pn897. Last Surviving Member of the 28th Māori Battalion Wants Treaty Equality between Crown and Māori — and an apology for how Māori soldiers were treated after the War

 

Knighted by the Governor-General

The last surviving member of the 28th Māori Battalion Sir Bom Gillies who was knighted on Wednesday wants a treaty partnership for Māori, and an apology for how Māori soldiers were treated after the war. The 28th Māori Battalion brought back more honours than any NZ battalion in WW2

He said he and his fellow warriors-in-arms were "downtrodden" and excluded when they came home, despite being told they would be equal with Pākehā if they fought.

"We came home and we never received our medals when we were discharged, and not only that we weren't allowed into the RSAs - they told us to leave and all that sort of thing."

Some whānau claim when their forebears returned from war, their farms had been taken and given to pākehā veterans instead.

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