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He Hoiā, he Toa - Brave Soldiers

He hoiā, he toa — stories of Māori servicemen in the armed forces in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Poppies, war planes in the sky, and a hand pulling another hand up over a field

Books to Read

Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu

Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu was the first Māori soldier to win the VC. A second lieutenant in the 28th (Maori) Battalion's C Company, he took part in the assault at Tebaga Gap, Tunisia, in March 1943.

"NZ Victoria Cross recipients" on NZHistory.net

Te Karere TVNZ

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William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse

William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse (Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Ruanui) has the distinction of being not just the first Māori airman, but also the first British airman to receive the award of Victoria Cross for his bravery in World War I.

Born in 1887 in Britain, Rhodes-Moorhouse and his siblings did not learn of their Māori ancestry, through his mother Mary Ann Rhodes, until 1908. Sadly, William Barnard died on 27 April 1915 after receiving horrific injuries during a successful bombing mission.

Read our full article about William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse, with sources, below (PDF), watch a documentary about Rhodes-Moorhouse, or find further links below.

'Dancing in the Sky', a documentary by AWA Films, directed by Julian Arahanga, on the life and times of William Rhodes-Moorhouse, a Maori pioneer in aviation and the first airman to receive the Victoria Cross.

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Haane Te Rauawa Manahi

Another Maori Victoria Cross? The case of Haane Manahi. During the Battle of Takrouna in Tunisia in April 1943, Lance Sergeant Haane Manahi of Te Arawa led a small band of Māori soldiers up a 300-m-high rocky outcrop. Under mortar and machine-gun fire, they captured a stronghold held by more than 300 Italian and German troops. The act was described by Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks as 'the most gallant feat of arms I witnessed in the course of the war'. While a field-marshal and three generals recommended Manahi for the Victoria Cross (VC), this recommendation was changed, and a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) was awarded instead. It is not known who made this decision, or why.

"Haane Te Rauawa Manahi" on NZHistory.net

Waka Huia TVNZ

Part 1 of 3: War hero Haane Manahi of the Māori Battalion.
"War hero Haane Manahi of the Māori Battalion, cited for a VC but given a DCM instead. Waka Huia looks at the history of this one of the battalion's unsung heroes."

Waka Huia TVNZ

Part 2 of 3: War hero Haane Manahi of the Māori Battalion.

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John Pohe

Flying Officer Porokoru (John) Pohe was the first Māori pilot to arrive in England after passing through the Empire Air Training Scheme. He flew bombers over Germany until shot down. Pohe was executed on recapture after escaping with 76 other prisoners in the 'Great Escape' from the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft III.

Monty Soutar, 'Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars - Second World War: the Māori war effort', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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Arapeta Awatere

Te Karere TVNZ

"Fight continues for war hero Arapeta Awatere."

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Willie Apiata

Bill (Willie) Apiata VC is the first, and so far only, recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand, which was instituted in 1999 to replace the British Victoria Cross. He earned the award for rescuing a wounded comrade under fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

NZHistory.net: Bill (Willie) Apiata VC

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