"Waikato" was ordered in 1963 for the RNZN after a delay of more than six years after the order for the Type 12 frigates "Otago" and "Taranaki", which had proved successful in New Zealand service. There was a pressing need to replace the ageing cruiser and the RNZN's last two operational s, which carried outdated sonars and anti-submarine weapons and were slow. The Navy board view was that a minimum of six frigates were required for protection of trade including strategic oil shipments to New Zealand, and the improved anti submarine Type 12 was considered 'eminently suited' for New Zealand conditions. Additionally, Cold War tensions were high in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis with escalating trouble in South East Asia over Vietnam and Indonesia's infiltration into Malaysia and Borneo, led the government to order a third Type 12. The actual suitability of the "Leander" for New Zealand was questioned by many Royal Naval officers, who regarded the "Leander" as a short-ranged North Atlantic anti-submarine hunter, designed to operate as part of the radar, air direction, anti submarine screen of the British aircraft carrier groups being phased out between 1967–71. Nevertheless, the Type 12 rode very well in a seaway, had excellent communications, a much better arranged operations room than the s, good margin for modernisation, and good workshops and carried 60 days worth of supplies, other than weapons and fuel.