150th Anniversary of the New Zealand Cadet Force

This year marks 150 years of Cadet training in New Zealand and in late January, Waiouru has been host to a large contingent of over 1200 Cadets from all over New Zealand together with Cadets from Australia and Canada here celebrating this important milestone.

The National Army Museum has been pleased to have been part of the celebrations with Cadets spending time in and around the museum over the week of the Cadet150 exercise. The Museum’s Series II Queen’s Land Rover which was used by the Queen on her 1953 visit to New Zealand, also took part in the official proceedings carrying Governor General, Lt Gen (Rtd) Hon Sir Jerry Mataparae who inspected the parade of Cadets.

Many young men of the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force were school cadets including the famous military icons of Freyberg and Upham.

The proud tradition of New Zealand Cadets goes back 150 years to the establishment of the Dunedin High School Cadet Unit (now Otago Boys High School) in 1864. Other secondary schools soon followed, with the formation of Cadet Units at Nelson College, Christ’s College,Wellington College and Auckland Grammar.

Cadet units evolved with the Volunteer period of 1864 – 1902 and were based on the training doctrine used in the British Public Schools, with an emphasis on rigid discipline and shooting marksmanship. All training was entirely controlled by the Headmaster, with the Army initially not being involved.

This would change in 1902 with the introduction of the Education Act. Most secondary schools formed cadet units (now Public School Cadets) and the Army became involved in training after their overseas experience in the Anglo-Boer War and a realisation that the world was changing in terms of the British Empire.

In 1909, a new Defence Act was passed, resulting in compulsory military training (for volunteers) and the formation of the Territorial Force, which was organised into four military districts (Auckland,Wellington, Canterbury and Otago). These changes also impacted on cadets with the Act dividing ‘manpower’ into four sections: ‘Junior Cadets’ (12-14 years), ‘Senior Cadets’ (14-18 years), ‘General Training Section’ (18-21 years) and a ‘Reserve’ (21-30 years).

With a visit to New Zealand by Lord Kitchener in 1910 and rallying talks about the defence of the Empire, the Army began to provide uniforms, rifles and other equipment to the units. This Army support continued through WWI, with many ex-school cadets making up the officers and non-commissioned officers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF).

The Defence Act of 1919 saw Compulsory Military Training (CMT) for all, including cadets, and units were structured into Cadet Battalions which would see young men progress into Territorial regiments, and although CMT was scrapped in 1932, cadet units continued at schools on a volunteer basis.

The Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) was formed in 1929 as an open unit and the Air Training Corps (ATC) began their history in 1941. Both units have a strong relationship with their respective service – the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

In 1950, the Cadet Corps had a name change to School Cadets and over the next 10 years, Cadet numbers grew considerably.

For more information on the New Zealand Cadet Forces, go to www.cadetforces.mil.nz