1 November 2007
A ceremony to mark the official change of Commanding Officer for the Canterbury Branch of the Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve, HMNZS PEGASUS, will be held at 7.00 pm, Monday 5 November at Montreal St, Christchurch.
Witnessing the ceremony will be the ships company of HMNZS PEGASUS, sea cadets from Training Ships’ Cornwell and Steadfast and invited guests, families and friends.
The Change of Command Ceremony is traditionally formal and impressive. It is designed to strengthen respect for authority, which is vital to any military organisation.
During the ceremony Commander Mike Goldsworthy will relinquish command of HMNZS PEGASUS and Lieutenant Commander Tim Elley will assume command.
Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral David Ledson, will review the ceremony.
Commander Goldsworthy, a project engineer for Meridian Energy has spent the last four years in command, a period during which the Royal New Zealand Navy Reserve has been undergoing transition in preparation for the arrival of the new Project Protector Inshore Patrol Vessels. Naval Reserve personnel will have a key supplementation role to play in the operation of the new vessels. Lieutenant Commander Elley, an IT specialist, will continue the transition process, which he admits will be a challenge, albeit, an exciting one.
Biography – Lieutenant Commander Tim Elley
Lieutenant Commander Tim Elley was born and raised in Christchurch. He was a sea cadet at TS Steadfast from the age of 12, and joined the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve at the start of 1980 as an Ordinary Rate in the Support Services specialisation at HMNZS Pegasus. He was subsequently commissioned to the rank of Ensign in January 1984.
In mid 1984, Lieutenant Commander Elley transferred to Wellington to commence his civilian career as a software developer, posting to HMNZS Olphert. From 1984 through to 1990 he progressed through his training as a Supply Officer, and held the position of Assistant Supply Officer at HMNZS Olphert. He was promoted to Sub Lieutenant 1 January 1987.
In 1986 Lieutenant Commander Elley joined Mobil Oil New Zealand as an Analyst/Programmer, and by 1988 held the position of Manager Mainframe Application Support Team, managing a team of up to 13 developers, maintaining the company’s various mainframe applications. In February 1990 he was transferred to Melbourne, Australia to act as a Systems Lead in Mobil’s project to convert all their frontline business systems to SAP for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. He remained in Melbourne on the project through to mid 1993, and during this time served with the Melbourne Port Division of the RANR, HMAS Launceston.
In August 1993 Lieutenant Commander Elley returned to New Zealand, moving back to his home town, Christchurch. On his return he started his company, specialising in database application development, and rejoined HMNZS Pegasus. He immediately took up the role of Assistant Supply Officer, and in 1994, Supply Officer.
Since then Lieutenant Commander Elley has been an integral part of the management team at HMNZS Pegasus. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1998, but with seniority back to 1993. He attended the RNZNVR Staff Course in 1999, and in the same year was awarded the Volunteer Reserves Decoration (VRD). He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in December 1999. He was posted as the Executive Officer of HMNZS Pegasus in July 2005.
Lieutenant Commander Tim Elley resides in North Canterbury.
ENDS
Media are welcome to attend the Change of Command Ceremony at HMNZS PEGASUS, Montreal St, Christchurch at 7 pm on Monday 5 November, 2007.
For further information, requests for interviews and registrations of interest to attend, please contact Lieutenant Commander Barbara Cassin, Public Relations Manager Navy, Ph: (09) 4455002 or Mob: 021-2440638.