Territorial Force Centenary

The last weekend of February sees two significant anniversaries celebrated by the Territorial Force. The 4 Otago Southland Battalion Group 150th anniversary and perhaps lesser known, the centenary of the Territorial Force.

The 28 February 2010 marks one hundred years of the Defence Act 1909 coming into force, establishing the Territorial Force (TF) as we know of it today.

The 52 year-old volunteer system that preceded the TF was disbanded and organised into geographical groups that created a standardised national force along the lines of the British Territorial Army.

The 56 areas where volunteer forces were conducting activities around New Zealand at the time were shifted into 16 area groups and named after their locality. 

The need for change arose during the Imperial Defence Conference in 1909. Prime Minister Joseph Ward accepted the need to reform the NZ military forces, at that stage a miscellany of voluntary groups and militias, and raise a force capable of providing home security and assistance in imperial defence.

From 17 February to 3 March 1910, visiting Field Marshal Lord Kitchener endorsed the proposal. He also recommended some slight changes to the age of liability of service and subdivided the territories into a larger number of areas.

Major General Alexander Godley, who was tasked with implementing the scheme, had all males between 14 and 30 compulsorily enrolled, and by 1914, the commander had 26,000 young Kiwis ready for war.

As a result of the 1909 Act, NZ was well-placed when World War I arrived. A significant force was well trained and ready for deployment, the TF providing the backbone to New Zealand’s contribution.