By early 1940 it was obvious that the area at PHILOMEL was too small to be both a base and a training establishment, and the need to find a new training facility was underlined on 9 September, when the Admiralty asked New Zealand to step up its rate of training. On 11 December, the Cabinet approved the use of the old quarantine station on Motuihe Island in the Hauraki Gulf. A month later, on 14 January 1041, it was commissioned as HMS TAMAKI. Before the end of the war 6000 men passed out of TAMAKI or 'the rock', as it was irreverently known.
For some years following the Second World War advanced training continued to be done overseas, either in Britain or Australia. Gradually the facilities were established for this training in New Zealand and now all, except certain specialist courses, are undertaken in this country. The opening of the Maritime Warfare Training Centre in 1995 enabled the Navy to consolidate its operations training, while the Bridge Simulator building, opened during 2000, has improved training for bridge personnel and reduced the pressure on sea training.
Training people continues to be a key function of the Navy. The wartime establishment at Motuihe Island was in need of major refurbishment by the 1960s, but when the costs were reviewed, the Government directed that TAMAKI be relocated to an under-utilized Army facility at Narrow Neck, Devonport. The basic training of personnel began there in 1965 and continued until 1995. That year, a rationalisation of real estate resulted in the relocation of new entry training to Shoal Bay on the northern boundary of the Naval Base. However officer training, first begun in New Zealand in 1966, remains at Narrow Neck, along with some technical training workshops.
[Some references taken from Howard G. Portrait of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Grantham House Publishing,1991]
The museum has a collection of oral histories relating to Training.