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NAVY TRADITION OF SPIT POLISHING BOOTS/SHOES
(Supplied by Jack Donnelly (WOGI Rtd) Do our young sailors of today still spit polish their naval footwear? As Seaman Boys we were issued with 2 pairs of boots, one for working in and the other for guard/ceremonial duties. The art to spit polishing one’s footwear is very time consuming and requires a lot of patience, concentration, radio, TV or a good ‘talking’ mate. Ensure you have a good comfortable place to sit, and away you go. As for the perfect technique to spit polishing boots/shoes they are many and varied so I will explain how we were taught by our instructors at Tamaki on Motuihe island. You will require polish, a soft clean cotton rag, water or alcohol and an old toothbrush at the ready. The use of alcohol may well have been a sailors ‘dit’ neve...
2019 Navy Club Membership
It’s almost time to renew your Navy Club membership or consider becoming a member. The yearly subscription for the 2019 year (1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020) is $25. Invoices will be sent to existing members and any new members can join by clicking here
WREATH LAYING PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOL
RNZRSA CEREMONIAL GUIDE Former Gunnery Instructors Warrant Officer Jack Donnelly, BEM, RNZN and Chief Petty Officer Tony Lewis, RNZN have written a Ceremonial Planning, Procedural and Protocol Guide for the RNZRSA. The fourth chapter is reproduced below: “Our tribute to the fallen” A very solemn and formal military ritual in which the wreath symbolizes remembrance. The type of flowers making up a wreath have different meanings, and there are various types of wreaths that may be laid on ANZAC Day/Remembrance Day. Planning and organising the wreath laying ceremony begins at the committee meeting with your nominations of whom to invite to lay a wreath. Once your list has been finalised the next consideration is to arrange the order of precedence. Each RSA orga...
CRANE VESSEL ‘RAPAKI’
A national heritage “treasure” of the seas has been towed along the Auckland waterfront to die the death of old boats. The Rapaki, the steam-driven crane vessel that served in Lyttelton, the Middle East and the Pacific before retiring in Auckland, is being broken up at Wynyard Wharf. Tim Hanna – the author of books on motorcycle speedster Burt Munro and motorcycle builder John Britten – said the scrapping of Rapaki, one of the world’s few remaining steam crane vessels, was an act of vandalism. “It’s a taonga, a national treasure of tremendous significance,” said Hanna, a Lumsden publican. He said he had been lucky enough to go on the Rapaki when it was fired up and the crane was moving. “It was absolutely tremendous. It was such a power...
COASTAL TRADER ‘DARING’
The New Zealand shipwreck given up from its sandy grave after 153 years has rolled away on the back of a truck. The timber hull of the 17m-long sailing vessel, the Daring, whose shroud of sand was wiped away by wind and tide, has this week been transported from its 1865 resting place. A coastal trader under the control of Captain Phipps, the Daring went aground at Kaipara Harbour’s South Head, northwest of Muriwai in a February storm. Efforts to re-launch the vessel in the surf during the following weeks were unsuccessful and the it was claimed by the beach. In May this year, the hull of what had been a two-masted boat emerged from the sand in an area now part of the Defence Force’s Kaipara Air Weapons Range. A group was soon formed to protect the rare find and now the Daring w...
Presentation of Bosuns Call by The Navy Club
President of The Navy Club Fred Wilson presenting OMED Amberleigh Shields with a Bosun’s Call. Amberleigh was the winner of the Navy Club Trophy.
2018 Winner of the Royal New Zealand Navy Club Trophy
Winner of the Royal New Zealand Navy Club Trophy is OMED Amberleigh Shields for Basic Common Trainee who displays the greatest application, perseverance and adherence to the Navy Creed.
The Navy Club Trophy presentation to RNZN
Presented by the Royal New Zealand Navy Club and awarded to the Basic Common Trainee who displays the greatest application, perseverance and adherence to the Navy Creed. The recipient will be selected jointly by staff and Basic Common Training Recruits themselves. Photo of Navy Club President Fred Wilson presenting Assistant Chief of Navy (Personnel and Training), Capt Dave Fairweather with the trophy
A NAVAL CAREER IN THE EYES OF COLIN ROSS – Pt. 50
2012 was looking to be an exciting year. We were in the process of arranging the Ancient Mariners to attend the Golden Oldies Festival in Japan in November. As well we were starting the extensive re-build at the bach in Mangawhai Heads. We had finally decided to add on so while leaving the upstairs pretty much alone in a bach state we added on out the side to extend the living area, put in a brand new kitchen and also adding on a bedroom and bathroom downstairs. Kerry happened to mention one day early in the year that maybe it was about time to look at upgrading my Ute. I had had my Navara since 1998 and it was a well-loved vehicle. It had just turned over 240,000k so we decided to go down and have a look at what was on offer. All the second hand Navara were still priced in $30k and ...
DID YOU KNOW
On 21 October 1943 the Wellington Naval Auxiliary Patrol Service (NAPS) organisation was closed down. The 125th HDML Flotilla had been commissioned in Wellington in May 1943, and they took over patrolling duties from NAPS. The first three MLs to form the flotilla were 1188 (Takapu), 1189 (Wings Afloat) and 1190 (Parore). The 124th HDML Flotilla had been formed in Auckland and initially comprised 1183 (Mako) and 1184 (Paea) and were joined later by 1185 (Manga) and 1186 (Alert).
DID YOU KNOW?
On 6 October 2000 the Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie-Boys, unveiled the Millennium Statue on the promenade at Devonport Naval Base, colloquially called ‘Wilson’s Walk’. The statue was designed to honour all New Zealand’s sailors of the 20th Century, and is called ‘The Farewell’. Rear Admiral Wilson’s vision was for another statue at the other end of the promenade entitled ‘The Homecoming’, to acknowledge naval families.