1858
- George Beddoes establishes a shipbuilding year under North Head
1859
- Creation of the Australian Station by the Royal Navy – includes New Zealand and the Pacific Islands within the British Empire.
1860
- A Naval Artillery Volunteer Corps with responsibility for harbour defence was established.
1867
- The New Zealand Torpedo Corps formed No. 2 Company of the Permanent Militia. With the responsibility for construction and maintenance of harbour mine defences.
1871
- Captain Hutton Suggests using mines in the defence of Auckland
1878
- First of the ‘Russian Scares’
1883
- All Naval Volunteers change their names to Naval Artillery Volunteers.
1884
- Sir William Jervois recommends that
“A field of submarine mines should be laid across the harbour in the most convenient situation to prevent the enemy running at full speed past the batteries and up the harbour to a position out of range of our guns when he could fire into Auckland”
- Torpedo Boat Units are formed at Devonport, Wellington, Lyttelton and Port Charmers – first formed as the Torpedo Branch of the Armed Constabulary
1885
- The second ‘Russian Scare’ – New Zealand fears being occupied by the Imperial Russian fleet without sufficient protection from the Royal Navy
- A plan is made to lay mines in a line between the Admiralty Reserve(now Windsor Reserve) in Devonport and Point Resolution
- Four Thorneycroft Torpedo Boats are in service by 30 June
- No. 168 Defender at Lyttelton
- No. 169 Taiaroa at Port Charmers
- No. 170 Waitemata at Devonport
- No. 171 Poneke at Wellington
Defender and Taiaroa were equipped only with the spar device while the vessels at Wellington and Auckland were also equipped with the Whitehead torpedo
1885-1887
- A small area of land is purchased close to the south west face of North Head
- Colonel Tudor Boddam designs and beings to the construction of a submarine mining station and base at Torpedo Bay
- some reclamation is carried out and a small jetty and sheds are constructed
- A launching ramp and boat shed was built next to the Auckland Naval Volunteers barracks at the Admiralty Reserve to house one of the harbour defence spar torpedo boats
- in 1887 the title of Torpedo Corps is gazetted as part of the permanent Militia
1888
- It is decided that the mine field will run south-east from the south side of North Head to the reef off Bastion Point – this is the shortest distance and the shallowest point
1891
- The Public Works Act had to be invoked for the Government to purchase extra land of an reluctant owner
- By the end of 1891 the station consists pf a general store, a blacksmith’s shop, offices, a Whitehead torpedo store, and sleeping quarters
- The mine cable store contains 3,200 fathoms (5800 metres) of cable – however the station does not have a suitable vessel to lay the cable in the harbour
- However, these additions were considered inadequate for the maintenance of the mines – for example, the jetty could only be used at high tide, the main barracks are some distance away, and the torpedo boat shed is at Windsor Reserve. Therefore the Defence Engineer Bell put forward a number of improvements
- The depot at Biddick’s Bay is abandoned because it is too exposed to heavy weather and vulnerable to enemy fire. The material from the abandoned site is used to construct the new buildings at Torpedo Bay
1896
- The government approves the expansion of Torpedo Bay
1897
- Work began on the suggested improvements.
- A large section of land was reclaimed
- new barracks were built and a stores for the mines and cables
- a test room, connecting up shed, laboratory and officers were constructed
- the jetty was extended so it could be used at all times
- a boat shed is also completed
- work began on the construction of a brick and concrete observation post to control the detonation of the mines once they were deployed – this was finished in 1900
1902
- A specialist mining launch Lady Roberts is purchased as well as a minelayer Nile as a defence launch
- The Torpedo boats are taken out of service and the Torpedo Corps is disbanded.
1904
- The minefield is in operational state with up to three line of electrically operated contact mines able to be laid
- The Submarine Mining Establishment at Torpedo Bay is described as “most complete”.
- the establishment at this time consists of:
- barracks
- offices
- workshops
- a casemated test room for the mines in the cliff face
- primer pits
- mine stores, hydraulic testing rooms
- freshwater cable tanks
- connecting up shed
- complete tramway system to move the mines
1904-1905
- The Russo-Japanese War – the total defeat of the Russian Navy in the Pacific and the destruction of their Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905 ended any naval threat to New Zealand by Russia.
1907
- While the mine deployment was tested after the work of 1897-1900, the minefield was never fully deployed
- There was concern that it could never be adequately maintained because of a lack of trained men and vessels
- Therefore the submarine mining programme was abandoned
- All equipment that was salvable was disposed of
- The Lady Roberts is sent to Dunedin
- The mining cable is used as telephone cable in Auckland
1913
- new tramway rails are laid as the existing lines are unserviceable
1914-1918 First World War
- The yard was used as accommodation and some of the buildings converted into detention cells
- Count Felix von Luckner held in a cell for one night after his recapture after escaping from Motuihe Island in 1917
1920s
- The wharf is rebuilt and buildings refurbished
- A new floor was poured in the connecting up shed
- Used for stores for the Army and unloading ammunition for North Head
- The Pilot Launch for the Auckland Harbour Board was berthed there
- The RN (NZ Division) used it as storage for naval ammunition
- In 1926 the main building was refurbished as a drill hall
1930s
- The last of the mines and guncotton are disposed of
- In 1934 the wharf had further repairs made
1939-1945 Second World War
- The yard remained in use by the Army as a store
- The Army launch Bombardier was based there and sued to supply personnel and stores to and from the various islands
1947-1948
- further repair work is carried out on the slipway and wharf by the Auckland Harbour Board
1958
- The site was officially handed over to the RNZN
1963
- With the relocation of HMNZS Tamaki to Narrow Neck from Motuihe Island the sail training whalers are moored at the wharf at Torpedo Bay
1960-2008
- Was used for the Sea Cadets and the RNZN Sailing Club
- Was also used by the RNZN Band but who have relocated to Narrow Neck
2009 –
- Construction project for the new Navy Museum begins in October