Scholarship winners’ values align with 28 Māori Battalion

Recipients of the Ngarimu VC and 28 (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships along with board members and members of parliament on Friday at the award ceremony at C Company Memorial House.Picture by Josie McClutchie

Whānau, hapū and iwi gathered at the C Company Memorial House on Friday to celebrate the awarding of scholarships to Māori students and academics demonstrating characteristics that align with the values of the 28 Māori Battalion.

The Ngārimu VC and 28 Māori Battalion Memorial Scholarships have been awarded to 13 individuals.

The scholarships were created in June 1943 when Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Apanui and Pākehā from the East Coast met to consider how to commemorate the bravery of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu and other members of the 28 Battalion who lost their lives in World War 2.

Friday’s ceremony was attended by members of Parliament, members of the Ngārimu scholarship fund board, Willie Apiata VC and Tā Robert Gillies, the last surviving member of the 28 Māori Battalion.

“These scholarships pay homage to the brave men of the 28 (Māori) Battalion and commemorate Victoria Cross winner Second Lieutenant Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu,” said Education Minister Erica Stanford.

“Each and every one of the recipients exemplifies commitment, determination and leadership, just as the valiant men of the 28 (Māori) Battalion did.”

Undergraduate recipients are Maraea Coleman (Ngāti Porou), Te Atamihi Papa (Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Waikato Maniapoto), Pounamu Wharehinga (Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe) and Heremia McGarvey (Tūhoe).

Maraea Coleman is studying towards a Bachelor of Arts in Te Reo Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Waikato with the aim of becoming a fully registered kaiako in kura kaupapa Māori.

Maraea says the scholarship will help her to pursue her dreams and follow in the footsteps of those before her — including her tīpuna Ngoingoi— to continue to revitalise te reo Māori and nurture the language for generations to come.

“It is a privilege to receive this award in honour of the 28 (Māori) Battalion who fought admirably for our people and country during World War 2. The bravery, courage and faith they showed is what I aspire to embody,”  Maraea said.

Pounamu Wharehinga is also at Waikato University, studying towards a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Māori and Indigenous Studies with a minor in te reo Māori.

Pounamu says she is in a “privileged but accountable position” as she builds her kete mātauranga so she can return home after university to share what she has learned with her iwi and hapū.

“As a mokopuna of members of the 28 Battalion, our whānau take immense pride in the sacrifices that our koroua made to serve — particularly when we consider and understand the many burdens they had to shoulder as returned servicemen coming home to te Tairāwhiti,” she said.

Masters scholarship recipients are Miria Haora (Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Whātua), Ashton Thrupp (Tūhoe, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngā Ariki Kaipūtahi), Jade Davis (Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāi Tai, Te Whakatōhea), and Melba Pakinga (Ngāti Tamatera, Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Korokoro).

Ashton Thrupp is studying towards a Master of Education in educational administration and leadership at Massey University.

A former student at Te Kura Tuarua o Te Mānuka Tūtahi in Whakātane, Ashton is now a bilingual class teacher and team leader at Whakatāne Intermediate School.

“Our tūpuna in the 28 (Māori) Battalion fought bravely for the future of our world and I aspire to mirror their strength and courage in my mahi so future generations and rangatahi can experience success and prosperity in education,” Ashton said.

“Receiving this award not only fuels the fire and drive within me to keep fighting but will also help cover the costs and resources associated with studying.”

The doctoral scholarship recipient was Aramoana Mohi-Maxwell (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Tārawhai, Ngāti Whakaue, Tapuika, Ngāti Parekawa, Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Ruanui).

Vocational Education and Training  Scholarship recipients were Te Hiiri Ponga (Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Tūwharetoa, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Tumango, Ngāti Apa) and Te Atawhai Kaa (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou).

Te Atawhai Kaa, from the Hokianga and Waiapu region, is working towards a diploma in contemporary dance at the New Zealand School of Dance.

“The Ngārimu scholarships provide an opportunity to celebrate being Māori, connects us to our tūpuna who fought in the 28 Battalion, and helps to keep their memories, values and attributes alive,” Te Atawhai said.

Te Atawhai says she was drawn to these scholarships as they celebrate kaupapa Māori, and she endeavours to strengthen her identity while taking her whānau, hapū and Māoritanga along on this journey of achieving her goals.

“Dance is an expensive pathway to take and receiving this scholarship will help my whānau and me to overcome some of the financial barriers that go along with it. It also allows me to continue to participate in an often exclusive industry.”

Video award winners were Hinemaiaia Pitiroi (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāpuhi) and Ngaawaimarino Simpkins (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāpuhi).

The Ngārimu video competition was open to Māori learners in Years 7 to 13 and enables them to showcase the contribution made by members of the 28 (Māori) Battalion they descend from or are connected to through their wider whānau, hapū and iwi.

The recipient of the prestigious Manakura award was Dr Monty Soutar (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu).

The Manakura Award is the highest accolade of the Ngārimu VC and 28 Māori Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards, and is only presented every three years to exceptional individuals. The award was last presented to the late Tā Wira Gardiner in 2021.

Dr Monty Soutar’s contributions to education, Māori history, and the 28 Māori Battalion define his legacy, which has been recognised with the Manakura Award.

Dr Soutar dedicated 15 years of his life to documenting the history of the 28 Māori Battalion, New Zealand’s most definitive account of C Company’s role in the Second World War.

His award-winning book, published in 2008, “Ngā Tama Toa - The Price of Citizenship, C Company, Māori Battalion” pays tribute to the veterans of C Company whose members were drawn from an area which stretched from Tōrere in the Eastern Bay of Plenty to Muriwai, south of Gisborne.

‘It’s a true honour to be nominated for this award, and I feel it is fitting to receive it at C Company Memorial House given the focus of my earlier work,” he said.

He acknowledged the late Tā Wira Gardiner who received the Manakura award in 2021 “for his tireless service and leadership”.

He said it was a privilege to follow in his footsteps in receiving the prestigious award.

After starting out as a teacher in Ruatōria, Dr Soutar delved into the historical records at the Tairāwhiti Māori Land Court to create a local history resource for students on the East Coast.

As a former senior lecturer in Māori studies at Massey University, Dr Soutar’s influence expanded with his 2002 appointment to the Waitangi Tribunal, and again in 2006 when he was appointed director of Tairāwhiti Museum. He was also the chief executive of Te Runanga o Ngāti Porou.

For a decade from 2011, Dr Soutar served as a senior historian with the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, and in 2015 he was appointed an officer of the New Zealand order of merit (ONZM) for services to Māori and historical research.

In 2021, Dr. Soutar was awarded the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer’s Fellowship to enable him to complete a historical novel trilogy. The first novel in the trilogy, Kāwai: For Such a Time as This draws on his lifetime of research into the whakapapa and oral traditions of his tīpuna.