page_title: 1947 Royal New Zealand Navy mutinies
section_title: Philomel, Black Prince, and Arbutus
hierarchical_section_title: 1947 Royal New Zealand Navy mutinies / Mutinies / Philomel, Black Prince, and Arbutus
caption_attribution_description: Photograph of British light cruiser HMS Black Prince, under tow on the Tyne.
context_page_description: During April 1947, the Royal New Zealand Navy experienced a series of non-violent mutinies amongst the enlisted sailors of four ships and two shore bases. Over 20% of the RNZN's enlisted personnel were punished or discharged for their involvement. The main cause was the poor rates of pay compared to the rest of the New Zealand Defence Force and equivalent civilian wages, exacerbated by the release of a long overdue government review which failed to address the issue. Sailors saw the new pay rates as still inferior to the other branches of the military, with the increases being consumed by taxes, inflation, and the cancellation of allowances and benefits. The poor living and working conditions aboard RNZN ships was another issue, compounded by sailors having no effective way to make dissatisfaction known to the higher ranks. Dissatisfaction with peacetime duties and opportunities also contributed, with many sailors locked into enlistment periods of up to 12 years, and demobilisation efforts prioritising those enlisted specifically for the duration of World War II.
  On April 1, around 100 sailors from the shore base HMNZS Philomel, in Devonport, declared their intent to refuse duty.
context_section_description: At the time of the mutiny, Black Prince was docked at the shore base HMNZS Philomel, in Devonport. The cruiser was undergoing a refit, which impacted on the ability of her personnel to live and work. The most extreme example was the closure of the ship's heads, which coincided with a bout of dysentery: in order to leave the ship and use the toilets ashore, a sailor required express permission from his supervisor, and when one man headed ashore without permission, he received seven days punishment.
  Arbutus was secured alongside Black Prince, having just returned from a two-month show the flag cruise around the Pacific Islands. The deployment had seen several incidents, the first of which occurred while the ship was docked in Tahiti; sailors who were meant to be guarding the ship became drunk, after which a crowd of Tahitians attempted to board the ship and remove equipment. On departure, the corvette sailed into a heavy storm, which lasted for several days. Waves breaking over the bow rendered the bridge unusable, and many aboard—including the ship's cat, for the first and only time in its life—were seasick. Water contamination of the fuel oil taken on in Tahiti damaged the propulsion machinery, further adding to the problems. When Arbutus finally limped into port, the ship's company were informed that they would only remain at Philomel long enough to take on aviation fuel and supplies to be delivered to the Cook Islands.
  During Monday 31 March, there were spontaneous gatherings of sailors, during which they discovered the pay review, shipboard conditions, and the ineffectiveness of the lower-deck committees. Rumours were being spread that an announcement on pay rates would come the following day, but they would not be backdated as promised. Most came to the conclusion that the only way to bring attention to these issues was to mutiny in protest.
caption: Black Prince in 1944, during the ship's earlier Royal Navy career
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