The Rock Reunion
HMNZS TAMAKI NAVY REUNION 14 February 2020
The Rock Reunion was a one-off get together organised for all those who served in HMNZS Tamaki on Motuihe Island, known as The Rock, during its period as a Navy training establishment from 1941 to 1963. The reunion was aimed at bringing together those who experienced a unique time in their lives and the history of the RNZN. As those who undertook their basic training on The Rock can attest, surviving the training was an experience that will never be forgotten.
The response to the Reunion weekend turned out greater than anticipated with the evening dinner moving venues due to larger numbers registered. Attendees (250-300) came from as far as Thailand, Australia and NZ Region-wide. Regrettably, a US registered attendee cancelled close to the event due to coronavirus concerns.
The barge carrying vehicles, trailer, equipment and attendees left Half Moon Bay on a beautiful calm Friday 14th after the DOC Biodiversity dog team had completed its pest check duties. Considering the event date was selected approximately 15 months prior, they couldn’t have picked a better day – Motuihe Island looked a beautiful picture. The barge pulled up to the ramp on Wharf Bay to unload the passenger vehicles which transported the less mobile people up to the headland with the balance of people having a beach landing on Ocean Beach and walking up to the Headland.
The memorial service was short and concise with the oldest attendee 97 years of age and youngest ex-Navy attendee unveiling the commemorative plaque on the Headland followed by wreath-laying, Ode of Remembrance, a blessing from Padre Basset and the Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Commander David Proctor addressing the attendees with a humble and moving speech
.
From an outside perspective, it was an emotional day for some and a wonderful tribute to those who attended, who couldn’t attend and those who are no longer with us. For some attendees, it will have been a shock if their last stay on the island was pre-building removal however to hear Saddleback calling during the speeches was a beautiful touch.
Congratulations to John Mills and the Navy Reunion organisation team on a fabulous event. We can appreciate the amount of work gone in behind the scenes with changes right up to island arrival. The team should be proud of themselves.
Lois Badham
Great reunion a one-off indeed. My first trip back to Motuihe since leaving, the weather was great & a gentle sea crossing. Caught up with heaps of people not seen for a very long time. Bit disappointed that only 3 of us in our boys class were there but a lot have crossed the bar and i guess some too sick to attend, it was after all 60 years ago – where has the time gone. RNZYS at Westhaven was a fitting venue and i was most impressed with the bus service organised for us ‘fly in’ attendees which meant you could have a drink and not worry about driving in Auckland. Congratulations are in order to all the organisers for an occasion not to be forgotten & the RNZN could not have been more helpful to make the occasion a great one.For those unable to attend and of general interest the reunion ‘The Rock’ booklet by Ex CN K F Wilson is a good read at a most reasonable cost.
Hi Mike..good to see your comments re the re-union. I didn’t realise there were only three of our
class there. You, Trevor Kettle and me. Our numbers must have chopped down bit. I didn’t think
it could be that bad, but at least we made it. I enjoyed catching up with the troops that I could
recognise; oddly more than I thought I would after all this time. January 1957 to February 2020
covers a lot of time. Organising was great. Buses were great and very handy to where I was
staying. the fact that I got off at the wrong corner and had a bit of a walk to get home was more
my fault than anybodys and didn’t do me a lot of harm. Was good to catch up with you Mike and to meet your good lady. Take good care of yourselves and enjoy your 4 months confinement.
This reunion was a thought provoking event dragging out grey matter memories probably never to be repeated in future training institutions. BUT that was then and those of us who managed to return to this old training establishment, I’m sure, enjoyed the occasion under much more relaxed conditions. I would personally like to register my gratitude and congratulations to the reunion organizers for this amazing experience. Bravo Zulu. As with Mike’s comment above, I too am sad that I was the only member of my 58th boys entry who made it to this event. Such is life.
No question about it, the detailed planning and the extraordinary levels of preparation together with tackling out-of-left-field curveballs ensured the three-day HMNZS Tamaki ‘Rock Reunion’ was a ‘Tour de Force.’ All in all, a truly magnificent weekend. There are so many key players who willingly gave of their time to make the ‘Rock Reunion’ such a stunning success that it would be most inappropriate not to congratulate and applaud the entire ‘The Rock’ executive committee of Gary Houghton, Jack Donnelly, Charlie Armstrong and the ‘El Supremo’ Bus Admiral and, of course, the many other executive committee members who were worth their weight in ‘industrial diamonds.’ I had the good fortune to link up with many of my old ship mates and, in particular, with my good friend and class mate, Lobo Young [aka Bob] who I hadn’t seen for over 50 odd years. And, I made a new friend – Phil Churchill who lives in Invercargill. Thank you for inviting me and my wife Mary-Ann to be part of this unforgettable RNZN historic occasion.
On behalf of the Tamaki-Motuihe committee I want to say, ‘Thank you’ for the positive comments above. We were all so pleased and relieved that the reunion went well. The support from the Navy personnel was outstanding, we could not have done it without them, in particular the organizing on the jetty prior to departing for Motuihe. It was 3 days of fun, laughter, sadness, reminiscing, spinning ‘dits’ visiting our Navy of today and remembering those who have Crossed the Bar. I now move on to organizing the next major reunion which is the next step in our Navies history of training establishments, the Tamaki – Fort Cautley (1963 – 1993) reunion.