History

7th Battalion (Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay) RNZIR (7 WnHB) was formed by the amalgamation of the 5th Wellington Regiment and the 9th Hawke's Bay Regiment in 1964. The artillery sub-unit of the current Battalion can trace its history from 1867 and the various forms of 22(D(Battery), Royal New Zealand Artillery. Each of these parent units had their own rich history which is now part of the modern battalion.

During World War 1 the two Hawke's Bay regiments each provided 250 man companies to the composite Wellington Battalion while the 5th Wellington Regiment became the basis for all four battalions of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. Both these regiments fought with distinction in the major actions of the war although the Rifle Brigade did not join the fighting until after the Gallipoli campaign.

During World War 2 men from the Wellington and Hawke's Bay Regiments saw active service in Greece, Crete, North Africa, Italy and the Pacific while serving with the 19th, 22nd, 25th and 36th Battalions. The battle honours of these composite battalions have become part of the modern unit's history.

The restructuring of the New Zealand Army in 1964 saw the amalgamation of the two Regiments as the 7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. In 1974 the title was changed to 7th Battalion (Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay) RNZIR to recognise the provincial links which have been an important part of the unit's history and mana.

Since 1999 the Battalion has been active in providing trained volunteers for service in places such as East Timor and the Solomon Islands, with members of the unit making up part of the 3rd and 6th rotations to the Solomon Islands in 2007 and 2008. Volunteers from the unit are now on active service in East Timor, as part of Kiwi Company, which provides security in the capital Dili and its surrounding area.