In 2009, the 70th Anniversary of the formation of the 28th Maori Battalion, a website was created to honour and commemorate the achievements of the Battalion during the second world war. It was formally launched in August 2009 by the Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, and the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Christopher Finlayson. Click on the website to view some wonderful audio-visual archival material covering the years from 1939, the year the Battalion was formed, to 1946 when it returned to Aotearoa New Zealand. The Battalion was made up of four rifle companies (organised along tribal lines) and an HQ company, drawn from all over Maoridom. Each company had its own ‘nickname’. Follow the Battalion across the world to its battles in Greece, Crete, North Africa and the Italian campaign.
This is a wonderful record of this unique fighting force and the remarkable part Maoridom played in the war effort of New Zealand.
