Footage has captured the adorable moment a Royal NZ Navy sailor proposed to his partner after being away for a year.
Jacob Biddle proposed to his partner of three years, Takimoana Hawea, at the Devonport Naval Base on Friday morning.
The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana and 170 crew arrived arrived home on Friday from Canada.
The vessel had been away for more than three years.
The happy couple could be seen hugging and kissing as they celebrated the exciting news.
Biddle told 1News the proposal had been in the works ever since he left home about a year ago.
Hawea said, "I'm so excited, I was shaking."
The crew were greeted by friends and family as they sailed into the Waitematā Harbour today with Minister of Defence Peeni Henare on board for its ceremonial homecoming.
The boat has been undergoing extensive upgrades which Henare says is future-proofing the ship's self defence and combat systems.
Henare said the upgrades are to a standard comparable to the ships used by Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
"Allowing them to continue to operate in a full range of roles until they are retired in the mid-2030s."
Repairs started on HMNZS Te Mana in May 2019, and continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Te Mana has been away for a long time, and has just sailed over 12,000km to get home, and you can tell the ship’s company can’t wait to see Aotearoa,” Henare said.
“But they’re also very proud of their ship, which will make a significant contribution to Royal New Zealand Navy operations, and while on deployment with multinational task groups.
“The frigate will now undertake a series of trials, tests and exercises, to progressively release the ship’s operational capabilities,” he said.
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