NZ Naval Bases/Dockyards – HMNZS Toroa – Naval Reserve training base, Dunedin

HMNZS Toroa is the Royal New Zealand Navy reserve unit located in Dunedin, New Zealand, at St Andrew Street, and is part of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve. 

HMNZS Moa (P3553) was a Moa-class inshore patrol vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was commissioned in 1983 for the Naval Volunteer Reserve and decommissioned in 2007. She was attached to HMNZS Toroa

Moa was the second ship of this name to serve in the Royal New Zealand Navy and was named after the Moa bird from New Zealand.

After she was decommissioned in January 2007, she was sold on in March to a Picton builder who renamed the vessel Flightless. On Friday 20 June 2008 the vessel, moored at anchor on the eastern side of Waikawa Bay, Picton, was struck by a commercial fishing boat, with the loss of two lives aboard the fishing boat.^[1] After an extensive refit Flightless is now owned by Pure Salt Ltd and operates as an expedition vessel, providing adventure charters in Fiordland & Stewart Island.

HMNZS Moa

HMNZS Moa

Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

• Location:HMNZS Toroa is based in Dunedin, specifically at St Andrew Street. 
• Type:It’s a Royal New Zealand Navy reserve unit, part of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve. 
• History:The Otago Division of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, which later became HMNZS Toroa, was established in 1928. 
• Relocation Plans:HMNZS Toroa, along with the Kensington Army Hall and the NZDF careers office, is part of a plan to relocate to a new facility at Cumberland St (previously Farmlands) in Dunedin. 
• New Facility:The new facility will combine the Dunedin-based military facilities into one building. 
• Purpose of New Facility:The new facility will include new offices, training areas, kitchen and dining facilities, military vehicle storage, historical storage and display, and a parade area. 
• Earthquake-prone:Both the HMNZS Toroa location and the Kensington Army Hall have been assessed as earthquake-prone, prompting the relocation. 
• Other Reserve Units:The Navy has four Reserve units based in different parts of Aotearoa: HMNZS Toroa (Dunedin), HMNZS Pegasus (Christchurch), HMNZS Olphert (Wellington), and HMNZS Ngapona (Auckland with a sub-branch in Tauranga). 
• NZDF consolidates Dunedin-based military facilities in one building
  The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) will move its three separate Dunedin-based facilities into one combined regional location.
  
  
  
  
  21 July, 2023
  Over the next 18 months, the Royal New Zealand Navy Reserve Unit, New Zealand Army Reserve Units based in Kensington Army Hall, and the Defence Careers office, will re-locate to a new Defence Facility on Cumberland Street (previously Farmlands).
  The two NZDF-owned properties – Kensington Army Hall in Bridgman Street and HMNZS Toroa in St Andrew Street – have both been assessed by Dunedin City Council as being earthquake-prone.
  The Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies, said that while remedial work had been done in recent years, parts of the buildings had to be isolated from routine use to ensure staff safety.
  “Remedial actions have mitigated the risk associated with the buildings, but they were never intended to provide a long-term solution to the structural issues in buildings of this age,” he said.
  
  
  
  The former Farmlands building on Cumberland Street is destined to become the home of three NZDF units which are currently in separate Dunedin locations
  The Kensington Army Hall was built in 1915, while the Otago Division of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (later to be commissioned HMNZS Toroa) was established in 1928 and shared the Army Hall before moving to its current site in the central city in 1948.  
  “Co-locating our various Dunedin facilities into an engineer-approved, fit-for-purpose building will not only provide a safe working environment but there will be real benefits that come from integrating our 150-plus Otago-based permanent and Reserve NZDF personnel into the one location,” Air Vice-Marshal Davies said.
  The NZDF took possession of the yet-to-be-named Cumberland Street building last month and work will now commence on the internal design, alteration and fit-out to meet each unit’s specific requirements.
  It is anticipated that this work will be complete in the latter part of next year with the potential for some units to be able to move in earlier than that.
  In line with government requirements, the vacated NZDF-owned buildings in Bridgman Street and St Andrews Street will be disposed of in accordance with the Public Works Act.

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