Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment explained

Unit Name:	The Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment
Dates:	1964–2012
Country:	New Zealand
Type:	Infantry
Garrison:	Napier
Motto:	Kia Toa (Maori: "be brave")
March:	The Wellington Regiment The Dashing White Sergeant
Anniversaries:	Chunuck Bair Day - 8 August
Identification Symbol Label:	Distinguishing Patches

The Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment was a Territorial Force (TF) regiment of the New Zealand Army. It was formed in 1964 during the reorganisation of the army by the amalgamation of two separate regiments:

• Wellington Regiment (City of Wellington's Own)
• Hawke's Bay Regiment (which had earlier incorporated the Ruahine Regiment)

This amalgamation saw the new regiment become a TF battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. This was until the later reorganisation of 1999, which saw the TF battalions split from the RNZIR to become multi-function battalion groups. The Wellington and Hawke's Bay Regiment became the 7th Wellington and Hawke's Bay Battalion Group, with the following unit types:

• Infantry
  • Alpha Company, was based in Gisborne
  • Bravo Company, was based at Trentham Camp in Wellington
  • Charlie Company, was based in Napier
• Artillery – There was some discussion of converting 22(D) Battery, RNZA in the Wellington region into an Air Defence sub-unit
• Medical – Now under the command of 2nd Health Services Battalion (2HSB) in Linton
• Logistics
• Military Band

In December 2012 the regiment was amalgamated with the 5th Wellington West Coast Taranaki Battalion Group to form the 5/7 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (5/7 RNZIR).

Battle honours

The following battle honours were authorised to be emblazoned on the colours:^[1]

• South Africa 1900–02
• First World War: Somme 1916–18, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Bapaume 1918, Hindenburg Line, Sambre (Le Quesnoy), Landing at ANZAC, France and Flanders 1916–18, Chunuk Bair, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915
• Second World War: Greece 1941, Crete, Tobruk 1941, Minquar Qaim, El Alamein, Tebaga Gap, The Sangro, Cassino I, The Senio, Solomons 1942–44

Alliances

• – The Highlanders
• – The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's Lancashire and Border)
• – The Lincoln and Welland Regiment

Freedoms

The regiment was granted the following freedoms:^[1]

• City of Wellington (1938)
• City of Napier (1957)
• City of Gisborne (1979)

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20080109102603/http://www.regiments.org/regiments/newzealand/volmil/inf/64wellhb.htm
• 7th Battalion Band

Notes and References

1. Book: Thomas, Malcolm. New Zealand Army distinguishing patches, 1911-1991, part 2. 1995. 100–101.