mines to detonate. After submarine training he joined HMS Vitality, which was a training boat for convoy Escort Groups. After VE Day he helped receive some 120 surrendered U-boats, before being posted to the still-building T-class submarine, HMS Token. With the end of the war in the Pacific work on the submarine slowed, but in 1946 Token was operational and sailed to Canada to work with the Royal Canadian Navy.
However in 1947 the British government announced heavy defence cuts and Token went into reserve. The RNZN, however, was keen to recruit personnel and New Zealanders in the RN were an obvious target. The famous submariner Captain ‘Shrimp’ Simpson had just been appointed as CNS of the RNZN; John talked with him and decided to transfer to the RNZN.

RNZN Service
He joined the RNZN as a Lieutenant on 21 July 1947. As a young officer his sea-going ships
in the RNZN included HMNZ Ships Arbutus, Hawea, Echuca and Bellona. He was First
Lieutenant in Arbutus 4 October 1947 – 17 August 1948. He was then sent to Britain to
commission the Loch-class frigate HMS Lock Eck as HMNZS Hawea 18 August 1948 – 31
January 1949. He then brought back Hawea to New Zealand 1 February 1949 – 20
September 1949. On 17 November 1949 he was posted to HMNZS Maori in London. He
undertook the RN’s Long Torpedo and Anti-Submarine Course in Britain from November
1949 to August 1951, this included sea time in the destroyer HMS Crispin. Given
contemporary pronouncements from the USSR about massive Russian submarine building programmes, the RNZN—with six Loch-class frigates—placed a high priority on ASW.

On 19 September 1951 he was posted to the cruiser HMNZS Bellona as the TASO through
to 22 January 1952 and he took eight months leave. on 6 September 1952 he was posted
back to Bellona and served in her until 21 March 1953. On 22 March 1953 he was appointed the Commanding Officer of the Bathurst-class corvette HMNZS Echuca this was for a very brief period. He was then promoted to Lieutenant Commander and on 19 August 1953 he joined HMNZS Pukaki as First Lieutenant; he joined the ship in Singapore and served in Korea on patrols just south of the truce line, from 25 November 1953 to mid-February 1954.

On 19 August 1953 he was posted to the Loch-class frigate HMNZS Pukaki as First
Lieutenant.  From 21 September 1953 to 28 September 1954 Pukaki was deployed in Southeast Asia during the Malayan Emergency for anti-submarine & anti-raider convoy escort if a serious war broke out as part of the ANZAM agreement. He was posted off
the frigate on 31 January 1954 and returned to Philomel.

He qualified for the UN (Korea) medal for this service. He was then posted to Fiji as Director of Naval Operations with No. 5 Squadron RNZAF (Sunderland flying boats) based at Lauthala Bay. His job was to teach the RNZAF contemporary ASW tactics and procedures with the then new NATO-standard allied signal books. One of his tasks in this period was as the Liaison Officer to the conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Tarawa [CV-40] and destroyer USS O’Bannon [DD-450] during their high-profile visit to Wellington to commemorate the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Subsequently he took command of HMNZS Tui on 1 March 1955, then HMNZS Stawell on
27 June 1955 (both Tui & Stawell were dedicated to the training of Compulsory Naval
Reserves—the Navy’s version of CMT). Posted to Navy Office as Director of Under Surface
Warfare in March 1956, he had a key priority of establishing the requirements for the new
generations of frigates, which were ordered the next year as HMNZ Ships Otago (F111) and Taranaki (F148). While in that post, he was appointed as an Honorary ADC to the Governor- General, July 1956 to June 1957.

Promoted to Commander on 10 February 1959, he served for three years as the NZ Military Liaison Officer in Singapore. This was the final years of the Malayan Emergency, and Singapore was looking to independence, while tensions with Indonesia (and its Soviet-equipped armed forces) were growing. This period would have given him a clear understanding of the security issues across South East Asia at the time. For any Executive-branch officer, a major sea command is always a goal; on 9 February 1962 he took command of HMNZS Otago, the new frigate’s second Commanding Officer. He
took part in JET62, a major naval exercise in the South China Sea before Otago became the Royal Guard ship for HMY Britannia during the 1962/63 Royal Tour. Otago steamed 4,000 miles from Lautoka to Port Chalmers. He recalled his pride on being presented to Her Majesty the Queen, while Britannia was in Picton. However the Royal Yacht began to get underway while he was still on board; he then had a hasty motorboat trip to rejoin Otago even as his frigate was already weighing anchor to catch up with the rapidly departing Royal Yacht! Subsequently Otago sailed for Singapore via Pearl Harbour, where they undertook  the RNZN’s first frigate workup with the USN. He then relinquished command to return to the Navy Office.

On 30 November 1964, he was promoted and appointed Captain of HMNZS Philomel, the
RNZN’s shore establishment in Devonport, Auckland. On 1 January 1966, he was posted as Deputy Head of the New Zealand Defence Liaison Staff in London, and was  subsequently appointed Head. This was an important posting as John had to oversee the tendering process for a new frigate (HMNZS Canterbury F421) and the loan of HMS Blackpool. His previous time in the RN and on his TAS course ensured he had a wide professional network. He the spent 1969 studying at the Imperial Defence College in London (today known as RCDS) and returned to New Zealand in December 1969 to be the first Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Policy) under the new (joint) Defence Headquarters reorganisation. He was promoted to Commodore on 1 January 1970.

As ACDS (Pol) he had to lead the background work for the 1972 Defence White Paper. That
paper was important because New Zealand, along with the other allies, had pulled out of the Vietnam War while the British, after ‘Confrontation’, had withdrawn from Southeast Asia, leaving the new framework of the Five Power Defence Arrangements as our principal
defence link with Malaysia and Singapore. The 1972 White Paper had to address the
underlying reasons for New Zealand’s professional peace-time armed forces and it was
intended to explain New Zealand’s defence policy and structure to the wider population. In
1972, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Staff then after a year moved to Auckland as
the Commodore Auckland (COMAUCK—today that role is filled by the MCC at HQ JFNZ).

As COMAUCK he oversaw the despatch of the frigates on the protests against French
atmospheric nuclear weapons testing at Mururoa Atoll.  On 13 December 1975 the anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate he was promoted to Rear Admiral and became Chief of Naval Staff; he relieved Rear Admiral Edward Thorne.

As CNS he had to grapple with significant personnel and pay issues, at a time when oil prices were rising and inflation was crippling the defence budget. He also initiated studies into what became the frigate replacement project; his immediate concern was to counter suggestions that all New Zealand needed was a Coastguard.

During 1976 he was in the chain of command for the Kin Nan incident, when the IPC HMNZS Taupo was attempting to stop the Taiwanese fishing vessel. It was CNS who alerted the Air Force, while briefing the CDS to consult the Government. Ultimately Skyhawk cannon fire stopped the fleeing vessel. “Perhaps the best thing to come out of it was in fact that it demonstrated our willingness to act over foreign fishing infringements,” he said in a subsequent interview. After two years in the post, the ‘standard’ posting in that role, he was relieved by Rear Admiral Neil Anderson and retired from the RNZN on 13 December 1977.

His naval career spanned the transition of the New Zealand Naval Forces from a small
component of the empire’s Navy to the distinctive national navy that the RNZN became in the post-war years. As an ASW specialist he was well fitted for command of our (then) new Type 12 frigates; with his experience in Singapore and the UK he was well prepared for the
development of the 1972 Defence White Paper. By the time he was promoted as CNS he
had an extensive and well-rounded career, in which he had contributed extensively to the
capabilities and standards of the RNZN. He died aged 89 in Auckland on 28 March 2013.

Royal Honours
The OBE [Queen’s Birthday Honours, 1962] as a Commander
Upgraded to CBE [Queen’s Birthday Honours 1974] as Commodore
Awarded CB [Queen’s Birthday Honours 1977] as Rear Admiral and CNS
The 1939-45 Star
Atlantic Star with France and Germany Clasp
Burma Star with Pacific Clasp
Defence Medal
War Medal 1939-45
Post-WW2 Awards
United Nations Medal – Korea
Korean War Service Medal
New Zealand Operational Service Medal
The Silver Jubilee Medal 1977
New Zealand Armed Forces Award and clasp
New Zealand Defence Service Medal (Regular clasp)

The Navy is searching for a suitable design for its newest aquisition, HMNZS AOTEAROA.  Ships badges are important to the ship, members of the crew and the region to which the ship is attached.  If you have a design idea click this LINK and enter the competition.

Soon the Royal New Zealand Navy will take delivery of HMNZS Aotearoa – a 24,000 tonne tanker and replenishment ship that will be largest the Navy has ever operated.
HMNZS Aotearoa will replace the fleet tanker HMNZS Endeavour that decommissions this year after more than 30 years of loyal service. Aotearoa will boast state of the art design and capability features including ice-strengthening and ‘winterisation’ features for operations in Antarctica. She will also be able to carry 12 containers of supplies and have the ability to produce 100 tonnes of fresh water each day which will make her invaluable when providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

She will carry 8,000 tonnes of diesel fuel which is enough to ‘fill up’ a frigate like Te Mana or Te Kaha 13.87 times. And she’ll be able to carry and operate a RNZAF NH90 helicopter. Aotearoa will have a core crew of 64 plus 11 flight crew.

Builder: Hyundai Heavy Industries, South Korea
Delivery: January 2020
Home port: New Plymouth, Taranaki
Patron: Governor General of New Zealand, Dame Patsy Reddy GNZM, QSO, DStJ

Yes, we know. Our smartphone batteries are bad because they barely last a day.  But it’s partially our fault because we’ve been charging them wrong this whole time.  Many of us have an ingrained notion that charging our smartphones in small bursts will cause long-term damage to their batteries, and that it’s better to charge them when they’re close to dead. But we couldn’t be more wrong.

If fact, a site from battery company Cadex called Battery University details how the lithium-ion batteries in our smartphones are sensitive to their own versions of “stress”. And, like for humans, extended stress could be damaging your smartphone battery’s long-term lifespan. If you want to keep your smartphone battery in top condition and go about your day without worrying about battery life, you need to change a few things.

DON’T KEEP IT PLUGGED IN WHEN IT’S FULLY CHARGED

According to Battery University, leaving your phone plugged in when it’s fully charged, like you might overnight, is bad for the battery in the long run. Once your smartphone has reached 100 per cent charge, it gets “trickle charges” to keep it at 100 per cent while plugged in. It keeps the battery in a high-stress, high-tension state, which wears down the chemistry within.

Battery University goes into a bunch of scientific detail explaining why, but it also sums it nicely: “When fully charged, remove the battery” from its charging device. “This is like relaxing the muscles after strenuous exercise.”  You too would be pretty miserable if you worked out nonstop for hours and hours.

TRY NOT TO CHARGE IT TO 100 PER CENT

At least when you don’t have to.  According to Battery University, “Li-ion does not need to be fully charged, nor is it desirable to do so. In fact, it is better not to fully charge, because a high voltage stresses the battery” and wears it away in the long run.  That might seem counterintuitive if you’re trying to keep your smartphone charged all day, but just plug it in whenever you can during the day, and you’ll be fine.

PLUG IN YOUR PHONE WHENEVER YOU CAN

It turns out that the batteries in our smartphones are much happier if you charge them occasionally throughout the day instead of plugging them in for a big charging session when they’re empty.

Charging your phone when it loses 10 per cent of its charge would be the best-case scenario, according to Battery University. Obviously, that’s not practical for most people, so just plug in your smartphone whenever you can. It’s fine to plug and unplug it multiple times a day.  Not only does this keep your smartphone’s battery performing optimally for longer, but it also keeps it topped up throughout the day.

Plus, periodic top-ups also let you use features you might not normally use because they hog your battery life, like location-based features that use your smartphone’s GPS antenna.

KEEP IT COOL

Smartphone batteries are so sensitive to heat that Apple itself suggests you remove certain cases that insulate heat from your iPhone when you charge it.

“If you notice that your device gets hot when you charge it, take it out of its case first.”

If you’re out in the hot sun, keep your phone covered. It will protect your battery’s health.

This story was first published on BusinessInsider.com.au

Does anyone have a crew list for the HMNZS BELLONA trip to the UK in 1955 or the crew list when HMNZS ROYALIST commissioned.

Communicators lets see if we can put a list of the communicators for both these ships and trips.

Sadly an LM(E) named William Goodwin of Bellona was injured and subsequently died while playing rugby in Plymouth on 12 March, 1956.  Does anyone remember what team Bellona was playing and what sort of funeral did William have?  This is a long shot but someone out their may remember.

This is very, very clever…  click on this LINK

Two Royal Australian Navy Sailors are buried in the Russell Cemetery also known as Kororareka Cemetery

Their names are George William LAWTON buried 30 Mar 1950 off HMAS Sydney and James NISBET buried 28 Mar 1950 also off HMAS Sydney.  The question has been asked does anyone remember the reason or the incident which saw these two Australian sailors buried so far from home?

Here is an image of communicators from HMNZS BELLONA taking part a race in Hobart, Tasmania 1st March 1951.  A total of eight boats were in the race and of course the Communicators won by 4 boat lengths.  Published with permission of J E Nolan son of L/Sig John Nolan

L-R  L/Tel Baken, Tel Parr, Sig Davis, Sig Broom, L/Sig Nolan and L/Tel Dodds

Here is an image of the quaterdeck of HMNZS BELLONA after it was struck by a dummy rocket.  Published with permission of JE Nolan

On 29 January 1951, Sydney was part of an eighteen-ship fleet present in Sydney Harbour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Australia’s Federation. Following this, the carrier joined a multinational training exercise in south-east Australian waters, then visited Hobart for the Royal Hobart Regatta. During the exercise, a Sea Fury accidentally fired four practice rockets into the superstructure of the New Zealand flagship, HMNZS Bellona: although an inquiry concluded that the pilot had unintentionally pressed the fire button, it was later found that certain signal frequencies transmitted by Sydney‘s radio aerials could trigger a Fury’s firing circuits. 

Newspaper Articles from 1948