The C Company Māori Battalion Memorial House is set to broadcast coverage of Anzac Day this year to help share stories and history of those from Tairāwhiti who went to war.
Dr Monty Soutar said the C Company Māori Battalion Memorial House was approached by Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) a couple of years ago and was planning to broadcast for Anzac Day last year, but because of the region still reeling from the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, it was decided to postpone to this year.
Veteran broadcaster Julian Wilcox (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa) will be joined in Gisborne by military historian Dr Monty Soutar (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou), who throughout the broadcast will comment on what is happening and why certain things are done during a dawn ceremony.
“It’s a huge honour for the C Company Memorial House to be the setting for it as it’s run by a voluntary trust and all income for it comes from koha, so to have this opportunity to promote what we do is great,” Dr Soutar said.
Throughout the morning broadcast there will be features about different kaupapa related to the region and Anzac history.
There will be a tour through the Memorial House, a closer look at Sir Apirana Ngata and the background to his work The Price of Citizenship, and a visit to St Mary’s Memorial Church in Tikitiki, which celebrates 100 years since laying its foundation stone.
Coverage will also feature a piece on Toti Tuhaka (Ngāti Porou), who served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in Korea, and the exploits of Lieutenant Te Rauwhiro Tibble (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Apanui), of Tikitiki, who won the Military Cross for bravery in Italy.
Tokomaru Bay kapa haka group, Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū will perform waiata associated with the 28 Maori Battalion and the stories behind these will be shared.
The broadcast will cross over to the Auckland dawn ceremony as well as the Gisborne dawn ceremony at the Cenotaph.
Anzac Day is about not forgetting the sacrifices made in the past by those who served, Dr Soutar said.
“It’s quite special this year as Māori TV have chosen a quote that is on C Company house from Sir Apirana Ngata, who said at the beginning of World War 2: ‘We are of one house and if our Pākehā brothers fall, we fall with them’.
“It’s almost ironic, with what is going on with the Māori language and the moves by the current Government to do different things that impact on Māori, that we should not forget what he said.
“I guess we really need our Pākehā brothers to stand alongside Māori today in the continued battle for equality.”
