
Badges of the Native Contingent (left) and New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion.
The crest of the Native Contingent includes two traditional Maori weapons, the taiaha and tewhatewha, crossed through a crown. The motto 'Te Hokowhitu a Tu' signified the 140 warriors of the war god, Tu-mata-uenga.
The Pioneer's badge features a Maori warrior's face above a crossed pick and axe, flanked by fern leaf fronds and the words 'NZ Pioneers'.
Christopher Pugsley, Te Hokowhitu a Tu: the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the First World War, Reed, Auckland, 1995
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How to cite this page: 'Badges of Maori units in the First World War', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/badges-of-maori-units, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 3-Mar-2010
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