Compulsory military training (CMT), a form of conscription, was practised for males in New Zealand between 1909 and 1972. Military training in New Zealand had been voluntary before then and has been ever since.
Origins Colonial era Calls for the military training of settlers began in the colony's earliest days.Editorial, New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume 14, Issue 70, 14 August 1841, p. 2 The concern was that settlers were not used to firearms, which could result in their inability to defend themselves if the need arose. Debate continued until 1843, when a militia was formed in Wellington, without the Governor's authorisation,Port Nicholson, Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume II, 2 September 1843, Page 311. which prompted the Governor to send troops to Wellington to disperse the militia.
There was further debate, and in March 1845, the Militia Ordinance 1845 was passed by the legislature and enabled the Governor to form a militia when required. Training would be implemented only when the militia was needed. The ordinance required: Every man except as hereinafter excepted, between the ages of (18) years and (60) years, being a British subject, and not an aboriginal native, who shall reside within the colony, shall be liable to serve in such militia.... Those exempted under clause 7 were "Judges of the Supreme Court, all members of the Legislative Council, all clergymen, priests, ministers of religion, and catechists". In addition under Clause 9 the Police Magistrate shall have power, after hearing such objections, to strike out of the said list the names of all persons who shall not be liable to serve as militiamen, and also of such as are afflicted by lunacy or unsoundness of mind, or deafness, blindness, lameness, or by any other disorder that may render them unfit for active service in any such militia...".
The first significant use of this legislation was at New Plymouth in 1858, when 400 residents were called up.Gazette, Taranaki Herald, Volume VI, Issue 289, 13 February 1858, p. 1 On 28 May 1858, the Militia Act 1858 replaced the ordinance, but retained the same provisions as the above clauses. Monetary penalties were introduced for not complying with the call-up.
As a result of the land wars commencing in the early 1860s, the Act was replaced in 1865 by the Militia Act 1865. The new Act changed the requirement to register by reducing the maximum age from 60 to 55 and by including all males who had resided in New Zealand for more than three months. The list of exempted professions was expanded, with the militia being classified into three levels of priority, ranging from unmarried men and widowers without children, between eighteen and forty years of age; widowers with children, and married men, between 18 and 41 years of age, unmarried men who could prove that female relatives were dependent upon them for their support; and men between 40 and 55 years of age. Penalties for failing to comply with the Act became considerably tougher, with reference to penalties under Imperial legislation.
The 1865 Act was repealed and replaced by the Militia Act 1870. The exempted professions were slightly amended, the starting age was lowered from 18 to 17 and the classifications for levels of priority changed to solely age groups: 17 to 30 years, 30 to 40 years and 40 to 55 years. Penalties in the Act remained mainly fines.
Russian scare to World War I With the Russian scare of the 1880s, the Militia Act was repealed, and the Defence Act 1886 set up a permanent military force. The changes relating to the militia expanded those liable for service to include Maori, slightly revised the exempted professions and revised the priority classifications by making those married and aged either 17 to 30 or 30 to 40 one step lower priority than those who were single.
In the late 1880s, people such as Lord Wolseley in England and reported in New Zealand, began to make calls for the universal compulsory military training of young men.Lord Wolseley on Conscription, Evening Post| volume=XXXVII| issue=90, 16 April 1889, Page 4 Switzerland was held up as an example of the success of such a system.The Swiss army, Otago Daily Times| issue=8705, 18 January 1890, Page 6 Debate quietened down until the Second Boer War, when the issue again began to be raised in the press.Conscription, Star| issue=6842, 9 July 1900, Page 2 In 1903 to 1904, a Royal Commission considered New Zealand's defence needs and concluded that all able-bodied males should be trained in the use of arms.Compulsory military training, Auckland Star| volume=XXXV| issue=128, 30 May 1904, Page 4
In 1905, the Australasian National Defence League was formed in Australia, with the intent to introduce universal compulsory military training for youths and men on the Swiss system. The proposal differed from the earlier militia in that training was to be organised permanently rather than just when required. The Australian move was widely reported in New Zealand at the time.Volunteer and Defence Notes, Auckland Star| volume=XXXVI| issue=255, 25 October 1905, Page 10 In 1906, the National Defence of New Zealand organisation was set up with similar objectives. The organisation advocated the compulsory training of all boys and youths up to the age of 21.National Defence League, Auckland Star| volume=XXXVII| issue=203, 25 August 1906, Page 6 By 1907, Australia had begun to move towards compulsory military training despite opposition from trade unions, socialist parties and others.The Militia, Wanganui Herald| volume=XXXXI| issue=12287, 3 October 1907, Page 5Trades Union Congress, Star | issue=9028, 7 September 1907, Page 7Famous Labour leader, Auckland Star| volume=XXXVIII| issue=305, 23 December 1907, Page 5 Legislation was introduced into the Australian Parliament in September 1908.A Defence Bill, Press| volume=LXIV| issue=13235, 1 October 1908, Page 7 During the New Zealand 1908 election campaign, Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward stated that he was against forcing compulsory military training on the populace.Government Policy Speech, Taranaki Daily News| volume=LI| issue=255, 21 October 1908, Page 3
Introduction of universal compulsory military training Defence Act 1909 Ward appears to have changed his mind because in April 1909, he announced that the government intended to introduce compulsory military training for youths up to 21 years old. There was some sporadic opposition to the idea, but that was very definitely a minority view. In Wellington, there was quite pronounced opposition from socialists. The Society of Friends raised the issue of conscientious objectors with Ward.
The Defence Act 1909, Section 35, brought in a general training requirement for males 12 to 14 years old (Junior Cadets), 14 to 18 (Senior Cadets), 18 to 21 (General Training Section), and 21 to 30 (the Reserve). There was exemption for religious conscientious objectors under Section 92 of the Act but only subject to performing non-combatant duties within the military. Failure to comply with the Act could result in fines and potentially imprisonment for those who did not pay them. The Act also introduced a range of new offences, a number of which were aimed at the behaviour of those being trained.Defence Act 1909 The Defence Amendment Act 1912 repealed Section 35 (a) and thereby removed the requirement for those aged up to 14 years old to be trained.
There continued to be mixed opposition to the Act, such as Methodists seeking a broader conscientious objection clause and the Tinsmiths and Sheetmetal Workers Union seeking removal of the compulsory requirements. Anti-militarists, such as Reginald Williams of the Passive Resisters Union, and the National Peace Council also spoke out against compulsory training. They were all very much in the minority of public opinion since conscientious objectors were generally perceived as shirkers. Political opposition to the measures came from the socialists and Federation of Labour.
World War I
Public opinion had tended to harden against conscientious objectors as World War I approached, as the derisive term "conchies" emerged. Alternative service suggested by the government was generally rejected by the public in favour of punishment and imprisonment.Parliament, Evening Post| volume=LXXXVIII| issue=68, 17 September 1914, Page 8 In 1915 Britain began to move towards conscription,Hint of conscription, Evening Post| volume=LXXXIX| issue=03, 5 January 1915, Page 7 but New Zealand thought the need unlikely.Will conscription come?, Free Lance| volume=XV| issue=758, 9 January 1915, Page 8 By early 1916, Great Britain had introduced conscription, and debate in New Zealand papers was generally overwhelmingly in favour of following suit. Those opposing it were considered unpatriotic and shirkers by the general public. However, it is hard to tell what public opinion truly was, as sedition charges were laid against those who expressed a contrary view and deserters and their employers were pursued and given harsh punishments. That attitude was reflected with the introduction of conscription in 1916 in the Military Service Act 1916, which from 16 September 1916 imposed a liability on all men from the 20th birthday up to the day before the 46th birthday to be entered in a ballot for military call-up.'Military Service Act 1916', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/military-service-act-1916, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 29 July 2014
The only grounds for conscientious objection were:
That he was on the fourth day of August, nineteen hundred and fourteen, and has since continuously been a member of a religious body the tenets and doctrines of which religious body declare the bearing of arms and the performance of any combatant service to be contrary to Divine revelation, and also that according to his own conscientious religious belief the bearing of arms and the performance of any combatant service is unlawful by reason of being contrary to Divine revelation.Section 18(e)
That was a considerable contraction of the exemption under the Defence Amendment Act 1912, which had allowed under Section 65(2):
On the application of any person a Magistrate may grant to the applicant a certificate of exemption from military training and service if the Magistrate is satisfied that the applicant objects in good faith to such training and service on the ground that it is contrary to his religious belief.
Only Christadelphians, Seventh-day Adventists and Quakers were recognised as conscientious objectors under the 1916 legislation. The combined number of males within those religions was only about 1,200.1911 Census figures Only 20 to 30 of them were exempted military service.The Home Front Vol 1, Nancy Taylor, New Zealand Government Print, 1986, page 244,
The only political opposition to conscription in Parliament came from five members of parliament and trade unions.Anti-militarists meeting, Evening Post| volume=XCI| issue=131, 3 June 1916, Page 7 Five Labour Party members (Fraser, Semple, Armstrong, O'Brien, and Webb) were imprisoned for their opposition to conscription.
Of the 124,211 New Zealand men who served during World War I, 91,941 were volunteers and 32,270 were conscripts.New Zealand Official Statistics Yearbook 1919
Number of compulsory military trainees during war Year Territorials Senior Cadets General training Rifle clubs 1911–12 22,614 – – – 1912–13 23,919 24,770 1,370 4,003 1913–14 25,902 25,332 3,729 2,577 1914–15 29,447 26,446 2,075 8,770 1915–16 26,839 27,063 3,437 7,928 1916–17 22,174 29,832 – 7,975 1917–18 22,933 30,668 – 7,252 1918–19 25,626 31,109 – 6,354
Prosecutions