to descendants of Māori Pioneer Battalion
More than 100 years since a te reo Māori message was carved into chalk tunnels under the French town of Arras during World War I, a delegation has returned the taonga to descendants of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company.
On Monday, the eve of Anzac Day, a mayoral delegation from the city of Arras in northern France returned a framed print of the message left by members of the 43 Māori Battalion Pioneers in World War 1.
Receiving it on behalf of the group, known as Kia Maumahara Māori Pioneers – Forgotten 43, was Angela Karini, Ngāti Porou, whose grandfather Private Toi Karini, from Tolaga Bay, received the French Croix De Guerre for Meritorious Service.
“The message says ‘Kia kaha, kia toa’ ... it speaks to the idea of encouraging whoever reads it to be brave, to continue to endure, to continue to advance, to continue to achieve and succeed,” Karini said at the small ceremony held at the French Ambassador’s residence in Wellington.
Link to video and article: French delegation returns WWI taonga to descendants of Māori Pioneer Battalion | Stuff.co.nz
