William Tutepuaki Pitt

Surname
Pitt
Forename(s)
William Tutepuaki
Also known as
Billy
Date of death
11 Jun 1937 {Age 60}
Place of death
NEW ZEALAND

World War 1

WW1 Serial No
16/499
WW1 Rank
Captain
WW1 address
Unknown, 18 Selwyn Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand
WW1 next of kin
Mr C. Dean Pitt, Gisborne Club, New Zealand, Mrs E.R. Pitt (wife), C/o W. Rogers, Ohinemutu, New Zealand
WW1 embarkation body
1st Maori Contingent
WW1 embarkation unit
B Company
WW1 last unit
New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion

Comments (2)

Poverty Bay Herald, 19 January 1916 CAPTAIN PITT'S RETURN.Considerable interest was manifested amongst the Gisborne Maoris today in the return of Captain W. T. Pitt, of the Maori Contingent, accompanied by Mrs Pitt and their infant daughter Egypt of only four months.Captain Pitt, who is a Gisborne boy, held command of B Company, which comprised all the East Coast natives, and he is the first officer of that company to return to Gisborne. There was a large gathering of representative Gisborne natives at the Kaiti pa today vhen a cordial welcome was accorded to the returned officer. The Hon. A. T. Ngata was also present, and in extending a welcome home to Captain Pitt, he tendered an invitation to him, should his duties permit, to visit Tolaga Bay and the Waiapu district.Captain Pitt, who accompanied the first Maori Contingent and participated in the fighting on Gallipoli, was returned from Egypt on sick leave, and a Medical Board at Wellington having declared him medically unfit for further service be is under orders to report himself at Wellington on the 26th inst, to receive his discharge. Whatever may have been his condition on arrival in New Zealand, Captain Pitt to-day looks the picture of health and fitness, and the local Maoris expressed considerable astonishment that a man of his sturdy build and apparent excellent physique should have been declared by the doctors to be unfit for further service. Apart from this, letters that have been received by the natives locally from relatives at the front concerning the treatment meted out to this popular Gisborne officer have excited considerable interest and from what can be gathered something more is likely to be heard of Captain Pitt's case in the future. Meanwhile it is freely asserted that it is having a decided influence on recruiting amongst the natives.Today's welcome was extended with due regard to the usual native customs, and it was an interested gathering that listened to the returned officer's narative of the voyage on the transports, the visit to Egypt, training operations at Malta, and the exciting and trying experiences in the trenches of Gallipoli.

There is a lovely picture of Captain Pitt with Te Puea Herangi and his daughter Peggy Alexandria on the Te Ara - Encyclopedia of New Zealand website. They are at a fundraising hui at Porourangi Marae on the East Coast. Click here to view. Captain Pitt served in South African War, and with Maori Pioneer Battalion in World War I. An associate of Sir Apirana Ngata. Listed in NZ Gazette as licensed interpreter, 1907-1933. Son of Major C Dean Pitt, grandson of Major-General George Dean Pitt.