NGAPONA History

In the 1920’s the personnel of the RNVR [NZD] were forced to move from building to building for training purposes. In 1929 it was suggested by an Auckland Divisional officer Lieutenant Palmer that a permanent RNVR HQ be constructed on the waterfront. John Alexander, President of the Navy League wholeheartedly supported this idea and the government approved a £4,000 grant. The Auckland Harbour Board placed the land at the disposal of the government for the site to be built.

Men of the Auckland Division marched into the new site at St Mary’s Bay on Saturday 1 June 1929. It was the first of its kind to be established in the Dominions. Parades we held in Fanshawe Street opposite Victoria Park. By the 1930’s the base was a centre of a thriving social and sporting life for the reservists and home to varied training activities. It also served as an HQ in 1932 when reservists were sued to police the riots in Auckland.

Post Second World War
The immediate priority after the Second World War was the need to refit the buildings from their wartime use a classes for naval training. In 1947 launches termed Harbour Defence Motor Launches (HDML) were supplied by the War Asset Realisation Board for training purposes. The government of the day saw training and strategic possibilities of these vessels in use by the Naval Reserve. The RNZN requested that the HDML be armed with two .50cal machineguns, one 20mm Oerlikon, and depth charges. The HDML was commissioned as the Ngapona in October 1950. The vessels were duly equipped but the armament was removed in 1955. This can cause some confusion between the shore establishment and the HDML sharing the same name. It was not until 1967 that the vessel in service was re-named HMNZS Tanmure.
In 1948 there was a major policy change instigated by the Government. The RNZNVR was created with four divisions based in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. With the passing of the Military Training Act in 1949, they took responsibility for men who chose to do their CMT in the Navy. 1992 men went through this process until 1957.

Origin of the name:
In 1951 the four divisions were given the following names:
HMNZS Ngapona Auckland
Olphert Wellington
Pegasus Christchurch
Toroa Dunedin

Ngapona comes from Rangitoto’s three summits – Nga-pona-toru-a-Peretu or the three knuckles of Peretu.

In November 1950, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate the 44 RNVR [NZD] men who lost their lives during the Second World War. this was a time of growth and development as men passed through for their CMT and the base was operating with satisfactory numbers of volunteers. Due to the influx of CMT personnel who chose to serve with the Navy it became urgent to extend the buildings to cope with the training requirements. There was speculation that the base would be moved in 1950 but rather training was spread over three days per week to accommodate the personnel.

In October 1951 a further £6,000 was authorised by the Government to extend facilities fro training including engineering and electrical workshops. In October 1952 a prefab building arrived from the UK for construction at the base and opened in 1953. This new building consisted of engineering, electrical workshops, sickbay, seamanship, TAS, supply & secretariat classrooms and a theatre. The main building was used for communications and gunnery training.  In July 1954 personnel were issued with cap tallies with the legend HMNZS Ngapona.

By 1958 the expansion of Auckland city and development of the North Shore would have a direct impact on the base. Images of the base before the roadworks show the sea reaching to the dock located in front of the main building. This is where the northern motorway is located now.

The old wardroom and gun battery were lost the construction. One consequence was that the whole building had to be moved back several feet. The technical training building was moved behind the HQ building and connected by a covered walkway. In a deal between the RNZNVR and the MOW carparks and a parade ground were created during the building of the motorway for the base. In addition volunteers in working bees prepared carparks and access road to the base from bluff.

By 1960 the buildings were refurbished as part of the move with the motorway. In 1960 a new flagpole was raised on the grass plot. At this time there was lots of effort put in by the personnel to return Ngapona to a Naval Establishment.

In April 1961, during the visit of Governor General Viscount Cobham, after the boisterous dinner in the mess, officers decided to fire a 21 gun salute in the early morning at 0245 hours. This naturally upset the civilian neighbours in the bluff above the base and they complained most vigorously.

In 1963 a new pontoon wharf was towed over to St Mary’s Bay from the Birkenhead Wharf for use by the NR so that personnel could work on the ML without having to go to Philomel. It lasted into the 1980s when it was disposed of.

In 1966, the bridge was in the process of being extended. A suggestion was made that Ngapona move. Over the next 24 years the suggestion was made but the building and operation left where it was. In 1967, an effort in voluntary work by the reservists upgraded the building including a new canteen, new sick bay and upgrading of the pontoon. Also a large amount of obsolete equipment was removed and disposed of.

1970s-1980s
This was a hard time for the RNZNVR as numbers fell off but the base was kept in operation despite changes in Governments and major political policy change in the 1980s when New Zealand introduced anti-nuclear legislation.

The propeller mounted in front of the building is from the WW2 minesweeper HMNZS Hinau recovered by reservists in 1987 to be used as a memorial to the minesweeper and men of the reserve.

Present Day
HMNZS NGAPONA celebrated its 80th Anniversary over the period 8 – 9 October 2005. Ngapona will close its doors at St Mary’s Bay on 8 December 2007 ending 78 years of connection.  Ngapona will be relocated to the site of the Old Sail Loft in the Devonport Naval Base in early 2008.