On the morning of the 18 December 1915, men packed their kit-bags and gathered in ranks on the Avondale racecourse. They all wore the khaki uniform and the official hat, which is special to the Engineers, ornamented with the “puggaree,” a three-line headband: two khaki lines encircling a third blue one, and the New Zealand Engineers badge with the motto: “Quo fas et gloria ducunt – Where Duty and Glory Lead”.
The training was not yet over, and the men were not complete soldiers. Their formation was going to continue during the travel[1]. The Tunnellers walked to the port of Auckland where the Steam Ship Ruapehu was waiting for them. After putting their kit-bags on board, they were allowed to enjoy a meager lunch. Indeed, cooks were on strike to protest against the unbearable rhythm of military transport[2].
The Tunnellers had a very early breakfast, and the only meal they could now have was composed of old biscuits and cheese. So it was a hungry Company that went down to the quay and paraded through the town to the statue of Sir George Grey, located at the intersection of Queen Street and Grey's Avenue[3]. At that precise spot, James Allen, the Minister of Defence, and Christopher Parr, the Mayor of Auckland, delivered speeches in front of the troops and the population. But the Tunnellers only thought of their empty stomachs.
Then the Tunnellers started walking back to the port. On the way, families, friends, and people warmly encouraged them[4]. The night had already fallen when the Tunnellers were back on board. The men were happy to learn that the strike was over and everything was back to normal for the journey. The Ruapehu was about to start its long travel towards Europe, and it slowly sailed into the Pacific Ocean.
After the Cap Horn, the southern point of the American continent, the Ruapehu headed to the port of Montevideo in Uruguay to halt there on 8 January 1916. Uruguay being neutral, the New Zealand Tunnellers were not allowed to land there. The seamen of the Ruapehu were only authorized to load coal for the boat.
The ship next sailed from Montevideo to Dakar, in Senegal, on the western coast of Africa. Life on the Ruapehu was quiet, but a training programme was established from the beginning and followed until the end of the journey[5]. Every day, to keep in shape, the men had to do some gymnastics and muscle-development exercises on the deck. Cultural activities were also provided. When they crossed the Equator, most of the men enjoyed the famous Equator baptism.
In Dakar, Major Duigan succeeded in obtaining permission from the French authorities to disembark his Tunnellers and to walk with them in town as long as they did not cause any trouble. The Tunnellers had not disembarked for a month. They quickly showed friendliness by singing and entertaining the population[6]. The Senegalese soldiers welcomed them by striking up a vigorous “Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. Before re-embarking, the Tunnellers entertained the onlookers one last time by performing the traditional Māori war dance: the “haka.”
A 4.7 naval gun had been set up on the deck of the Ruapehu, and gunners were on board to shoot if necessary. Indeed, when leaving Dakar, the ship entered the war zone, and all the crew and men were informed to be prepared for all eventualities[7]. Some German submarines had been seen along the Moroccan and Portuguese coasts. They had already captured and sunk several Allied ships. But the end of the journey was uneventful, and the Ruapehu entered the port of Plymouth, in the south-west of England, on 3 February 1916.
The Company immediately disembarked. The Tunnellers were going to resume their military training in better conditions than on the deck of the Ruapehu. All the men were gathered on a train heading to Falmouth, where the population welcomed them with a banquet[8]. After the meal, the Company walked through the town to reach the camp of Hornwork, located on a headland and surrounded by the Castle of Pendennis.
Over the course of a month, the Tunnellers received very limited training in underground warfare. Their formation again consisted of learning how to shoot a gun, how to fight with a bayonet, and marching for hours[9]. On 7 March 1916, all the kit-bags were packed; the men were ready to embark for France. The population gathered for a heartfelt and emotional farewell. One officer and 69 men stayed in Falmouth as reinforcements, and were later transferred to the New Zealand Depot in Hornchurch.
The Company was transferred to Southampton and embarked on a ferry on 9 March at 5pm. The men spent a cold night on the Channel and reached Le Havre, in Normandy, at midnight. The New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company became the first New Zealand unit to join the Western Front.
In Le Havre, a group composed of one officer and 25 men left the Company and joined the Royal Engineers' camp stationed in Rouen as additional reinforcements. The unit took the train at 7am on 11 March and arrived the next day at 6:30am at the railway station of Tincques, in Pas-de-Calais. Until 14 March, the men were billeted in the barns of Chelers, a nearby village. They waited there for their transfer to the front line.
On 15 March, the New Zealand Tunnellers made their first steps in the trenches of the “Labyrinth” sector, located 3 miles north of Arras, between the villages of Écurie and Roclincourt. They relieved the French sappers of the 7/1 compagnie d’ingénieurs territoriaux[10]. After crossing the world, the Tunnellers were finally able to begin their secret mission.
1. Anthony Byledbal, Les Soldats fantômes de la Grande Guerre souterraine, 1915-1919. De l'Immigrant pākehā au vétéran oublié : les hommes de la New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Doctoral thesis, under the supervision of Sophie-Anne Leterrier (University of Artois) and in collaboration with Nathalie Philippe (University of Waikato), University of Artois, 2012, p. 197-227.
2. James Campbell Neill, The New Zealand Tunnelling Company, 1915-1919, Auckland, Whitcombe & Tombs, 1922, p. 10.
3. Ibid.
4. Evening Post, 20 December 1915, p. 2, “The Tunnelling Company marched through the streets yesterday. The appearance of the men made a very favourable impression upon the crowd in the street.”
5. Anthony Byledbal, Les Soldats fantômes de la Grande Guerre souterraine, op. cit., p. 1147-1153.
6. James Campbell Neill, The New Zealand Tunnelling Company..., op. cit., p. 14.
7. Ibid., p. 13, “From Monte Video she made a direct run to Dakar in French Senegambia to ship a 4.7 naval gun and gunners for defence from submarines”.
8. Ibid., p. 14, “a truly sumptuous repast … served by all the youth and beauty of that ancient town.”
9. Anthony Byledbal, Les Soldats fantômes de la Grande Guerre souterraine, op. cit., p. 258.
10. The National Archives United Kingdom, WO 95/407, War Diary of the New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, 15 March 1916.
Anthony Byledbal, “Journey To War“, New Zealand Tunnellers Website, NaN (2009), Accessed: . URL: www.
