Despite some opposition, nearly 16,000 Maori enlisted for service during the Second World War. By 1945 the 28th (Maori) Battalion had became one of New Zealand's most celebrated and decorated units. But Maori contributed to the war effort in many different ways, at home and overseas.
When the Maori War Effort Organisation was established, the government had estimated that it would have a six-month life at a cost of £7,000. In 1943 Paikea asked that the timeframe be extended. He reasoned that as well as being essential to meet the country's wartime needs, the MWEO had a key role in post-war Maori development.
In his recruitment waiata, 'Te ope tuatahi', Ngata made it clear that the replacement recruits that he and his colleagues had raised all came from the East Coast tribes of Mahaki, Hauiti, Ngati Porou, Te Arawa and Kahungunu.
Biography of Te Puea Hērangi, grand-daughter of the second Māori King. Te Puea was a prominent advocate for Tainui in the first half of the twentieth century.
