Wai 2500, #A247 Wai 2500 Equality and Autonomy: An Overview of Māori Military Service for the Crown, c.1899-1945 Ross Webb A report commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal for the Military Veterans Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2500) 1 May, 2018 Cover image: Return of the Maori Pioneer Battalion, Putiki Pa, Whanganui, 1918. (Ref: 1/1- 020991-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand) 2 3 The Author Ross Webb is a Senior Research Analyst at the Waitangi Tribunal Unit and holds a Masters of Arts in History from the University of Auckland. Ross has been employed at the Waitangi Tribunal since 2015. In this time, he has also appeared as an expert witness in the Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry (Wai 1040) presenting evidence on rural rivers, environmental management and the Resource Management Act 1991. Ross has also worked as a research assistant in the Porirua ki Manawatu Inquiry (Wai 2200). Before working at the Tribunal Unit, Ross completed an MA Thesis in History at the University of Auckland which explored the lives of men and women who worked in New Zealand’s freezing works between 1973 and 1994. Ross has published historical articles in the Australasian Journal of American Studies and the New Zealand Labour History Project Bulletin. He is also a member of New Zealand Historical Association, the Professional Historians Association New Zealand and the Labour History Project. Prior to working at the Tribunal, Ross has worked as a researcher and a teaching assistant. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people for their help in the production of this report: Suzanne Woodley, Andrew Francis, Cathy Marr, Emma Kelly, Terence Green, Philip Cleaver, Kesaia Walker, John McLellan, Craig Innes, Terry Hearn, Coralie Clarkson, Jeff Abbott, Ian McGibbon, Michael Wynd, Puawai Cairns, and the staff at Archives New Zealand and the National Library of New Zealand. 4 5 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................. 12 1. Maori in the Military, c1899 – 1914 ........................................................... 21 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 22 1.2 The Armed Forces, Empire, Race, and Maori Politics ................................................. 28 1.3 Maori and the South African War .................................................................................... 32 1.4 Maori Coronation Contingent, 1902 ............................................................................... 47 1.5 The Volunteer Army in the Early Twentieth Century .................................................. 52 1.6 Territorial Force, Compulsory Military Training, and Maori ....................................... 63 1.7 The First World War: Maori Support and Motivations ................................................ 76 1.8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 81 2. Maori and the First World War ............................................................... 85 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 86 2.2 Recruitment and Organisation ......................................................................................... 91 2.3 Service, Deployment, and Further Recruitment .......................................................... 100 2.4 The Breaking up of the Maori Contingent ................................................................... 108 2.5 The Pioneer Battalion ...................................................................................................... 121 2.6 Final years of Recruitment and Service ......................................................................... 125 2.7 ‘Equality of sacrifice’: Maori and Conscription ............................................................ 134 2.8 Themes and Areas for Further Research ...................................................................... 153 2.9 The Price of Citizenship, Treaty Guarantees and Legacy........................................... 163 2.10 Maori and the Military in the Post-War Years ......................................................... 167 2.11 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 172 3. The 28th (Maori) Battalion ..................................................................... 175 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 176 3.2 Pre-War Calls for Separate Maori Units ........................................................................ 182 3.3 The 28th (Maori) Battalion and Recruitment ................................................................ 192 3.4 ‘A question of principle’: Conscription ......................................................................... 218 3.5 The Service Contribution of the 28th (Maori) Battalion ............................................. 222 3.6 ‘This is enough for us, the Maori Battalion’ ................................................................. 228 3.7 The Continuing Issue of Leadership and Promotion ................................................. 233 3.8 Overall Mobilisation and Casualties .............................................................................. 238 6 3.9 Honours and Awards ....................................................................................................... 241 3.10 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 245 4. Second World War Military Service, Home Front, and the ‘Price of Citizenship’ 249 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 250 4.2 Claims Issues ..................................................................................................................... 251 4.3 Historiography and Existing Literature ......................................................................... 252 4.4 The Maori Home Front War Effort: An Overview .................................................... 254 4.5 Maori in the Territorial Force and Home Guard ........................................................ 258 4.6 Maori Military Service Outside the Maori Battalion .................................................... 276 4.7 Support for Whanau and Communities of Soldiers .................................................... 285 4.8 ‘Race relations’ and the ‘Colour Bar’ ............................................................................. 287 4.9 ‘Price of Citizenship’ ........................................................................................................ 292 5. Maori in the Navy and Air Force, 1908-1945 ......................................... 299 5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 300 5.2 Maori and the Navy ......................................................................................................... 303 5.3 Maori and the Air Force .................................................................................................. 329 5.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 348 Summary and Conclusion ......................................................................... 353 Bibliography .............................................................................................. 376 7 List of Figures Figure 1 Āhere Te Koari Hōhepa in his Volunteers’ uniform ............................... 21 Figure 2 The Ngāpuhi nursing sisters ........................................................................ 41 Figure 3 Tuta Nihoniho of Ngati Porou .................................................................... 43 Figure 4 Members of the contingent of Maori for the King’s coronation ............ 51 Figure 5 Members of the Maori Coronation Contingent ........................................ 52 Figure 6 Captain Remini, Wairarapa Mounted Rifles, 1901 ................................... 56 Figure 7 Members of the Wairarapa Mounted Rifles. .............................................. 57 Figure 8 Maori soldiers, James Carroll, Richard Seddon at Papawai Pa ................ 59 Figure 9 Officers of the Te Aute College Cadet Corps, 1900. ............................... 72 Figure 10 Cadets at Hikurangi College, Carterton, undated ................................... 73 Figure 11. Pioneer Battalion performing a haka ....................................................... 85 Figure 12 Maori soldiers performing a haka, Egypt ............................................... 104 Figure 13 Maori Contingent, No 1 Outpost, Gallipoli .......................................... 105 Figure 14 Members of the World War I Maori Pioneer Battalion ....................... 124 Figure 15 Maori Pioneer Battalion reinforcements ................................................ 129 Figure 16 Returned Maori soldiers marching through Auckland. ........................ 132 Figure 17 Apirana Ngata and James Allen, Mercer, Waikato .............................. 138 Figure 18 Notice calling for Maori