Pipiwharauroa WW1
The Great War (1914-1918)
Monty Soutar is collecting stories for a book on Māori involvement in the Great War, also known as the First World War. Here is a draft of one of his chapters which recounts the farewell for the 500strong Māori Contingent from Auckland, where they had spent four months training, and follows their journey to Egypt and Malta. Departure And so it was a welcome relief to all when in February the troops were informed that they would be leaving camp for the last time. On 10 February, having taken down their tents, cleaned up the grounds and packed their kit, the Contingent took in a light lunch and then marched to the railway station where the men entrained to Mt Eden.1 From there they formed up and marched into the city centre sporting on the front of their helmets their proud little bronze badge with the words ‘Te Hokowhitu a Tu.’ In the lead Major Peacock, preserving a calm, unruffled exterior, sang out commands now and again as the men drew down Queen Street. The sight was impressive and led one reporter to write:. The firm step of the Māoris, their stalwart proportions, their undoubted soldierly bearing, the unfettered admiration of the great Queen Street crowds, all conveyed a subtle yet none the less definite compliment, to the Major, who must surely have been made to feel that he had done his work well.2 The Contingent marched right down onto the wharf where their transport, the SS Warimoo, was docked. After a roll call and receiving their sea bags they went aboard amidst a large crowd of people. At 5.30 pm they sailed for Wellington via the eastern coast.3 Pte Renata Turi of Hicks Bay noted in his diary the next day: Out in the Bay of Plenty, passed Hicks Bay at 8.00 am. Passed Gisborne 4 p.m. Passed Mahia 7 p.m. Ka mutu te kite i te whenua (We are out of sight of land).4 The following afternoon the Warrimoo berthed in Wellington. There was a fair crowd of both Māori and Pakehā on the wharf to greet them. The soldiers were very excited but there was to be no shore leave that day. The next day the Contingent came under the command of Major W. R. Pinwill, who was the O.C. of the Third Reinforcements. On Saturday afternoon, 13 February, the whole of the Reinforcement plus the Māori Contingent was inspected by the Governor General, accompanied by Massey, Allen, Cols. Robin and Gibbon and the city’s Mayor. About eight thousand crammed into Newtown Park to watch the spectacle and a similar number lined the city streets when the parade marched through Wellington. One of the local papers stated:
The Māoris claimed by far the most attention from the spectators, not only because this was the first occasion on which the people had ever seen Māori troops, but because by their soldierly bearing, their fine physique, and smart appearance they deserved admiration. Especially do they deserve commendation for their rock-steadiness on parade. It was possible to look along all their lines and see not the slightest restless movement. Of course, the Māoris have had longer training than their pakehā brothers, and it may be assumed that on this, their first march out, they were doing their best. For the whites the experience was a more ordinary one. Much of the good appearance of the Natives was due to their uniforms. They wear a helmet of smart design, with a red and black badge, their regimental colours, on the left side of it, a jacket of khaki drill for tropical, service, shorts leaving the knees bare, and puttees.5
Another reported:. The greatest, interest, of course, was manifested in the Māoris, who showed themselves to be a remarkably fine body of men. They were all young fellows, sons of a warrior race―fine, upstanding, athletic men, than whom no one could wish to see better soldiering material. As specimens of manhood alone they were worth looking at, while as soldiers clad in their smart khaki uniforms and light helmets, they were something to remember.6 In his address the Governor General remarked on the country’s progress, citing how little more than a generation ago British soldiers had come to New Zealand to fight the Native race, yet now the two races were embarking together to fight a common foe. After the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence had spoken, Te Heu Heu and Kingi Topia – a chief of the Whanganui River and Ngāti Tūwharetoa people, spoke in Māori to the Contingent. Using ‘characteristic gesture and dramatic fire’ they exhorted their young men “to be strong and of good courage, to face the foe without flinching, and to uphold the mana of the Great White King whom they had sworn to serve.”7 “Haere e tama mā, haere! Haere ki te ahi e ka mai ra i Oropi!” (Farewell, sons, farewell! Go to the fire that flames over Europe.)8 The Governor General took the salute as the various units marched out of the park towards the city. The sound of the karanga rang out as the Māori Contingent marched away. Early the next morning at 6.30 a.m. His Majesty’s Troop Ship Warimoo, carrying the 517 men of the Māori Contingent, left its berth and steamed away from Wellington.9 What had begun as an aspiration six months earlier was now a reality. References: 1) Joseph Teihoka War Journal, 1915, Hocken Library. 2) Observer, 20 February 1915, p. 4. 3) Teihoka Journal. 4) L. Lawson, Wharekahika: a history of Hicks Bay, L. Lawson, Hicks Bay 1987, p. 67. 5) Dominion, 15 Feb 1915, p. 6. 6) Evening Post, 13 Feb 1915, p. 8. 7) Dominion, 15 Feb 1915, p. 6. 8) ‘With the Maoris on Gallipolli,’ an essay read before the Social Sciences, Honolulu, 14 Nov 1948. 9) Teihoka Journal.
Fighting sons of a fighting race - Māori passing along Quay Street, Auckland in their march through the City on February 10
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AT LAST! NGA TAMA TOA AVAILABLE IN MĀORI
In September 2009 a number of reo experts from the C Company rohe were convened by Dr Monty Soutar to begin work translating into Māori the book, Nga Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship. Five years later their work is complete. A limited number of these books will be available at a special price during the book launch, which is to take place on 15 November at around 11.00 am, immediately following the opening of the C Company Memorial House in Kelvin Park. The reduced price of $59.99 will only be available on the day of the launch. For those who are planning to buy bulk copies (10 or more) for schools or as Xmas presents you can prepay and order now through Sarah Pohatu spohatu@yahoo.com Sarah will explain how orders can be made. The books cannot be picked up, however, until the day of the launch. The 28th Māori Battalion’s C Company is a strong unifying concept in the Tairāwhiti bringing together the iwi of the region so it was not difficult to persuade the translators to take part. They were all related to men in C Company and all volunteered their time. The translators were supported by a wider panel of reo experts including some of the remaining C Company veterans and other pakeke from the rohe. Since 2009, 12 hui were held throughout the C Company rohe where the translators presented their work publically to all learners and aficionados of Tairāwhiti reo. Each hui was facilitated to extract discussions on the unique aspects of Tairāwhiti and iwi-specific reo, while also providing an opportunity to listen to C Company’s war story with some of the remaining veterans present. At each hui there was an opportunity for the translators to read their translations interspersed with discussions (in English and Māori) by both the panel of experts and the hui on a range of grammatical, dialect, vocabulary, war related and historical topics. There is a thirst within Māori communities for the preservation and celebration of unique iwi dialects. Tairāwhiti is in a precarious, yet relatively safe position, of still having numbers of native speakers in our communities. The book intends to be both an example of quality te reo Māori based on the iwi dialect of these speakers and a resource for language learners.