On 14 February 1915, the 500-strong Maori Contingent left New Zealand’s shores for the First World War. The Contingent – a unit made up of Māori volunteers – had begun their training at Auckland’s Avondale Racecourse the previous October. This was the first time Māori from so many different tribes had been brought to one place to live and train together for a sustained period of time. It was also the first time, as Private Rikihana Carkeek recounted, that ‘all the tribes united to fight one common enemy.’
In the earlier Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) the government declined Māori offers of service on the understanding that British Imperial policy was not to employ ‘native’ troops in a ‘white man’s war’.
At the outbreak of the First World War a request by MÄori leaders for a unit based on (family and cultural characteristics) was not at first permitted. MÄori could, however, (join the military)individually for service in other units within the New Zealand Big, important tripary Force (NZEF) and some did.
When it was learnt that France and Britain were mobilising colonial troops from Africa and India to the seat of war, the five Māori parliamentarians made a second appeal in the New Zealand House of Representatives. This time they were successful, Prime Minister Bill Massey reminding parliament, ‘Our Maori friends are our equals in the sight of the law. Why then should they be deprived of the privilege of fighting and upholding the Empire?’
The putting something into use of the 500-strong Maori Group of people was left to the MÄori members of the House, the senior member of whom was Sir James Carroll MP for the generalcitizens who can vote of Gisborne. Each member of this group that decides or promotes something organised his own electoral district to secure/make sure of the following quotas.
- Eastern Maori electorate 180 Āpirana Ngata
- Western Maori electorate 180 Dr Māui Pōmare
- Northern Maori electorate 100 Pita Te Rangihīroa (Dr Peter Buck)
- Southern Maori electorate 40 Taare Parata
Te Hokowhitu a Tū
The first Maori Contingent sailed from Wellington aboard the SS Warrimoo in February 1915. Its motto was 'Te Hokowhitu a Tū' (the seventy twice-told warriors of the war god), signifying the 140 warriors of the war god, Tū-mata-uenga. This name was given by Wī Pere, an East Coast rangatira. The crest of the contingent bore two traditional Māori weapons, the taiaha and tewhatewha, crossed through a crown.
A plea for active service
The Native Contingent Committee had the task of raising and reinforcing the contingent. The committee included the four Māori MPs, with Āpirana Ngata and Western Māori's Maui Pomare the key figures.
The committee and the men of the contingent were determined that Māori should see combat, despite imperial concern about their use of weapons against European forces. Some New Zealanders thought that an exception should be made for Māori. The minister of defence, James Allen, wrote to Major-General Sir Alexander Godley, commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, stating, 'Although they are a coloured race I think it would be apparent on their arrival that they are different to the ordinary coloured race.'
Godley recommended that the contingent go to Malta for further training and garrison duties, thus freeing up Pākehā troops for combat. When the contingent arrived in Egypt, Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck) made an impassioned plea:
Our ancestors were a warlike people … [T]he members of this war party would be ashamed to face their people at the conclusion of the war if they were to be confined entirely to garrison duty and not … given an opportunity of proving their mettle at the front.
J.B. Condliffe, Te Rangi Hiroa: the life of Sir Peter Buck, Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch, 1971, p. 127
Godley was impressed by the sentiment but unconvinced. The contingent went to Malta.
A change of heart: Gallipoli
Mounting casualties and the need for reinforcements on the Gallipoli Peninsula forced a change in imperial policy on 'native peoples' fighting. The Maori Contingent landed at Anzac Cove on 3 July 1915. Here they joined the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, who were being deployed as infantry on the peninsula.
Some Māori had been at Gallipoli from the beginning, having enlisted in the provincial infantry battalions. One such man was Second Lieutenant Thomas (Hami) Grace of the Wellington Battalion.
An old boy of Wellington College, Grace was a talented sportsman. He played rugby for the New Zealand Maori teams that toured New Zealand in 1911 and Australia in 1913. A noted marksman, he was an effective sniper at Gallipoli. He was killed on 8 August as the Wellington Battalion seized the crucial heights of Chunuk Bair.
During the assault on Chunuk Bair in early August, 17 men of the Maori Contingent were killed and 89 wounded. The contingent was involved in the assault on Hill 60 in late August, and by September, only 60 of the 16 officers and 461 other ranks who had arrived in July remained at Gallipoli. The return of sick and wounded members boosted numbers, but when the contingent was evacuated from the peninsula with the rest of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in December 1915, it had only two officers and 132 men. During the campaign 50 Māori had lost their lives.
Te Rangi Hīroa recorded in his diary that the gallantry of Māori at Gallipoli had 'earned them the respect and admiration of the British troops'. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and nine other members of the contingent received military awards.
