The Wellington West Coast Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment of the New Zealand Military Forces. The regiment traced its origins to the Wanganui Rifle Volunteers, a volunteer corps formed in 1860. The volunteer corps provided men to the New Zealand contingents sent to South Africa during the Second Boer War and in 1911 became the 7th (Wellington West Coast) Regiment. During the First World War, the regiment provided a company to each of the battalions of the Wellington Infantry Regiment, which saw combat at Galipolli and on the Western Front. After the war the regiment was renamed the Wellington West Coast Regiment and remained in New Zealand for home defence during the Second World War. Men from the regiment, however, served with the 19th, 22nd, 25th and 36th Battalions of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. In 1948, the Wellington West Coast Regiment was amalgamated with the Taranaki Regiment and became the Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment.
History
Volunteer Period
The No. 1 company of the Wanganui Rifle Volunteers was formed on 2 July 1860 and the no.2 company was formed the following day. The difference in formation date lead to arguments about seniority and in attempt the to partially resolve the issue the numerical designations were removed. The no.1 and No.2 companies were then retitled as the Victoria (after Queen Victoria) and Grey (after Governor Grey) companies respectively. The Colonial Defence Act 1862 required all volunteer units to disband and re-enlist. The minimum enlistment of 40 men per company could not be achieved and so men from the Grey company were merged into the Victoria Company. Over the course of the 1860s 14 different rifle corps were formed in the Wellington West coast Region; nine in the Wanganui District and five in the Rangitikei District. Most of these were short lived and were soon disbanded. The Victoria Company was disbanded in 1870, Although the Wanganui Rifle Volunteers were reformed that same year. The longest continuously serving corps was the Royal Rangitikei Rifle Volunteers, which was formed in 1865 and would ultimately become part of the future 7th Regiment.
In 1886 the Wanganui Rifles, Royal Rangitikei Rifles along and numerous other volunteers corps, were formed into the West Coast (North Island) Battalion of Rifle Volunteers. The battalion and some of its constituent volunteer corps were disbanded in 1889. The battalion organisation returned in 1898, but was titled 2nd Battalion Wellington (West Coast) Rifle Volunteers. Men from Wellington West Coast Battalion served in South Africa during the Second Boer War as part of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Contingents. The Battalion was subsequently awarded the battle honour "South Africa 1900-1902".
The Defence Act 1909 introduced a system of compulsory military training and replaced the Volunteer Force with the Territorial Force. As part of the reform, the 2nd Battalion Wellington (West Coast) Rifle Volunteers was redesignated as the 7th Regiment (Wellington West Coast Rifles). In 1913 the word "Rifles" was dropped from the title so that the Regiment could be authorised to carry colours (rifle regiments do not carry colours). The regiment was then known as the 7th (Wellington West Coast) Regiment.
First World War
At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, the decision was made to form a New Zealand infantry brigade of four battalions from the existing territorial regiments. Men from the 7th (Wellington West Coast) Regiment formed the 7th (Wellington West Coast) Company of the Wellington Battalion, which saw service during the Gallipoli Campaign. Following the evacuation from Gallipoli in 1916, the Battalion was expanded to a regiment of two battalions. The Wellington Infantry Regiment would see action on the western front, engaging in the battles of the Somme, Messines, Passchendaele, German Spring Offensive and the Hundred Days' Offensive. A third battalion was also raised in 1917, but was disbanded in 1918 due to manpower shortages. Both the 2nd and 3rd battalions were organised along the same lines as the 1st Battalion, each with their own 7th (Wellington West Coast) Company. The Wellington Infantry Regiment was disbanded at the end of the war.
Interbellum
In 1921, the New Zealand territorial regiments were reorganised into larger regiments, similar to those of the First World War, with the 7th (Wellington West Coast) Regiment becoming the 4th Battalion, Wellington Regiment. The amalgamations were short lived and in 1923, the previous organisation was reverted to, although the ordinals were dropped and the regiment became the Wellington West Coast Regiment.