maori battalion

View of the summit of Takrouna in Tunisia, 1943. This dominating feature was attacked by 5th (NZ) Brigade in April 1943. After three days fierce fighting, the summit was captured by a small band of men, led by Sergeant Haane Manahi of the 28th (Maori) Battalion. Over 500 Zealanders were killed or wounded during the battle, mostly from land mines in the fields below the rocky hill. Takrouna would be the last major action fought by the New Zealand Division during the North African campaign.

Soldiers from 28th (Maori) Battalion leap over barbed wire during training manoeuvres in Egypt, circa 1940-1941.

Whakatane Maori Battalion war memorial.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, with Lieutenant-Colonel George Dittmer at his side, watches 16 Platoon of D Company, 28th Maori Battalion, march past in England, 1940. The Maori Battalion, along with the rest of 2NZEF's Second Echelon, had been en route to the Middle East in May 1940 when they were diverted to Britain. In July they were deployed to southern England to help defend against a possible German invasion. After six months in Britain the men of the Second Echelon sailed for their original destination, Egypt, where they arrived in early March 1941.

This Beretta Model 1915-19 pistol was taken from a captured Italian soldier in North Africa by Sergeant Pekama Hunia, C Company, 28th (Maori) Battalion. Hunia was killed in action in Italy on 15 December 1944. He was mentioned in dispatches (15 February 1945) by Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg for 'distinguished service in the field'.

Women perform a waiata during the hui in Ruatoria to award the Victoria Cross to Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu, October 1943. Apirana Ngata is in the foreground.