Governor George Grey's Royal NZ Fencibles

Settlement of Military Pensioners in West and South Auckland

Mar 1, 2009

In 1846 the Governor of New Zealand ,Sir George Grey, was concerned about settlers in Auckland being attacked from the Waikato Maori, in the southern region of Auckland.

To protect the settlers Governor Grey requested a military force from Britain and so the English Parliament consented to forming a group of military men to be sent out. The men were recruited from retired soldiers of the British army. The new army sent out to New Zealand were to be called the ‘Royal New Zealand Fencibles Corps’, and became known 'pensioners'.

The Requirements for Acceptance into the Royal NZ Fencibles Corps.

The retired British army soldiers had to be under the age of 48 years of age, ‘with a minimum of 15 years military service’. They had to be over ‘5ft 5in in height, of good character, industrious habits, robust frame and be medically approved as fit for occasional military duties’. Once approved the men were given free passage to New Zealand with their wives and children and a promise of owning their own two room cottage and land. As most of the men willing to enlist came from the famine struck Ireland the chance of a new life and owning their own land would have been a major reason for signing up. Their only requirements were to parade once a week on Sundays in full uniform and attend military exercises for 12 days per year. Once they had served their seven year service with the Royal New Zealand Fencibles the soldiers were ‘given’ their cottages and land to own in their own right.

Auckland’s Villages: Howick Panmure, Onehunga and Otahuhu

Over 2,500 men, women and children had made the five to six month journey on eleven different ships between 1847 and 1852. Conditions were harsh on the ships and although most of the Fencibles and their families arrived safely some did not; each ship carried a surgeon but nevertheless sickness was inevitable on board ships carrying families in cramped conditions and so a few did not recover. Upon arrival they settled in the Eastern area in Howick and Panmure and the Southern villages of Onehunga and Otahuhu. As the men being retired British soldiers were used to travel and harsh conditions and even though they had to live in tents for the first few years they quickly settled into the areas building cottages and cultivating the land and growing vegetables. The men were employed to build roads and bridges and many of the new settlers formed committees to build or donate money towards building churches. They also created schools and shops and traded with the local farmers and involved themselves in local government.

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