Tuini Ngawai’s beautiful tribute to the soldiers of the 28th Maori Battalion performed on the second day of events at Uepohatu marae in 1947.
The events held at Uepohatu on the 12th and 13th of September included cultural competitions with local school children, a reunion of ex-service people (including members of the Maori Battalion), a concert and the opening of the Uepohatu War Memorial Hall. The hall was built to commemorate East Coast soldiers who died during the two World Wars.
At an investiture ceremony held on the second day, seventeen decorations were presented to servicemen and women who had served abroad and on the home front.
The gathering was an important one, attended by thousands including the Prime Minister Peter Fraser, the Leader of the Opposition Sidney Holland and other members of Parliament. Sir Bernard Freyberg, the Governor General opened the hall and unveiled two memorial tablets inside.
Transcription
Arohaina mai
E te Kingi nui
Manaakitia rā
O tamariki e
Horahia mai rā
Te marie nui ki te
Hokowhitu a Tū toa
(First verse repeats)
Ngā mamaetanga
Me ngā pouri nui
Pēhia rawatia
Ki raro rā e
Mē anga atu
Ka karanga ki te Matua
Aue aroha mai
(Second verse repeats)
Ngā hapū katoa
O Aotearoa e
Tau awhitia rā
Ko tōku rongo
Kia mau te tihe
Mauria ora
A ngā tūpuna
Hei tohu wehi e
(Third verse repeats)
Sound file from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, ref: 43116. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright.
Image Tukutuku panels for the Uepohatu Hall, Ruatoria - Photograph taken by Owen Johnson. Mackrell, Brent :Photographs relating to Poverty Bay. Ref: PA1-o-1038-20. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23108856
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