THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT

AWATERE Arapeta

39636, Major temp Lieutenant Colonel, 28 (Maori) Battalion, WW2

CITATION

Distinguished Service Order

Gazetted 19 June 1945, Sepp 37138, p3237

NW of Faenza in the area of Pogliano-Baccarina Lieutenant Colonel Awatere’s battalion had a very difficult assault in the attack on the night 14/15 December 1944.  From a short start line it had to take two objectives on a wide front.  By skilful handling all objectives were captured before first light.  Unfortunately it was found impossible to get armour to support the leading companies owing to the wet nature of the ground.  The enemy promptly counter-attacked with tanks and infantry and despite hard fighting the forward localities had to be abandoned.  Lieutenant Colonel Awatere withdrew his troops skillfully and handled his support weapons so well that the enemy suffered many casualties.  He then reorganized his position and held firm still on a difficult line where armour could only support one flank.  Throughout the day he was so aggressive that the enemy, fearing further advances on an open flank again counter-attacked at dusk.  This was also smashed and the enemy started a general withdrawal.  Lieutenant Colonel Awatere’s handling of his battalion and inspiring leadership were responsible for causing the enemy  over one hundred casualties, while his personal bravery and calmness under fire was an example to all ranks

Military Cross

Gazetted 15 June 1943, Supp 36057, p2760

KNOWN AWARDS

Distinguished Service Order

Military Cross

1939-45 Star

Africa Star

8th Army

Italy Star

Defence Medal

War Medal 1939-45

New Zealand War Service Medal

NOTES

Born 25 April 1910, Tuparoa, New Zealand

Died 6 March 1976, Auckland, New Zealand

Buried Rotorua, New Zealand

BIOGRAPHY

Arapeta Marukitepua Pitapitanuiarangi Awatere (whose name is also recorded as Te Arapeta Pitameirangi Marukitepua Awatere) was born on 25 April 1910 at Tuparoa, on the East Coast, to Petuere Wi Hekopa Awatere, a farmer of Te Whanau-a-Hinetapora hapu of Ngati Porou, and his wife, Heni Hautao, also known as Heni Pratt (Parata). The family name was taken from the Awatere River, where Arapeta’s great-grandfather, Te Whetukamokamo, had died in battle against a Nga Puhi force. Later, Ngati Hine of Nga Puhi sent young rangatira women and men to intermarry with Ngati Porou to ensure a lasting peace. Awatere’s maternal grandfather, Wiremu Parata Moihi Ka of Ngati Hine, was accepted into Ngati Porou in the same spirit of reconciliation.

While Arapeta was still an infant his mother took him by boat to Whangaruru to her marae, Pipiwai, to be raised by a relative, Heni Maahanga. As they were being transported to shore, waves swamped the rowing boat. The sleeping infant’s head was submerged several times, but he did not wake up. This was interpreted as a sign that he would one day play an important role for his people. Awatere’s pito (umbilical cord) was buried in the wahi tapu (sacred ground) in front of the hall on the marae: it was symbolic of the return of a long lost family to the north.

Awatere returned to the East Coast at the age of six and spent the rest of his childhood under the guidance and tuition of his Ngati Porou relations. He learned Maori lore from respected tohunga, including Pineamine Tamahori. At the whare wananga (houses of learning) Umuariki and Ruataupare at Tuparoa, Awatere was trained in karakia, whaikorero (oratory) and whakapapa, and the history and use of ancient weapons. He won the taiaha Tuwhakairiora for his prowess with weaponry. When he attended the native schools at Tuparoa and Tokomaru Bay it always struck him as odd that pupils were not allowed to speak Maori. He eventually spoke fluently in many languages and could quote poetry in Latin, Greek and English.

After Awatere’s parents died he left Tuparoa to work as a sailor to pay his way at high school. He attended Te Aute College in Hawke’s Bay, and during school holidays went back to the ships to earn money. He passed the interpreters’ first grade examination in Maori in 1925. After leaving school he joined the Native Department in 1928 and was stationed at Rotorua, Wellington and, from 1933, Gisborne. While there he was a member of the Kaiti School Committee, organiser and secretary of the Maori Voluntary Welfare Workers at Kaiti and a physical instructor at the Gisborne YMCA. Awatere married Elsie Bella Rogers of Ngati Whakaue at Ohinemutu on 17 January 1931; they were to have five daughters.

In 1928 he joined the New Zealand Territorial Force and studied the great figures of European military history. Awatere was successfully to combine the Maori and European military traditions during the Second World War. He enlisted in November 1939, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in March 1940. Posted to the 28th New Zealand (Maori) Battalion after the campaigns in Greece and Crete, he served as an intelligence officer with the battalion and with the 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade. With rank of captain (temporary major), he commanded C Company in the fighting at Tebaga Gap in 1943 and was awarded the Military Cross. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he was placed in command of the Maori Battalion in November and awarded the DSO after the fighting at Faenza in northern Italy in December.

Apirana Ngata had opposed Awatere’s taking command of the Maori Battalion on the grounds of a supposed inherited stubborn streak that would not be in the battalion’s interests. In fact Awatere was not at all reckless about the lives of his comrades, and it pained him deeply that so many were killed. He later wrote numerous poems in remembrance of his fallen comrades. He was a determined commander who led from the front and gave no quarter: there were persistent rumours about the mistreatment, even killing, of prisoners. Awatere was both feared and admired by his men. On his instructions his men communicated in Maori, and in Maori code when they were on the front line or during reconnaisance to avoid eavesdropping by the enemy.

After his return to New Zealand in August 1945, Awatere spent two years on the road with Eruera Stirling, honouring the fallen soldiers of the Maori Battalion at hundreds of marae around the country. After this he rarely spoke of the war. He participated in two separate rituals of purification to release himself from the effects of warfare.

In 1948–49 Awatere established a short-lived seafood business before rejoining the Department of Maori Affairs. He took university courses in anthropology, philosophy and Maori in 1952 and in philosophy in 1955, and did extensive research into Maori history and ethnography. He served as a Maori district welfare officer in Wanganui (from 1953), Rotorua (from 1958) and Auckland (from 1959). Awatere was known to spend his own salary on this welfare work and to give clothes or money to those in need. In Auckland he led a haka team, Maranga, and a choral group, the Aotearoa Folklore Society. They participated in competitions, toured the country and travelled to Samoa and the Cook Islands. He was elected to the Auckland City Council in 1962, serving until 1969. In 1963 he was chosen to perform in the ceremonial challenge in front of Queen Elizabeth II at Waitangi, an honour that overwhelmed him. He used his taiaha, Tuwhakairiora, which was made to fit a man over six feet tall. Awatere was not tall, but stocky and extremely strong and had practised constantly in order to master the use of the weapon.

Awatere did not sleep much, and when he did he preferred the floor. He seemed to his family to be up all night, composing choral pieces on the piano or writing pages of poetry in Maori, which he then translated into English. He was passionate about everything that pertained to the Maori world, including the language. He opposed the use of the macron in written Maori, preferring the double or triple vowel. He immersed himself in whakapapa and tribal history, and composed numerous waiata. During long car journeys to the many hui he attended, he would chant these in a droning monotone.

Awatere’s health deteriorated in the 1960s. He suffered a stroke and developed diabetes, which was not diagnosed until severe physical damage had been done. In 1965 he began an extramarital relationship with Tuini Hakaraia. In 1969 Hakaraia took up with Hendrik Vunderink. On 2 August Awatere experienced several rehu (premonitions) that Hakaraia was in danger. Early on the morning of 3 August he went to her home in Te Atatu, and during an altercation stabbed Vunderink with a knife he was carrying in his overcoat. Awatere was charged with murder. His defence was that his diabetes had created a psychosis, but there was conflicting evidence as to whether he had been fully conscious of his actions. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

In prison, Awatere continued to write and compose and to keep abreast of Maori political and social events, and he produced an extensive collection of writings on Maoritanga. He had a constant stream of visitors and taught and mentored students from university, or anyone who had a thirst for Maori knowledge. Awatere began haka groups in prison, and taught Maori to other prisoners. He involved himself in many other intellectual pursuits, including teaching himself Japanese.

His death, on 6 March 1976, was completely unexpected. He had reached a point of excellent health and fitness and was looking forward to his imminent parole. He was intending to return to Tuparoa and to rebuild the wharenui, Tangihaere. He was survived by his wife and children.

Arapeta Awatere’s tangihanga was enormous. It took the funeral cortège several days to travel between Auckland and Tuparoa. Circuitous routes were taken in a vain effort to avoid the many marae that wanted to farewell him, but they simply set up road-blocks. His final poroporoaki (farewell) was at Mangahanea, in Ngati Porou territory, although a contingent from Ngati Hine came to claim him also. His old war comrades were his pallbearers, but on his final journey up the hill to Waitetoki he was borne by his grandsons. He was buried beside his mother.