Firm’s ‘crusade’ to issue medals to 28th whānau

An Auckland law firm has visited Porirua and taki in its efforts to honour 550 members of the Māori Battalion who never got to wear decorations they won, writes Nicholas Boyack.

When Māori enlisted to fight in World War II, they often assumed an anglicised version of their names – one of the many reasons 550 men of the famous 28 (Māori) Battalion failed to be issued with medals they earned fighting overseas.

An Auckland law firm has been on a ‘‘crusade’’ to put that right and it has just been in Porirua and

taki looking to ensure local descendants are issued with the medals of their tı¯puna.

The list of 80 men Te Mata Law was hoping to find relatives of included Mate Ngaro Solomon (real name Haramona), Kingi George Gallipoli Caroll, Sugar Wi and Moses Cash. ‘‘It is important that we remember our history, especially the sacrifice they made,’’ said Harry Clatworthy, a junior at Te Mata Law.

Whānau identified from Porirua and taki will receive a medal at a ceremony at the Trentham Army Camp later this month.

Te Mata Law has been working with the Defence Force Archives staff to identify descendants of men whose medals were not claimed after World War II.

Clatworthy said some relatives had attended the meetings on Thursday but he was still keen to hear from anyone who thinks the family might be entitled to an unclaimed medal.

A variety of reasons explained why medals went unclaimed, but sadly prejudice played a big part.

Many members of the battalion came from the East Coast and Rotorua, where the schooling system discouraged them using their real names.

It was not uncommon, Clatworthy said, for Māori to use anglicised names to the point that their Māori name was forgotten or not known by other members of their community. There would, however, be no birth certificate for their European name.

‘‘That was just the general principle because people did not like pronouncing Māori names.’’

When enlisting, some men found it easier to provide a name that everyone could pronounce and provided their anglicised name, Clatworthy said. Some were just given a new name when they enlisted. Men enlisting underage often gave false names or their brother’s name.

The whānau of 90 members of the battalion will be gathering in Rotorua today (see sidebar, below) for a special event at Te Papaiouru Marae.

So far there have been ceremonies in Hastings, Gisborne, Christchurch and Rotorua. Wellington families eligible to accept a medal will be recognised at the Trentham ceremony on December 17 and there will also be a ceremony at Waitangi.

When they returned, many Māori soldiers just wanted to get on with life and forget about the war, and never applied for their medals. Clatworthy is aware of cases where whānau did not know their uncle or grandfather was a veteran because he never spoke about it.

Medals are handed out by Defence, and Te Mata Law has taken on the tricky task, at no cost, of helping relatives put together the necessary paperwork.

The medals go to the closest living relative starting with wives, then children, siblings, grandchildren, grandnieces and nephews.

The firm’s involvement in the search for medals has been a personal one for founding partner David Stone (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Toa, Ngai Tahu). He was puzzled as to why his great-uncle Turi Dooley Swann, who was killed at the battle of Faenza (Italy), was never issued with his medals.

After doing some research, he quickly realised that this was the case for a significant number of soldiers.

In 2020, he said that one of the reasons many did not apply for medals was they felt there was ‘‘no mana’’ in getting a medal in the

‘‘It is important that we remember our history, especially the sacrifice they made.’’ Harry Clatworthy

mail. Others were told by relatives that the ‘‘real heroes’’ had died overseas.

Clatworthy said it has been a huge but ‘‘massively satisfying’’ task trying to unravel the identities and get whānau their medal.

The project was a ‘‘manaenhancing’’ process, he said.

Historian Dr Monty Soutar interviewed 60 members of the battalion in the 1990s.

When they returned from war their priority was starting a new life rather than medals.

The men sacrificed a lot going overseas and he can see why they regarded getting a posted medal as impersonal.

He applauded what Stone and Te Mata Law have done and said the relatives were very grateful for their mahi.

The full list of unclaimed medals is on the Te Mata Law website and provides many examples of the challenge researchers faced, such as the case of Huri Kuka, who became George Cook. One of the more unusual names was Christian Hellesoe, who turned out to be a Samoan with a Danish father.