New Zealand Naval Memorial, Devonport, Auckland
- Country New Zealand
- Total identified casualties 352 Find these casualties
- Region Auckland City
- Identified casualties from Second World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: -36.83053, Longitude: 174.78981
Location information
The New Zealand Naval Memorial stands at the Devonport Naval Base, H.M.N.Z.S. Philomel, within sight of the main gates and in front of the chapel of St. Christopher.
History information
The memorial commemorates 352 officers and men of the Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve and the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve who died in all parts of the world during the Second World War and who have no known grave; the greater part lost their lives at sea, but some died in captivity at the hands of the Japanese. Nearly half of those commemorated went down with H.M.S. Neptune in 1941.
The memorial wall bears the names of the war dead arranged in three groups. Above the names is the following inscription: ROYAL NEW ZEALAND NAVY THOSE WHOSE NAMES ARE HONOURED HERE DIED SERVING THEIR COUNTRY AND THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM AND HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE and underneath the names are the dates 1939 - 1945.
The original memorial wall, which was unveiled in 1956, was constructed from white marble faced with etched bronze panels. Some years later, having become badly weathered, it was reconstructed in black granite. A rededication ceremony was held in 2002.