Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

First Maori in 'white man's war'

By by Shenagh Gleeson
Rotorua Daily Post·
4 Jan, 2011 05:56 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

When Britain called its colonies to help fight the Boers in South Africa in 1899, Coromandel goldminer and logger Walter Callaway was as keen as mustard. But there was a problem. Britain had made it clear that only white New Zealanders were welcome. No natives were wanted in "a white man's war".
Fortunately for Callaway, the son of a Maori woman and a European man, his European name got him in.
With the connivance of army officials he sailed with the First New Zealand Contingent to the South African War in September 1899 and became one of the first Maori to fight overseas for New Zealand.
He served with distinction in three deployments in South Africa, returning for the third time after being seriously wounded. He was decorated for bravery and eventually was made a lieutenant.
Callaway's remarkable story has been unearthed by Thames High School teacher Mike Dwight and recorded in a book that was launched recently at Callaway House at Kikowhakarere Bay, just north of Coromandel Town.
Mr Dwight's interest in the war stems from growing up in South Africa. His two grandfathers fought in the war, one in the same column as Callaway. When he emigrated to New Zealand, Mr Dwight settled in Thames and was delighted to find memorials commemorating the Boer War (as it was then known) in Thames and Paeroa but puzzled by current New Zealanders' lack of knowledge of the war. In reading about New Zealand's participation, he came across references to Callaway. "His name kept coming up and he seemed such a lively character. He won running races, he sang and played the violin - he seemed a complete all-rounder."
During the past five years, Mr Dwight has pieced together Callaway's story. He was among the 20 soldiers identified as Maori who fought in South Africa. He was among the first to enlist, among the first to serve abroad and among the first to become a commissioned officer in the New Zealand Army.
Maori were keen to play their part and were frustrated by the British no-natives dictum, Mr Dwight said. "Callaway and the others [with European names] sneaked in through the back door."
In a foreword to the book, Defence chief Jerry Mateparae says many Maori have followed in Callaway's footsteps: "Thanks to this enterprising and well-produced biography, we know a great deal more about Walter Callaway, a man who embodied many of the traits such as loyalty, courage and commitment that New Zealanders still hold dear."
Callaway died in 1926 at 52.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

'We were all feeling it': Emotional tribute to slain teen at league tournament

02 Jun 06:59 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Badly injured man spends nearly eight hours trapped in tractor by fallen tree

02 Jun 06:18 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Person critically injured in Whakatāne crash

02 Jun 04:55 AM

‘No regrets’ for Rotorua Retiree

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

'We were all feeling it': Emotional tribute to slain teen at league tournament

'We were all feeling it': Emotional tribute to slain teen at league tournament

02 Jun 06:59 AM

Kaea's parents received the carved tewhatewha from the Pikiao team.

Badly injured man spends nearly eight hours trapped in tractor by fallen tree

Badly injured man spends nearly eight hours trapped in tractor by fallen tree

02 Jun 06:18 AM
Person critically injured in Whakatāne crash

Person critically injured in Whakatāne crash

02 Jun 04:55 AM
'Shocked, actually': Rotorua healthcare leader reflects on decades of service

'Shocked, actually': Rotorua healthcare leader reflects on decades of service

02 Jun 03:00 AM
Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design
sponsored

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP