Editing New Zealand Defence Force (section)

====Authorised units by July 1863====
Commander: Major-General Galloway<ref>The Defence Force, ''Wellington Independent'', Volume XVII, Issue 1895, 16 July 1863, Page 2</ref><ref>Military and volunteer movements, Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 1870, 15 July 1863, Page 3</ref><ref>''Taranaki Herald'', Volume XII, Issue 585, 17 October 1863, Page 2</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! header 1|Location
! header 2|Authorised
! header 3|Actual
! header 4|Commander
|-
| row 1, cell 1|Auckland
| row 1, cell 2|100
| row 1, cell 3| 50
| row 1, cell 4|Lieutenant Colonel [[Marmaduke Nixon|Marmaduke George Nixon]]
|-
| row 2, cell 1|Ahuriri (Hawke's Bay)<ref>Hawke's Bay (from our own correspondent) Napier, 17 July 1863, ''Daily Southern Cross'', Volume XIX, Issue 1876, 22 July 1863, Page 3</ref>
| row 2, cell 2|100
| row 2, cell 3|100
| row 2, cell 4|Major [[George Stoddart Whitmore]]<ref>Local Intelligence, ''Hawke's Bay Herald'', Volume 6, Issue 406, 29 July 1863, Page 2</ref>
|-
| row 3, cell 1|New Plymouth
| row 3, cell 2|100
| row 3, cell 3|-
| row 3, cell 4|Captain [[Harry Atkinson|Harry Albert Atkinson]]
|-
| row 4, cell 1|Otago<ref>Local Intelligence, ''Wellington Independent'', Volume XVIII, Issue 1897, 21 July 1863, Page 2</ref>
| row 4, cell 2|50
| row 4, cell 3|
| row 4, cell 4|Mr Branigan
|-
| row 5, cell 1|Wairarapa
| row 5, cell 2| 50
| row 5, cell 3|
| rwo 5, cell 3|
|-
| row 6, cell 1|Wellington
| row 6, cell 2|100
| row 6, cell 3|
| row 6, cell 4|James Townsend Edwards<ref>Appointments, ''Wellington Independent'', Volume XVIII, Issue 1970, 15 October 1863, Page 3</ref>
|}

By October 1863 there was no Wairarapa-based defence force, and 50 were based in Wanganui.<ref>News of the Week, ''Otago Witness'', Issue 622, 30 October 1863, Page 5</ref> The Otago force had earlier been moved to Wellington, with further Otago volunteers heading for the Auckland and Hawke's Bay Units. The total Defence Force numbered 375 by 3 November 1863.<ref>House of Representatives – Tuesday, 3 November 1863, ''Daily Southern Cross'', Volume XIX, Issue 1966, 4 November 1863, Page 4</ref>

In October 1864 the Government decided to reduce the numbers in the Colonial Defence Force to 75 with three units of 25 members each in Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki.<ref>Disbanding the Defence Force, 'Wellington Independent', Volume XIX, Issue 2121, 29 October 1864, Page 3</ref> By this time there were about 10,000 British Imperial troops in New Zealand, supplemented by about as many New Zealand volunteer and militia forces. There were calls, particularly from South Island papers, for the British Imperial troops to be replaced by local forces.<ref>Imperial v. colonial troops question, Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 74, 18 November 1864, Page 3</ref> Parliamentary debates in late 1864 also supported this view, especially as the cost of maintaining the Imperial troops was becoming a greater financial burden on the colony.<ref>Parliament of New Zealand, Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2298, 1 December 1864, Page 5</ref>