Military Parade marks the end of New Zealand's "Scottish Regiment"

Yesterday a large military parade was held in Dunedin to formally mark the end of New Zealand's Scottish Regiment.

Formed in 1939, the Scottish Regiment was created for the purpose of boosting recruitment during the Second World War in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

Members of the Regiment donned traditional highland uniform and had to be of Scottish descent. The official tartan of the Regiment was the Black Watch.

In all, the Regiment saw less than a year of combat during the Second World War, and was eventually broken up and disestablished in 1990. However, its colours and history lived on in a Scottish Squadron formed as part of an Otago Southland Regiment.

The parade, in which a 100 soldier guard, 2 small tanks, the New Zealand Army Band, a piper and former members of the Regiment participated, ended at the steps of the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, where the regimental flags were handed over for long-term preservation.