Local Māori heroes of World War II
Waikere Rapana, left, and Kenny Willis holding the delicate silk scarf made by a French woman in World War I, for the troops’ Christmas hamper with chocolate and cigarettes. The embroidered emblem shows the flags of the allied nations - England, France, Imperial Russia, Belgium and Italy. Waikere has donated the scarf to the Museum. Photo: Fiona Nelson.
As Anzac Day approaches, an upcoming exhibition at Motueka Museum will be celebrating the local members of the 28th Māori Battalion who fought in World War II.
Waikare Rapana, a well-known military historian, researcher and enthusiast, is providing the exhibition from the memorabilia he has collected over the years.
Waikare wants to share the information about local members of the battalion who are not recognised and, as he says, it is a history of which many are not aware.
Replicas of the uniforms and the medals from the Motueka men who served in WW II – Warren Stephens, Benjamin Te Rāuokeura Morgan together with Sir Charles Moihi Te Arawaka Bennett, will be displayed. Also caps, helmets, photos and stories to commemorate these three local members of the 28th Māori Battalion.
After war broke out in 1939, there was a call-to-arms from Māori leaders, and Māori Members of Parliament to form an all-Māori military unit. After training, the frontline unit left New Zealand in May 1940, as part of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF), made up entirely of Māori volunteers. They served in Greece and Crete, North Africa and Italy.
“One out of four Māori died in those battles, and Māori, like West Africans and Aborigines, were always the first to be sent into an area” Waikare says.
Coming back to New Zealand as a Lieutenant-Colonel after the war, Sir Charles had disembarked in Wellington, and when he went into a pub he was told, ‘There’s no ni**ers here, out you go.’ Serving your country hadn’t changed the “home-grown” racism that was prevalent in New Zealand.
“You weren’t allowed to order drinks at the bar, you weren’t allowed to stay in a hotel,” Waikere says.
While the 28th Māori Battalion was disbanded after World War II, to honour Sir Charles Bennett, one of the two swords on NZ Army emblem was replaced with a taiaha (Māori fighting stick). Waikare hopes the exhibition, which opens 22 April, will inspire local rangatahi and show them they have Māori heroes to look up to.