New Zealand Tunnelling Company
A First World War New Zealand military engineering unit specialising in underground mining, tunnelling, shelters and battlefield infrastructure.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The New Zealand Tunnelling Company was a specialist engineering unit raised by New Zealand during the First World War for service with the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. Also described as the New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, it formed part of the wider Royal Engineers tunnelling organisation created to counter the extensive underground warfare conducted beneath the trenches. Its work combined offensive mining, counter-mining and the construction of underground infrastructure needed to protect and move troops in heavily shelled sectors. The unit emerged from the rapid development of subterranean warfare early in the war. By 1915, German forces were operating organised mining systems beneath their trench positions, while the British Army lacked sufficient specialist personnel and equipment for underground detection and counter-attack. The British government therefore encouraged the Dominions to raise tunnelling formations. New Zealand agreed on 17 September 1915, becoming the first Dominion to commit to creating such a unit. Recruitment was directed particularly toward miners and men with engineering or underground-work experience, although the finished formation also included medical, supply and pay personnel. Training began at Avondale Racecourse near Auckland on 11 October 1915. The company eventually comprised 16 engineering officers and 407 other ranks, supported by personnel from the New Zealand Medical Corps, New Zealand Army Service Corps and New Zealand Army Pay Corps. It departed Auckland aboard SS Ruapehu on 18 December 1915, reached Plymouth on 3 February 1916 after stops at Montevideo and Dakar, completed additional training in Britain and proceeded to France. The company reached Le Havre on 10 March 1916 and soon entered the line in northern France. Its first major assignment was in the Labyrinth sector between Roclincourt and Écurie, near Arras and Vimy. There it inherited an underground battlefield in which German and Allied miners sought to extend tunnels, place explosives beneath opposing trenches and prevent the enemy from doing the same. The New Zealanders undertook both defensive and offensive mining, including the firing of four mines beneath German positions on 5 May 1916. During the following months they expanded underground defences and conducted counter-mining in the Roclincourt-Chantecler area. The unit is especially associated with the underground preparations for the Battle of Arras in 1917. Beneath Arras, the Allies adapted a network of former chalk quarries, galleries and other underground spaces into a concealed military transport and shelter system. The New Zealanders worked in the Ronville and Saint-Sauveur areas, helping connect and equip the quarries with passages, lighting, water, kitchens, sanitation, communications infrastructure, tramways and medical facilities. New Zealand quarry sections were named after places including Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch, Russell and Dunedin. On 9 April 1917, the opening day of the Battle of Arras, the company opened assault tunnels and fired a large mine at Blagny. The wider system could shelter and move tens of thousands of soldiers while reducing exposure to German artillery. The work was hazardous. German tunnellers actively attempted to locate and destroy Allied galleries, while cave-ins, explosions, gas, flooding and shellfire created additional risks. At Carrière Wellington and related Arras operations, 41 members of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company were killed and 151 were wounded during counter-mining operations. Māori pioneers joined the unit in December 1916, adding 43 men from the Māori Pioneer Battalion to the Arras effort. After the Arras offensive, the company concentrated increasingly on deep dugouts and underground shelters rather than large offensive mines. It remained active around Arras during the German Spring Offensive of 1918, later worked on the Somme and participated in the Allied advance during the battles around Havrincourt. Its responsibilities broadened beyond tunnelling to include major bridging, road and railway restoration. In September and October 1918, it worked with the 565th (Wiltshire) Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers, to construct a large steel bridge over the Canal du Nord between Hermies and Havrincourt. The company subsequently helped restore crossings and communications routes near the Escaut, Selle and Ecaillon waterways. Following the Armistice on 11 November 1918, the unit remained in France during the early postwar period while demobilisation proceeded. It was ultimately disbanded as part of the winding down of New Zealand's wartime military formations. Its legacy is preserved particularly through the Arras underground system, now interpreted at the Carrière Wellington museum, and through the broader history of New Zealand military engineering on the Western Front.
History
The New Zealand Tunnelling Company was created in response to the growing importance of underground warfare on the Western Front. British and Dominion forces needed specialist miners to dig beneath enemy trenches, install explosive charges, detect hostile galleries and construct protected underground facilities. New Zealand accepted the British request to form a tunnelling unit on 17 September 1915, becoming the first Dominion to do so. Recruitment and training took place in New Zealand during the autumn of 1915. Specialist instruction began at Avondale Racecourse near Auckland on 11 October. The unit was organised around engineering personnel but also required medical, supply and administrative staff. Its complement totalled 446 personnel, including 16 engineering officers and 407 other ranks, together with attached medical, service and pay staff. The company sailed from Auckland on SS Ruapehu on 18 December 1915. After travelling via Montevideo and Dakar, it reached Plymouth on 3 February 1916, completed further preparation in Britain and moved to France. The company arrived at Le Havre on 10 March 1916 and entered the Western Front five days later. Its initial area was the Labyrinth sector between Roclincourt and Écurie, near Arras and Vimy. The position contained complex German underground works and became a setting for continuous mining and counter-mining. The company moved between nearby sectors as operational requirements changed. On 7 April 1916, German miners launched an underground attack against the New Zealanders. On 5 May, the New Zealand unit replied by firing four mines beneath German lines, its first recorded offensive underground operation. Through the summer and autumn it developed a defensive mining system around Roclincourt-Chantecler. In late 1916, the company was reassigned to work connected with the planned Battle of Arras. The Allies intended to exploit the chalk quarries beneath the town, linking them with new passages so that troops, ammunition and casualties could move without exposure to German fire. The New Zealanders explored the Ronville and Saint-Sauveur quarry systems and worked alongside other Royal Engineers tunnelling companies. On 9 December 1916, 43 members of the Māori Pioneer Battalion joined the company at Carrière Wellington. The Arras underground project combined military engineering with logistical planning. Existing quarries were connected by foot subways, tramways and other passages. The completed system incorporated electric lighting, running water, kitchens, latrines, a power station and a medical centre with an operating theatre. Sections were given names associated with New Zealand towns and cities, while other areas carried British names. By early April 1917 the electrical system had been installed and tested, and the tunnels were ready to support the offensive. On 9 April 1917, the first day of the Battle of Arras, the New Zealand Tunnelling Company opened three tunnels at the Saint-Sauveur end of the system. These enabled infantry to emerge close to the German positions. The unit also fired a 1,000-kilogram mine at Blagny at the start of the assault. The explosion destroyed German dugouts, trench and a concrete pillbox, although debris and shock temporarily hindered part of the attacking force. The underground work remained dangerous throughout the campaign. German sappers searched for Allied galleries and attempted to destroy them. Forty-one New Zealand tunnellers died and 151 were wounded during counter-mining operations associated with the Arras work. After the main Arras offensive, the company shifted toward construction of deep shelters beneath British positions. It worked east of Arras between Gavrelle and Roeux and continued underground construction into the winter. In 1918 it was present during the German Spring Offensive and undertook further shelter work around Arras. It then moved to Marieux on the Somme, where it built dugouts before ending that assignment in August. The company's later wartime role expanded into bridge construction and communications restoration. During the Battle of Havrincourt in September 1918, it joined the 565th (Wiltshire) Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers. Together they erected a large Hopkins steel bridge across the Canal du Nord between Hermies and Havrincourt. The bridge was opened to traffic on 2 October and completed on 5 October. In the final months of the war, the company helped re-establish roads and railways around crossings and damaged transport routes near the Escaut, Selle and Ecaillon waterways. After the Armistice, the company stayed in France while New Zealand's forces were demobilised. It was subsequently disbanded. Its best-known surviving association is with the Arras boves and Carrière Wellington, where its contribution forms part of the interpretation of First World War underground warfare and New Zealand military engineering.
- 1918
Canal du Nord bridge opened
[1]A major steel bridge constructed with the 565th (Wiltshire) Army Troops Company opened to traffic on 2 October.
- 1918
Armistice and demobilisation
[1]The company remained in France after the Armistice while New Zealand forces were demobilised and was subsequently disbanded.
- 1917
Arras tunnels support the offensive
[1]On 9 April, the company opened assault tunnels and fired the Blagny mine during the first day of the Battle of Arras.
- 1916
Arrival on the Western Front
[1]After arriving at Le Havre on 10 March, the company entered the Labyrinth sector near Arras and Vimy.
- 1916
First offensive mines
[1]The unit fired four mines beneath German lines on 5 May during operations around Roclincourt-Chantecler.
- 1916
Māori pioneers join the Arras work
[1]Forty-three men from the Māori Pioneer Battalion joined the company at Carrière Wellington on 9 December.
- 1915
New Zealand agrees to form a tunnelling unit
[1]New Zealand accepted the British request to raise a specialist Royal Engineer tunnelling company, becoming the first Dominion to agree to the proposal.
- 1915
Training begins at Avondale
[1]Specialist tunnellers began training at Avondale Racecourse near Auckland on 11 October.
- 1915
Unit sails for Europe
[1]The company left Auckland aboard SS Ruapehu on 18 December for service with the British Expeditionary Force.
Products and positioning
A specialist Dominion military engineering formation focused on underground warfare, battlefield protection and the construction or restoration of critical infrastructure.
Military engineering · 1916
Offensive and defensive mining
The company's central function was underground mining beneath opposing trench systems. It placed mines under enemy positions, maintained defensive galleries and conducted counter-mining to locate, disrupt or destroy German tunnels. These operations required quiet excavation, structural support, ventilation, explosive handling and close coordination with infantry attacks.
Underground military infrastructure · 1917
Arras underground system
At Carrière Wellington and adjoining quarry systems, the company helped convert existing underground spaces beneath Arras into a protected military network. The system included connecting tunnels, troop routes, tramways, electricity, water, sanitation, kitchens and medical facilities, allowing large numbers of soldiers and supplies to move toward the battlefield under cover.
Military engineering · 1917
Deep dugouts and battlefield shelters
After the main Arras offensive, the company concentrated on deep dugouts and underground chambers beneath British trench positions. These installations provided protected accommodation and working space for troops and supported communications, medical services and command functions in areas exposed to artillery.
Combat engineering · 1918
Military bridges and transport infrastructure
During the 1918 Allied advance, the unit extended its engineering work beyond tunnelling. It helped construct heavy bridges and restore roads and railways after the retreating German forces damaged or obstructed crossings and transport routes.
Marketing campaigns
- 1918German Spring Offensive
Arras, France
The company was present around Arras when the German Spring Offensive began on 21 March 1918 and undertook trench and underground shelter work.
Outcome. The company remained active in the Arras area until July before moving to the Somme.
- 1918Havrincourt and Canal du Nord engineering operations
Northern France
During the Allied advance, the unit worked with the 565th (Wiltshire) Army Troops Company to build a heavy steel bridge across the Canal du Nord and later restore crossings, roads and railways.
Outcome. The major bridge opened to traffic on 2 October 1918, while further transport restoration supported the advance toward the Belgian border.
- 1917Battle of Arras underground preparations
Arras, France
The company helped connect and equip the former chalk quarries beneath Arras, creating concealed routes and facilities for the planned offensive.
Outcome. The tunnels supported the opening assault on 9 April 1917, enabling troops to approach and emerge near German positions.
- 1917Gavrelle-Roeux underground works
Arras region, France
After the main Arras offensive, the company developed tunnels beneath German trench positions and then focused on deep shelters beneath British lines.
Outcome. The work continued into the winter and shifted the unit's emphasis from offensive mining to protected underground accommodation.
- 1916Labyrinth and Roclincourt-Chantecler mining operations
Northern France
The company entered the Labyrinth sector near Arras and Vimy in March 1916, then moved to Roclincourt-Chantecler. It conducted offensive mining, defensive excavation and counter-mining against German underground operations.
Outcome. The unit established an effective underground defensive system and continued operations through much of 1916.
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