New Zealand Defence Stores Department

Defence Stores Department
Active	1862–1917
Country	New Zealand
Branch	New Zealand Army
Role	Supply of equipment, small arms and all stores required for the Defence Force
Garrison/HQ	Alexandra Military Depot, Mount Cook, Wellington
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lieutenant Colonel Edward Gorton (1869–1878) Captain Sam Anderson (1878–1899) Major James O'Sullivan (1899–1916) Captain T McCristell (1916–1917)

The Defence Stores Department was a department of the New Zealand Defence Department responsible for the purchase, receipt, issue and repair of stores, initially for the Armed Constabulary and then the Permanent and Volunteer Forces of New Zealand from 1862 to 1917.

Governor Hobson established the position of Colonial Storekeeper in 1840 to manage the purchase of good on behalf of the new colonial Government, which included the purchase and distribution of arms and accoutrements to the locally raised militias. The first Colonial Storekeeper was Henry Tucker, who by December 1842 had the following stocks for the local Militas in store:

In late 1843 the Colonial Secretary of New Zealand deemed the position of Colonial Storekeeper as unnecessary and the position was to be cancelled. Stocks were either handed back to the British Ordnance Office or to the Superintendent of Public Works, and all expenditure on the Militias was placed the control of the Colonial Secretary.

Records show that between 1844–56 the position of Colonial Storekeeper was intermittently filled, and not permanently filled until 11 October 1856 when John Mitchell was appointed as the Colonial Storekeeper by the Colonial Secretary.

With the Colonial Defence Act of 1862 authorising the formation of the first Regular Force in New Zealand, and by 1866 the Colonial Storekeepers office had a permanent staff of Eight:

Captain Mitchel resigned his position on 5 July 1869 and was replaced by Major William St Clair Tisdall, who assumed the position as acting colonial Store Keeper.

The Colonial Defence Force ceased to exist on the passing of the Armed Constabulary Act of 1867, Continuity was preserved because many members of the one transferred to the other and there was little change in the responsibility's of the Stores Department apart from a change in names. The new force, under a Commandant (equivalent to a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Militia), combined military with police functions but were still separated from the Volunteer forces who were still supported by the Stores Department.

To support Imperial Troops and attached colonial units whilst on operations in the early years of the New Zealand Colony, Military Stores Depots were established by the British Army, Military Stores Department during 1856 at:

In 1866 Military Establishments were moved from Auckland to Wellington, this included the Military Stores Departments Depot at Fort Britomart.

With the withdrawal of Imperial Forces completed by July 1870, full responsibility for defence matters handed over to the New Zealand Armed Constabulary whose Stores Department assumed store-keeping responsibility for all Armed Constabulary unit and Volunteer units.

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