Coast Artillery Units To Be Disbanded

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28362, 22 August 1957, Page 11

Coast Artillery Units To Be Disbanded

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, August 21. The 9th, 10th, and 11th Coast Artillery regiments located at Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch are to be disbanded and their armament and equipment put on a “care and maintenance” basis. The 9.2 in batteries ai Waiheke and Whangaparaoa (Auckland), and Wrights Hill (Wellington), are not to be maintained. When making this announcement, the Minister of Defence (Mr T. L. Macdonald) said that at a date yet to be determined, members of the units concerned would be deemed to have completed their obligations under the Military Training Act and would be posted to the reserve. About 1000 compulsory military trainees will be affected. Mr Macdonald said the decision to review the policy on' coast artillery, which had been fetched

after full consideration of all the facts, arose from the White Paper on defence presented to the House of Representatives early in the present session. “The armameilt and equipment of the three coast artillery regiments will be stripped and stored in such a way as to provide foi timely activation in an emergency,” he said. It was considered that there would not be a future requirement for the 9.2 in batteries at Whangaparaoa, Waiheke, and Wrights Hill and any of the equipment or associated stores from these batteries not required for other military purposes would be disposed of. The Minister said administrative details had yet to be worked out and no action would be taken until; instructions had been issued by Army headquarters.