Tribute to the 28 (Māori) Battalion

E te mōrehu o Te Ope Māori rua tekau-ma-waru, e kui ma, e koro ma, e harikoa ana ahau, ki te haere mai ki konei, mo tēnei hui.  E te kaiwhakahaere Nolan Raihania, nga mihi ki a koe.  Kia ora tātou katoa.  The surviving members of the 28 (Māori) Battalion, ladies and gentlemen thank you for inviting me to this luncheon.  I acknowledge the President of the 28 (Māori) Battalion Association Nolan Reihania.  And Arthur Midwood the last of the 39ers – tēnā koe ehoa!

As Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief, and because of my association with the 28 (Māori) Battalion over the recent past, it is a great honour to be able to offer this tribute. 

There are not enough words to adequately recognise the contribution the Battalion made to Aotearoa New Zealand in meeting Sir Apirana Ngata’s exhortation to Māoridom that service was the price of citizenship.  The men of the Battalion relished its tribal affiliations - with A (Gum-diggers) Company drawn from North Auckland, B (Penny-divers) Company from Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty, C (Cowboys) Company from Gisborne and East Cape, and D (Walk-about) Company from Waikato, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and the South Island and men from the Pacific Islands.  The headquarters company was a mixed bag of men from throughout New Zealand.

Like all New Zealanders who answered the call of service in the Second World War, the men of the Māori Battalion volunteered to fight for God, for King and for country - Aue! - against evil totalitarian regimes.  There was also the expectation of adventure and upholding the mana of the people that attracted them.

The men of the Māori Battalion were regarded as the most courageous of soldiers.  During their service, from their first commander, Lt Col George Dittmer through to their last, Lt Col James Henare, they were regarded as the most worthy opponents by the men they fought against. 

In the finest traditions of their warrior ancestors, the Battalion received more honours than any other New Zealand infantry battalion in the Second World War.

As one who served in the New Zealand Army, the service of New Zealanders in both World Wars has been an inspiration to all.  For Maori, and increasingly for non-Maori, the example of Te Hokowhitu-a-tu and 28 (Māori) Battalion adds to our national heritage.  They set the foundation for the values of the Army and displayed comradeship, commitment, integrity and, most of all courage which every man and woman in the New Zealand Defence Force today aspires to demonstrate.

The Battalion’s legacy to Māoridom was immense.  From the Battalion, a new generation of leaders stepped forward to keep alive the Māoritanga of their ancestors.  Their post-war service laid the ground work for the renaissance of Māori culture, tikanga and te reo we celebrate today.

That post-service began on the 23rd of January 1946 when the 28 (Māori) Battalion aboard The Dominion Monarch landed at Pipitea Wharf in Wellington.  They were feted as heroes and they were welcomed in traditional style - a wero, karanga, haka-pōwhiri, a tapu-lifting ceremony, much whaikōrero - and lots of good kai.  It was a day of both rejoicing and sadness.  On that day, as trains carried the soldiers to a hundred welcoming marae, the 28 (Māori) Battalion, which had fought with such pride and honour, ceased to exist as a military unit.

Sixty-six years later we gather again to mark the winding up of the Association that has carried the mana of the Battalion since that time.  It is a gathering filled with conflicted emotions.  Such is the reach of the 28 (Māori) Battalion to all New Zealanders, we are all sad.  Though inevitable, today is a day we hoped would not come.

I know it was with a heavy heart that the founding members decided that the time had come to lay the Association to rest.  Like members of many other veterans associations formed after the war, they wanted the Māori Battalion Association to end with dignity rather than to fade away as one by one they joined their comrades in the long sleep.

While we are sad that a long-loved friend is passing, we rejoice in the Battalion’s legacy.  We rejoice in the freedoms we all cherish.  We rejoice in the honour of service they demonstrated and we rejoice in the leadership they gave us. 
As the mantle of leadership passes to a new generation, we are reminded of the whakatauki on the wreath Captain Ngata laid at the foot of the Suda Bay flagstaff in Crete, at the memorial service after the war: “Hinga atu he tetekura, ara mai he tetekura—when a warrior dies on the field of battle, another arises to take his place.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the price of citizenship is indeed high.  Many gave their lives in the defence of our country, our freedoms and our democratic values.  That ours is a nation renowned for its freedoms and civil liberties is an impressive taonga that we will cherish forever.  It is fitting that now that the Battalion is “standing” at about a platoon strength we let them settle with their memories of what was a great New Zealand fighting unit – ake, ake kia kaha e!

Ka apiti hono tatai hono te hunga mate ki te hunga mate, ka apiti hono tatai hono te hunga ora ki to hunga ora.  No reira kia ora huihui tātou katoa.