Victoria Cross for New Zealand

The original Victoria Cross was created by Queen Victoria in 1856 to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a man's lengthy or meritorious service. She signed a Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856 that officially instituted the VC.[4] The order was retroactive to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War.[5]

The Australian and New Zealand Victoria Crosses are made from the same gunmetal as the originals.[6] It was originally intended that the VCs would be cast from the bronze cascabels of two cannon that were captured from the Russians at the siege of Sevastopol.[7][8][9] The historian John Glanfield has since shown that the metal used for VCs is in fact from Chinese cannon not Russian, and their origin is a mystery.[3][8][9]

The barrels of the cannon in question are stationed outside the Officers' Mess at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich. The remaining portion of the only remaining cascabel, weighing 10 kilograms (385 oz), is stored in a vault maintained by 15 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps at MoD Donnington. It can only be removed under armed guard. It is estimated that approximately 80 to 85 more VCs could be cast from this source. A single company of jewellers, Hancocks of London, has been responsible for the production of every VC.[10]

Victoria Cross plaque, Queens Gardens, Dunedin. Showing the addition (lower right) of the only Victoria Cross for New Zealand yet given.

In the last 60 years several Commonwealth countries have introduced their own honours systems, separate from the British Honours System. Australia, Canada and New Zealand[6] have each introduced their own decorations for gallantry and bravery, replacing British decorations such as the Military Cross with their own awards. Most Commonwealth countries, however, still recognise some form of the VC as their highest decoration for valour.[11]

Australia was the first Commonwealth nation to create its own VC, on 15 January 1991. Although it is a separate award, its appearance is identical to its British counterpart.[12] Canada followed suit when in 1993 Queen Elizabeth signed Letters Patent creating the Canadian VC, which is also similar to the British version, except that the legend has been changed from FOR VALOUR to the Latin PRO VALORE.[13] The New Zealand and Australian[12] awards are still made by the jewellers Hancocks from the gunmetal used for the originals. The Canadian Victoria Cross also includes metal from the same cannon, along with copper and other metals from all regions of Canada.[14]

New Zealand was the third country to create the VC as part of its own honours system.[6] On 21 September 1999, Prime Minister Jenny Shipley announced that the Queen had approved the formal institution of a new range of Royal awards to recognise acts of gallantry and bravery performed by New Zealanders. The awards were designed to be the final major element in the development of a distinct New Zealand Royal honours system.

I am confident that the new system will serve us well and enable New Zealand to recognise the various acts of heroism performed in our community. The redevelopment of the awards for gallantry and bravery now means that we have a full range of awards and honours which are distinctly New Zealand.

— [15], in Jenny Shipley, Prime Minister of New Zealand

The start of the process came with proposals released in 1995 by the Honours Advisory Committee that reviewed the honours system. Until May 1996, New Zealand made recommendations for various British awards for acts of gallantry performed during military operations and acts of bravery by civilians including the Victoria Cross and George Cross. However, the British Government's review and simplification of their awards system provided an ideal opportunity for New Zealand to also develop a unique and simplified system.[15]