Māori and war

THE MUSKET WARS

After Europeans brought muskets (long-barrelled, muzzle-loading guns) to New Zealand, these weapons were used in a series of battles between Māori tribes, mostly between 1818 and 1840. As many as 20,000 people may have died, directly or indirectly. Tribal boundaries were also changed by the musket wars.

Source: Musket wars – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand

TE RAUPARAHA (NGĀTI TOA)

HONGI HIKA (NGĀPUHI)

TE PŪOHO (NGĀTI TAMA)

TĀMATI WĀKA NENE (NGĀPUHI)

PŌTATAU TE WHEROWHERO (WAIKATO)

TE HORETĀ TE TANIWHA (NGĀTI WHANAUNGA)

TE AO-KAPURANGI (NGĀTI RANGIWEWEHI, TE ARAWA)

NGĀ PAKANGA O AOTEAROA | THE NEW ZEALAND WARS

In the 1840s and 1860s conflict over sovereignty and land led to battles between government forces and some Māori tribes. The largest campaign was the clash between the Māori king and the Crown. Land confiscations to punish tribes that fought against the Crown have left a long legacy of grievances.

Source: New Zealand Wars – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand 

THE NORTHERN WAR 1845-46

HŌNE HEKE (NGĀPUHI)

TE RUKI KAWITI (NGĀPUHI)

 TĀMATI WĀKA NENE (NGĀPUHI)  

 ERUERA MAIHI PATUONE (NGĀPUHI, NGĀTI HAO)

WAR IN WELLINGTON AND WHANGANUI 1845-47

TE RAUPARAHA (NGĀTI TOA)  

TE RANGIHAEATA (NGĀTI TOA)

TŌPINE TE MAMAKU (NGĀTI HĀUA-TE-RANGI)

HOANI TE PUNI-KOKOPU (TE ĀTIAWA, NGĀTI TE WHITI, NGĀTI TAWHIRIKURA)  

TE WHAREPŌURI (TE ĀTI AWA)

WAR IN TARANAKI 1860-61 AND 1864-66

WIREMU KĪNGI TE RANGITĀKE (TE ĀTI AWA)

ERUETI TE WHITI-O-RONGOMAI III (TE ĀTI AWA)

WAR IN THE WAIKATO 1863-65

REWI MANIAPOTO (NGĀTI MANIAPOTO)

WAR IN TAURANGA 1864

RĀWIRI TUAIA PUHIRAKE (NGĀI TE RANGI)

HĒNI TE KIRI KARAMŪ (TE ARAWA)

OTHER IMPORTANT LEADERS DURING NGĀ PAKANGA O AOTEAROA | THE NEW ZEALAND WARS

TE KOOTI ARIKIRANGI TE TŪRUKI (RONGOWHAKAATA, NGĀTI MĀRU) 1868-73

RIWHA TĪTOKOWARU (NGĀ RUAHINE) 1868-69

RUA KĒNANA (TŪHOE) 1916

OVERSEAS WARS

Māori have taken part in every international theatre of war that New Zealand has been involved in. From the first they eagerly devoured the war news, the elders making the young people read aloud to them. On marae Māori debated the justification for each war, considering their collective responses given their obligations as citizens of the British Empire.

Source: Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand  

BOER WAR

Māori offered to form a ‘native’ contingent in the South African War (1899–1902). Their offer was declined, as British policy was not to use indigenous troops in wars with white nations. However, some Māori joined up anyway.

Source: Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand  

WALTER CALLAWAY (WĀTA TE WAHAHUIA)

WORLD WAR I

In the First World War the British government accepted a proposal for a Māori Contingent of 500 men. By the end of the war 2,500 Māori had served overseas.

Source:  Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand   

WILLIAM RHODES-MOORHOUSE (NGĀTI RUANUI)

HĀMI ‘THOMAS MARSHALL’ GRACE (NGĀTI TUWHARETOA)

TE RANGI HĪROA ‘PETER BUCK’ (NGĀTI MUTUNGA)

RIKIHANA CARKEEK (NGĀTI RAUKAWA)

TE KIRIHAEHAE TE PUEA HĒRANGI (WAIKATO)

Te Puea's influence became more firmly established among Tainui people during the First World War, when she led their opposition to the government's conscription policy. She understood the sense of alienation that the military invasion, occupation and confiscation of land had imposed upon the people, and understood, too, that the Kīngitanga held the key to restoring their sense of purpose. Te Puea was guided all her life by Tāwhiao's sayings; more than anyone else, she gathered them together. During the war she drew on Tāwhiao's words forbidding Waikato to take up arms again after he had finally made his peace with the Crown in 1881. She stood firm with those men who did not wish to fight a war that was not theirs, on behalf of a government that had dispossessed and scattered their people. But the government was impatient with what it saw as defiance and disloyalty, and compounded Tainui feelings of injustice by conscripting Māori only from the Waikato–Maniapoto district. 

Source: Hērangi, Te Kirihaehae Te Puea – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand   

HENARE WEPIHA TE WAINOHU (NGĀTI KAHUNGUNU, NGĀTI PĀHAUWERA)

HĒNĀRE KŌHERE (NGĀTI POROU)

ETHEL PRITCHARD (NGĀPUHI)

ROGER INGRAM DANSEY AND HARRY DELAMERE DANSEY (NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA)

TANGO KOKIRI (TE ARARWA)

HENRY TE REIWHATI VERCOE (NGĀTI PIKIAO)

WORLD WAR II

Māori took part in all the armed forces during the Second World War, most notably in the 28th (Māori) Battalion. The battalion was organised on tribal lines, and fought in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy. More than 3,600 Māori served in the battalion. Its casualties were almost 50% more than the New Zealand average.

Source:  Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand   

TE MOANA-NUI-A-KIWA NGARIMU (NGĀTI POROU, TE ATIANGA-A-MATE) 

NANCY WAKE (NGĀPUHI)

HAANE MANAHI (TE ARAWA, NGĀTI RAUKAWA)

CHARLES SHELFORD (NGĀTI POROU, TE WHAKATOHEA)

POROKORU PATAPU ‘JOHN’ POHE  

BERT SAM WIPITI 

GEORGE BERTRAND (NGĀTI MUTANGA)

ARAPETA AWATERE (NGĀTI POROU, NGĀTI HINE)

FREDERICK BAKER (NGĀPUHI)

ERUERA TE WHITI O RONGOMAI LOVE (TE ATI AWA)

CHARLES MOIHI TE ARAWAKA BENNETT (NGĀTI PIKIAO, NGĀTI WHAKAUE)

KINGI ARETA KEIHA (RONGOWHAKAATA, TE AITANGA-A-HAUITI, TE AITANGA-A-MAHAKI)

ROBERT ‘BOM’ GILLIES (NGĀTI WHAKAUE, NGĀTI KAHUNGUNU)

EPINEHA RATAPU (NGĀTI POROU)

OVERSEAS SERVICE AFTER 1945

• A Māori unit was part of Jayforce, which served in Japan after the Second World War.
• New Zealand forces in the Korean War did not include separate Māori units, but of those who served, about one in seven overall were Māori.
• Around 35% of New Zealand forces in the Vietnam War were Māori.

From the 1950s increasing numbers of Māori joined the armed forces, and Māori cultural elements were included in the forces’ routines.

Since the 1970s Māori have continued to serve overseas. Prominent Māori in the forces include Jerry Mateparae, who became chief of defence force in 2006 and governor-general in 2011. Corporal Willie Apiata received a Victoria Cross for bravery in Afghanistan.

Source:  Ngā pakanga ki tāwāhi – Māori and overseas wars – Te Ara, the Encylopedia of New Zealand   

JERRY MATEPARAE (NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA, NGĀTI KAHUNGUNU)

WILLIE APIATA (NGĀPUHI, TE WHĀNAU-Ā-APUNUI)

FURTHER INFORMATION

Check out these links to dive deeper into learning about the involvement of Māori in war:

• Find out more about Māori Warfare.
• E-Tangata has some great articles such as What caused the New Zealand Wars? and Māori in the First World War.
• Find out about the 28th Māori Battalion and view the roll, photos, diary entries, letters and more.
• NZ History has information about Māori and the First World War and Māori and the Second World War.
• Read the article An Invisible History: Wāhine Māori in the Air Force during World War II to learn more about the contribution of Māori women to the Second World War.
• Read stories from Te Hau Kāinga – The Māori Home Front to learn more about the Māori war effort during WWII.
• Many Answers has lots of entries on the subject of war that will connect you with trusted websites and resources for further research.

The following School Journals articles are also useful resources:

• Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū: The Māori Pioneer Battalion 
• Johnny Pohe and the Great Escape 
• Pā Tūwatawata and the New Zealand Wars 
• Kei te Tāone Nui: Māori and the City (1945–1970) 
• Fly
• Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa/The New Zealand Wars 
• Hakaraia: Warrior Peacemaker 
• King and Country
• Ngā Tātarakihi o Parihaka 

Film and video

• Te Pūtake o te Riri
• The NZ Wars Collection 
• The New Zealand Wars
• Tama Tū
• Nancy Wake: The White Mouse
• Turangaarere: The John Pohe Story
• Māori Battalion - March to Victory
• Turangawaewae / A Place to Stand
• Aotearoa History Show: The Musket Wars
• Aotearoa History Show: New Zealand Wars (Part 1)
• Aotearoa History Show: New Zealand Wars (Part 2)

This story was curated and compiled by Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa | National Library of New Zealand, Services to Schools staff, October 2022.