The Government remained committed to a compact multi-purpose navy, and calculated that a core operational force of three ships would be the minimum necessary force. These ships were to be the Leander-class frigates HMNZS Waikato and HMNZS Canterbury (commissioned in 1966 and 1971 respectively), and the older Type 12 frigate HMNZS Otago. The fourth existing frigate at the time, HMNZS Taranaki (a type 12), was to undertake the roles of resource protection and basic sea training. There was some concern though about the sort of vessel that would ultimately replace the Otago and how and when that replacement should happen. In May 1979 a project review team, led by Commander Somerford Teagle, examined a wide range of vessels. One of these, an American frigate, would have met every requirement set out in the Defence White Paper, but even in 1979 it was priced at NZ$400 million, and therefore ruled out. Consideration was then given to purchasing rejuvenated British frigates at a cost of NZ$44 million each, before plans were submitted for the possible conversion of Taranaki, Waikato and Canterbury late in 1979.
A decision on frigate replacements was expected to have been made before the end of 1979, but was deferred in February 1980, with a request from the Government to the Ministry of Defence to explore further options. Later that year the Government decided not to replace the ageing Otago, rejecting the RNZN’s replacement proposals for the second time in a year.
It was the British defence review of 1981 which allowed the possibility of a ‘bargain buy’ which helped resolve the issue for at least a decade. The decision was made to purchase two Leander-class frigates, HMS Dido and HMS Bacchante, which dated from the early 1960s. This allowed the naval combat force to remain with a core of four operational vessels, albeit with oil-fired boiler power. The Minister of Defence, David Thomson, commenting upon the purchase said: ‘In the existing financial circumstances it was plainly necessary to seize any opportunity to acquire effective operational part-life vessels as an alternative to the purchase of a new ship.’[4] Whilst there was concern expressed that this would lead to the RNZN facing block obsolescence in the early 1990s, the Government nevertheless concluded a deal in October 1981. Bacchante was transferred to New Zealand in October 1982 and renamed HMNZS Wellington, but did not enter service until mid-1986. Dido was refitted in Southampton and transferred to New Zealand as HMNZS Southland in December 1983.
