HMS New Zealand
HMS New Zealand was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. Launched in 1911, the ship was funded by the government of New Zealand as a gift to Britain, and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1912. She had been intended for the China Station, but was released by the New Zealand government at the request of the Admiralty for service in British waters.
During 1913, New Zealand was sent on a ten-month tour of the British Dominions, with an emphasis on a visit to her namesake nation. She was back in British waters at the start of the First World War, and operated as part of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet, in opposition to the German High Seas Fleet. During the war, the battlecruiser participated in all three of the major North Sea battles—Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank, and Jutland—and was involved in the response to the inconclusive Raid on Scarborough, and the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. New Zealand contributed to the destruction of two cruisers during her wartime service and was hit by enemy fire only once, sustaining no casualties; her status as a “lucky ship” was attributed by the crew to a Māori piupiu (warrior’s skirt) and hei-tiki (pendant) worn by the captain during battle.
After the war, New Zealand was sent on a second world tour, this time to allow Admiral John Jellicoe to review the naval defences of the Dominions. In 1920, the battlecruiser was placed in reserve. She was broken up for scrap in 1922 in order to meet Britain’s tonnage limit in the disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty.
Pre-World War One
July 1, 1911 Launch of HMS New Zealand at Fairfield Shipbuilding in Govan, Scotland 
HMS New Zealand Lyttelton, Canterbury 1913 
HMS New Zealand during a tour of New Zealand in 1913 
HMS New Zealand, photographed in Wellington Harbour in 1913 
HMS New Zealand seen in 1913 
HMS New Zealand forward main guns Vancouver 1913 
HMS New Zealand at Vancouver 1913 
Civilians visit HMS New Zealand at Vancouver 1913
Photos of HMS New Zealand Unknown Date
The forward 12″/ 45 (305mm) guns on HMS New Zealand 
HMS New Zealand 
HMS New Zealand
World War One
HMS NEW ZEALAND steaming into action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight 
HMS Inflexible and HMS New Zealand seen in 1918 
HMS New Zealand 
HMAS Australia and HMS New Zealand leading HMS Indomitable 1918
Post World War One
HMS New Zealand 
May-August, 1919 HMS New Zealand seen during the Dominion Tour with Admiral Sir John Jellicoe embarked 
May-August, 1919 HMS New Zealand seen during the Dominion Tour with Admiral Sir John Jellicoe embarked 
May-August, 1919 HMS New Zealand seen during the Dominion Tour with Admiral Sir John Jellicoe embarked 
HMS New Zealand in Sydney Harbour 1 June 1919 
HMS New Zealand berthed at Outer Harbor, South Australia, 27 May 1919 
HMS New Zealand at Lyttelton Harbour 
HMS New Zealand at Adelaide 25 May 1919 
HMS New Zealand in dry dock Australia June 1919 
The remains of HMS New Zealand, 1924
