HMS Philomel and HMS New Zealand the History of New Zealand's First Warships and their Influence on the Formation of the Royal New Zealand Navy

Abstract

The formation of the Royal New Zealand Navy was long in coming. Both Canada and Australia had their own independent navies by the end of World War One, while the New Zealand Navy would not come into being until 1941 during World War Two. That is not to say that New Zealand was completely devoid of a naval presence. Just prior to World War One, the New Zealand Naval Force was established, and after the war, the naval force became the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. HMS Philomel and HMS New Zealand were the two warships associated with New Zealand during these formative years. The aim of this thesis is to explore the histories of HMS Philomel and HMS New Zealand and to determine which of these two vessels was more impactful to the formation of the New Zealand Navy. To accomplish this, I will examine the careers of each vessel, exploring their wartime and peacetime careers as well of the origin of each vessel. I will then analyse Philomel and New Zealand comparing how each ship interacted with the New Zealand Naval Forces to determine which one had the greater impact. The results of my research shows that HMS Philomel, despite being the lesser known of the pair, had a far greater impact on the New Zealand Navy's formation than HMS New Zealand. Philomel was the first New Zealand controlled warship, and during her long career, she not only protected New Zealand and its troops during World War One, she went on to train most of the sailors that made up the New Zealand Navy at its formation.