British Troops in New Zealand

After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi British
troops were stationed in New Zealand in varying
numbers from 1840 to 1870 and, until the middle
sixties, provided the chief protection for the
colonists and bore the brunt of the fighting
against the Maoris. The first troops to land in New
Zealand were a detachment of the 80th Regiment
which arrived from Sydney in April 1840, and 30
years later the last of the Imperial troops to
depart were the main body of the 18th (Royal Irish
Regiment), in February 1870.

From a strength of a few hundred men in the early
1840s, the Imperial Government decided in 1847 to
maintain, for the time being, 2000 regular troops
in the colony. Over the next 12 or 13 years this
number varied, and in 1860 about the time of the
outbreak of the first of the later Maori Wars, the
strength of the British forces was down to 
approximately a thousand men. These troops,
consisting of the 65th Regiment and detachments of
artillery and engineers, were scattered in five
different stations, at Auckland, Wellington, Napier,
Wanganui, and New Plymouth. By the end of 1865, the
Imperial forces in the colony totaled about 10,000
men, consisting of the 12th, 14th, 18th, 40th, 43rd,
50th, 57th, 65th, 68th, and 70th Regiments, two
batteries of Field Artillery, and Royal Engineers
and Military Train.

From 1866 onwards the gradual withdrawal of Imperial
troops commenced, and after Chute's vigorous campaign
in Taranaki, early in 1866, with mixed forces,
Imperial and colonial, operations against hostile
Maoris were conducted by colonial forces.

During this year the following regiments departed
from New Zealand - the 70th, 43rd, 68th, 40th, 14th,
and half of the 50th. Four more departed in 1867,
leaving only the 18th. Early in 1869 this regiment
was under orders to depart, but because of alarm felt
by colonists about the guerilla war waged by the
elusive Te Kooti in the Poverty Bay and Bay of Plenty
areas, General Chute, on his own responsibility,
detained the 18th, which did not finally depart until
February 1870.

The 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment served here between
1863-70 under the command of Lt.-Cols. A.A. Chapman
and G.A. Elliott. "New Zealand" was worn as a battle
honour. The regiment was disbanded in 1922 as a
result of the formation of the Irish Free State.

The York and Lancaster Regiment ("Royal Tigers") or
better known in New Zealand as the "Hickety Pips"
which was the nearest the Maoris could get the 65th,
was in New Zealand for just over 18 years, between
1846-65, as the 65th (2nd Yorkshire North Riding)
Regiment. The regiment arrived in three detachments.
The first under the command of Major Watt, with about
550 all ranks, landed on 19 November 1846 at Russell;
the second, under the command of Capt. O'Connell, on
1 August 1846 at Wellington; the third, under the
command of Lt.-Col. Gold, mainly wives and children,
on 14th January 1847, at Auckland. Commanded by
Lt.-Col. C.E. Gold, and later by Col. A.F.W. Wyatt,
"New Zealand" worn on battle honours.

[Source: Encyclopedia of NZ, 1966]

Further reading:
* Regiments at a Glance, Wilson, F. (1957)
* A History of the British Army, Vols 12 & 13, Fortescue, J.W. (1910-1913)
* The New Zealand Army - A Bibliography, Dornbusch, C.E. (1961)
* The New Zealand Wars and the Pioneering Period, Cowan, J. (1955)
* The Records and Badges of Every Regiment and Corps of the British Army,
  Chichester, H.M., and Burges-Short, G. (1899)