Maori in World War I: a Fascinating Account by Monty Soutar

Trainee NgaPuhi nurses. pn419

This  extract from Monty Soutar’s new book Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E! Māori in the First World War focuses on the New Zealand that Māori knew when war broke out in 1914. It begins with this edited foreword by the former Governor-General, Sir Jerry Matepaere:

Monty Soutar’s Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E! helps to tell the story, and the stories of the men, of the Māori Contingent at Gallipoli and the Māori (Pioneer) Battalion on the Western Front. As the saying goes: “It wasn’t all beer and skittles”, although there was some of that.
In all, 2227 Māori and 458 Pacific Islanders served with the battalion. Of those, 336 men were killed or died overseas, and a further 24 died in New Zealand of injuries sustained during the war. READ ON.
My thanks to E-Tangata.