Second Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast Battalion Group.

Third Auckland (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) and Northland Battalion Group.

Fourth Otago and Southland Battalion Group.

Fifth Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki Battalion Group.

Seventh Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Battalion Group.

The Army Reserve is the part-time component of New Zealand's Army, with a mission to provide trained individual volunteers and formed groups of soldiers for overseas operations.

Value of the Reserves

History

The 5th Battalion (Wellington West Coast and Taranaki) RNZIR (5WWCT) traces its origins from the Wellington West Coast Regiment and the Taranaki Regiment, both of which claim an ancestry pre-dating the official raising of armed forces in New Zealand.

The Taranaki Regiment's forebears include the Taranaki Rifle Volunteer Corps, which is believed to have been the first unit formally raised in New Zealand. This unit took part in the New Zealand Wars and fought so well at the battle of Waireka (as the first British Empire reservist unit ever committed to battle) that it was granted the Battle Honour "New Zealand". This is a unique distinction. No other unit has ever been given its country's name as a Battle Honour in the history of Britain, her Empire and the Commonwealth.

The Wanganui Rifle Volunteers, renamed the Victoria Rifles, the Wanganui Bushranger Volunteers, and the Royal Rangitikei Rifles are a few of the many ancestral units associated with the Wellington West Coast Regiment, a number of which were involved in the New Zealand Wars.

In World War 1, men from the Wellington West Coast and the Taranaki Regiments formed 250 man companies of the regional Wellington Regiment. It was members of this unit, led by Colonel William Malone, who fought the epic battle for Chunuk Bair during the Gallipoli campaign. The regiment fought throughout the remainder of the war earning numerous other battle honours, some of which are carried by the modern unit.

A similar system applied in World War 2 with soldiers from the regional battalions forming integral parts in 19th, 22nd, 25th and 36th Battalions.

In 1948 the two regiments were combined to form the Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment. Then in 1964 the New Zealand Army was again restructured with all the previous regiments falling under the umbrella of the single Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. At this point the Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment became 5th Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (5 RNZIR). In 1974 the name was changed to 5th Battalion (Wellington West Coast and Taranaki) (5 WWCT) in order to recognise the regional links of the unit.

Battle Honours

In recent years, members of the unit have once more been called upon to volunteer for overseas service. In 2000 and 2001, many members of the unit served in East Timor, while 5 WWCT Soldiers have made up contingents of volunteers for the 3rd and 6th rotations of Army Reserve soldiers in the Solomon Islands.

This page was last reviewed on 28 May 2009, and is current.