Militia (1845–1886) After the
Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, New Zealand's security was dependent on
British Imperial troops deployed from
Australia and other parts of the empire. By 1841 the settlers, particularly those in the
New Zealand Company settlement of
Wellington, were calling for local militia to be formed. In 1843 a local militia had been formed in Wellington without official sanction. This prompted the Chief Police Magistrate Major Matthew Richmond to order its immediate disbandment. Richmond also dispatched 53 soldiers from the
96th Regiment from Auckland to Wellington. These calls for a militia continued to grow with the
Wairau Affray, the start of the
New Zealand Wars. The calls eventually led to a bill being introduced to the Legislative Council in 1844. Those present noted their disapproval of the bill, unanimously deferring it for six months. On 22 March 1845 the
Flagstaff War broke out, which proved to be the catalyst for passing the Bill. In 1844 a
Select Committee of the
House of Commons had recommended that a militia, composed of both settlers and native
Maori, and a permanent native force be set up. On 25 March 1845, the Militia Ordinance was passed into law. Twenty-six officers were appointed in Auckland, thereby forming the start of New Zealand's own defence force. Major Richmond was appointed the commander of the Wellington Battalion of the militia. The newspaper article of the time notes that Wellington had a mounted Volunteer Corp. The Nelson Battalion of Militia was formed 12 August 1845. In June 1845, 75 members of the Auckland Militia under Lieutenant Figg became the first unit to support British Imperial troops in the Flagstaff War, serving as pioneers. Seven militia were wounded in action between 30 June and 1 July 1845. One, a man named Rily, later died of his wounds. The Auckland Militia was disbanded in August or early September 1845 because of budgetary constraints. Disbandment of the Nelson and Wellington Militias followed much to the dismay of their supporters. Those at Nelson under Captain Greenwood decided, regardless of pay or not, to continue training. Trouble in the Hutt Valley, near Wellington, in early March 1846 prompted the new Governor
George Grey to proclaim
martial law and call out the Hutt Militia, in what became known as the
Hutt Valley campaign. Following on from this the local paper noted that the No 1 Company of the Wellington Militia had been called out, while the troops stationed in the town had been in the Hutt. The paper further noted that Grey intended to maintain two companies of Militia in Wellington. As problems continued in the area at least 160 Militia remained. These were supplemented by volunteers and Māori warriors from the
Te Aro pā.
Armed Constabulary On 28 October 1846, with the passing of the Armed Constabulary Ordinance in 1846, a fresh call was made by Mr Donnelly of the Legislature to do away with the Militia because of its expense. The cost to Britain of maintaining a military force in New Zealand was considerable, prompting a dispatch on 24 November 1846 from The Right Hon
Earl Grey to advise Lieutenant Governor George Grey that Further pressure in the early 1850s from Britain for removing their forces prompted pleas for them to remain as the Militia were deemed insufficient for the purpose. 1854 brought a new threat to the attention of the colony because up to that time the military focus had been upon internal conflicts between settlers and the Māori.
War had broken out between
Russia and
Turkey. This war began to involve the major European powers and exposed New Zealand and
Australia to a possible external threat from the
Imperial Russian Navy. Parliament discussed providing guns at ports around the country for use in the event of a war with a foreign power. By 1858 attention had swung back to local issues with a land dispute in
New Plymouth prompting Governor
Thomas Gore Browne to call out its militia under Captain Charles Brown. A prelude to what was to become the
First Taranaki War and a period of conflict in the North Island until 1872. The newly formed
New Zealand Parliament revised and expanded the Militia Ordinance, replacing it with the Militia Act 1858. Some of the main changes were clauses enabling volunteers to be included under such terms and conditions as the Governor may specify. The act also outlined the purposes under which Militia could be called upon, including invasion. Debates in Parliament had included expressions of concern about Russian naval expansion in the northern Pacific, pointed out that the sole naval defence consisted of one 24-gun frigate, and the time it would take for Britain to come to the colony's aid. British Imperial troops remained in New Zealand until February 1870, during the later stage of the New Zealand Wars, by which time settler units had replaced them. The Defence Act 1886 reclassified the militia as volunteers. These were the forerunners of the Territorials.
Volunteers (1858–1909) Although there were informal volunteer units as early as 1845, the appropriate approval and regulation of the units did not occur until the
Militia Act 1858. Those who signed up for these units were exempt from militia duty, but had to be prepared to serve anywhere in New Zealand. One of the earliest gazetted units (13 January 1859) was the
Taranaki Volunteer Rifle Company. To the Volunteer Rifle Corps were added Volunteer Artillery Corps in mid-1859. The first of these Volunteer Artillery Corps were based in Auckland. By late 1859 the number of volunteer units was so great that Captain H C Balneavis was appointed Deputy Adjunct-General, based at Auckland.
Colonial Defence Force (1862–1867) In 1863 the government passed the Colonial Defence Force Act 1862 creating the first Regular Force. This was to be a mounted body of not more than 500 troops, with both Maori and settlers, and costing no more than 30,000 pounds per annum. All were volunteers and expected to serve for three years. Formation of the first unit did not begin until early April 1863, with 100 men being sought at New Plymouth under Captain Atkinson. Hawke's Bay was to have the next unit. By late April, papers were reporting few had enlisted in New Plymouth. Formation of an Auckland unit under Colonel Nixon commenced in July and by the 14th had 30 men.
Authorised units by July 1863 Commander: Major-General Galloway By October 1863 there was no Wairarapa-based defence force, and 50 were based in Wanganui. The Otago force had earlier been moved to Wellington, with further Otago volunteers heading for the Auckland and Hawke's Bay Units. The total Defence Force numbered 375 by 3 November 1863. In October 1864 the Government decided to reduce the numbers in the Colonial Defence Force to 75 with three units of 25 members each in Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki. By this time there were about 10,000 British Imperial troops in New Zealand, supplemented by about as many New Zealand volunteer and militia forces. There were calls, particularly from South Island papers, for the British Imperial troops to be replaced by local forces. Parliamentary debates in late 1864 also supported this view, especially as the cost of maintaining the Imperial troops was becoming a greater financial burden on the colony.
Defence review, March 1865 At the request of the governor in January 1865 a formal statement on the defence of the colony was presented on 20 March 1865. This proposed an armed constabulary force supported by friendly natives, volunteer units, and militia as the case may require be established to take the place of the Imperial troops. The proposed force was to consist of 1,350 Europeans and 150 Maori – 1,500 in total. They were to be divided into 30 companies of 50 men each based as follows: The total Defence budget, which included purchasing a steamer for use on the Waikato, Patea, and Wanganui rivers, was 187,000 pounds per annum. The budget's focus was solely on internal conflict. The issue of external conflict did not begin to resurface until the following year, with thought being given again to coastal defences. The Colonial Defence Force was disbanded in October 1867 by the Armed Constabulary Act 1867. Its members transferred to the Armed Constabulary.
Evolution of volunteers and militia From 1863 to 1867 Forest Ranger volunteer units were formed, tasked with searching out Maori war parties, acting as scouts, and protecting lines of communication. They arose out of the need to prevent ambushes and random attacks on civilians near forest areas. The Rangers were well armed and more highly paid. These units used guerrilla style tactics, moving through areas under cover of darkness and ambushing war parties. The Forest Rangers were disbanded on 1 October 1867. :
See New Zealand Police Alongside the militia and the British Imperial forces were the Armed Constabulary. The Armed Constabulary were formed in 1846 with the passage of the Armed Constabulary Ordinance. The Constabulary's role was both regular law enforcement and during the New Zealand Wars militia support. From 1867 to 1886 the Armed Constabulary were the only permanent force in New Zealand. In 1886 the militia functions of the Armed Constabulary were transferred to the New Zealand Permanent Militia by the Defence Act 1886. Lieutenant Colonel John Roberts was the Permanent Militia's first commander from January 1887 to his retirement in 1888.
Defence Act 1909 The Defence Act 1909 replaced the Volunteer forces with a Territorial force and compulsory military training, a regime that remained until the late 1960s.
Separate services (from 1909) :
See Royal New Zealand Navy, New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Air Force in the Solomons. Independent New Zealand armed forces developed in the early twentieth century; the
Royal New Zealand Navy was the last to emerge as an independent service in 1941. Prior to that time it had been the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy. New Zealand forces served alongside the British and other Empire and Commonwealth nations in
World War I and
World War II. The fall of
Singapore in 1942 showed that Britain could no longer protect its far-flung Dominions. Closer military ties were therefore necessary for New Zealand's defence. With United States entering the war, they were an obvious choice. Links with Australia had also been developed earlier; both nations sent troops to the
Anglo-Boer War and New Zealand officer candidates had trained at Australia's
Royal Military College Duntroon since 1911, a practice that continues to this day. A combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (
ANZAC) was formed for the
Gallipoli campaign during World War I, and its exploits are key events in the military history of both countries. The NZDF came into existence under the
Defence Act 1990. Under previous legislation, the three services were part of the
Ministry of Defence. Post-1990, the Ministry of Defence is a separate, policy-making body under a Secretary of Defence, equal in status to the Chief of Defence Force.
2020s retention and capability issues In 2023,
North & South and
Radio New Zealand reported that the NZDF was experiencing a high attrition rate in the two-year period between 2021 and 2023 due to poor salaries and living conditions at military accommodation. According to
North and South contributor Peter McKenzie, 77% of NZDF personnel were paid between 5% and 16% less than people in equivalent civilian jobs. By October 2022, the NZDF's military attrition rate averaged at 15.8% (ranging from 12.1% for the Navy and 17.4% for the Army). In early April 2025, Radio New Zealand reported that the NZDF had dropped some
National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 1 and Level 2 enlistment requirements in 2024 in a bid to boost recruitment. On 7 April 2025,
Defence Minister Judith Collins announced that the New Zealand Government would be investing NZ$12 billion (US$5 billion) in the NZDF over the next four years to boost defence spending to over 2 percent of
gross domestic product. Key priorities have included investing in enhanced strike capabilities, defence housing, unmanned aerial and aquatic vehicles, replacing maritime helicopters and the
Boeing 757 fleet, and upgrading existing military infrastructure at
Ohakea and
Devonport. On 6 May 2025, Collins confirmed that the Government would allocate NZ$2 billion (US$1.2 billion) from this defence funding allocation to purchasing new maritime helicopters for the Royal New Zealand Navy. ==Higher direction of the armed services==