Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps The Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps was formed in 1846 , following the conclusion of the Northern War against Hone Heke . The Governor , George Grey , had requested military forces for the defence of the early settlers in New Zealand , instead of supplying regular military forces the British Parliament approved the creation of the Corps . The conditions for enlistment were being under 48 years of age and with a minimum of 15 years of military service . The soldiers had to be of good character . Nearly all had extensive military action in India and Afghanistan . Most were married with several children . The conditions were posted at regiments throughout the British Isles . Pay was 6 pence to 1 shilling and 3 pence a day in addition to their pension . The Commandant ( Major Kenny ) was paid £300 ; each officer was given a house and of land The pensioners were to be provided with a prefabricated fencibles cottage of 2 rooms , on an acre of land . One of the few remaining cottages , albeit in an altered form , is on its original site at 34 Abercrombie St , Howick . This cottage was built with the help of Maori labour for Henry and Elizabeth Rowe and their surviving 3 children in 1848 , after they arrived in the " Sir George Seymour " in November 1847 . After 7 years the cottage and land would become their own property in exchange for the pensioner attending military exercises 12 days a year . Ten ships brought 721 pensioner soldiers and their families , totalling over 2 , 500 people , between the years 1847 and 1852 . The ships were Ann , Berhampore , Berwick Castle , Clifton , Inchannan , Minerva , Sir George Seymour and Sir Robert Sale . The average age of the men was about 40 . They settled in the Auckland suburbs of Howick , Onehunga , Otahuhu and Panmure . At Howick a redoubt was built on a prominent hill at the north end of the village ' s main street . The position , with its associated earth works , is still there . In the 1849 census one third of Auckland ' s population were fencibles . About half were Anglican and half Catholic . Apart from working on their own plots most men were engaged in building roads between the fencible settlements . The material used for road building was scoria from volcanic cones at Pidgeon Mountain ( then called Pidgeon Tree Hill ) , Mt Richmond and Mt Wellington . They were first called to action in 1851 when a large party of about 350 - 450 Ngati Paoa from the Thames and Waikehe Island areas arrived at Mechanics Bay Auckland in about 20 waka to attack the city . A British regiment at Albert Park Barracks was called out to the hill overlooking the bay . It was reinforced by fencibles who had come from Onehunga , the closest fencible town . Fencibles at Howick and Panmure were stood to in case of further trouble . The frigate HMS Fly trained its guns on the Maori war party from offshore . The cause of the aggression was the arrest of a Ngati Paoa Chief who had stolen a shift from a shop in Shortland St . The situation was defused when the attackers were given tobacco and blankets . Later Ngati Paoa sent a greenstone mere ( club ) to the governor . A group of 121 Ngati Mahuta under the great Waikato chief Te Wherowhero were also bought to South Auckland to defend the capital . They were given land at Mangere in 1849 . They supplied their own arms but had British officers . During the 1863 war about 75 military pensioners and their sons served in the Auckland Militia to defend Auckland .