 On 26 January 1940 the battalion came together for the first time , marking its official raising at the Palmerston North Show Grounds . Upon formation it was decided that the battalion would be organised upon tribal lines . The unit consisted of a headquarters company and four rifle companies , designated ' A ' through ' D ' : ' A ' Company was recruited from North Auckland ; ' B ' Company from Rotorua , the Bay of Plenty and Thames – Coromandel ; ' C ' Company from the East Coast from Gisborne to East Cape and ' D ' Company from Waikato , Maniapoto , Hawkes Bay , Wellington and the South Island , as well as some Pacific Islands and the Chatham and Stewart Islands . 
