Former Governors-General aide takes over battalion

A former Aide-de-Camp to two Governors-General takes command of the 6th (Hauraki) Battalion in Tauranga tomorrow.
The parade at the cenotaph in Memorial Park will see Lieutenant Colonel Julian Sewell, of Rotorua, handed command of the battalion from the current Commanding Officer, Lt Col Warren Banks of Tauranga.
VIP guests at the 2.30pm handover parade will include the Minister of Defence Dr Wayne Mapp, the Chief of Army Major General Rhys Jones, Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, and the battalion's Honorary Colonel, Rotorua judge Chris McGuire.
The end of Lt Col Banks' three-year term as battalion commander coincides with his appointment as a United Nations military observer to East Timor for six months, starting November.
Lt Col Sewell was promoted from the rank of major on September 5, ahead of taking command of the battalion. He will continue his Rotorua-based civilian job as policing development manager for the Bay of Plenty Police.
He commanded the 6th Battalion's A Company before assuming command of the battalion.
The Hauraki's public relations officer Captain Russell Skeet said the battalion had very strong partnerships with Maori, and Lt Col Sewell's lineage to Te Arawa and Ngati Porou was very important to the battalion.
Lt Col Sewell was born in Rotorua and educated at Hato Petera College, Massey University and Victoria University. He joined the Army's Regular Force in 1982 as an officer cadet and was commissioned into the Royal NZ Armoured Corps.
He held the rank of captain when he served as Aide-de-Camp for 14 months to two Governors-General, Sir Paul Reeves and Dame Catherine Tizzard. His service overlapped with the end of Sir Paul's term (1985-90) and the start of Dame Catherine's term (1990-95).
Defence force Aide-de-Camps always accompany Governors-General when they are out on public duties.
In a family coincidence, his cousin Brian Tunui became the first Maori Aide-de-Camp to a Governor-General when he was in the Royal New Zealand Navy. His two-year service overlapped with Sir David Beattie (1980-85) and New Zealand's first Governor-General of Maori descent, Sir Paul Reeves.
Both officers also found their wives at Government House. Lieutenant Tunui married Sarah Reeves, the daughter of Sir Paul and Lady Reeves, and Captain Sewell married Maria Moreno, the Government House property manager.
His Army service also includes commanding troops with the Queen Alexandra's Squadron and 1st Squadron NZ Scottish, the Plans and Development Branch of Army General Staff, and training at the Army Schools.
He was chief instructor at the School of Armour, Squadron Commander at Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles, team leader at the Australian Army Battle Simulation Group and and director of the NZ Army Simulation Centre.
Lt Col Sewell saw operational service with the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.
He transferred to the Territorial Force on completion of 20 years' service and commanded the Training Evaluation Team and 2nd Land Force Group - prior to posting to the Hauraki Battalion.
The battalion, attached to the Army's Territorial Force, is based in Tauranga with sub-units in Rotorua and Hamilton.