Ka whakamānawatia e te hapori o Kaikōura te mutunga iho o te pakanga tuatahi o Te Ao ki tētahi huinga whakamaharatanga i te haeata nei. Ko ngā hōia eke hōiho nō te iwi kāinga me tētahi uri nō te ope tauā o Light Horse i Ahitereiria i whakahōnoretia ngā tama i mate i te pae o te riri, i te kotahi rau tau ki muri.
He kāhui rārangi o ngā toa eke hōiho e rua tekau mā rua kei wareware i ngā ika a whiro kua riro atu.
“It would have been hard yards I'd say back then,” i kī atu tētehi mema o te ope tauā eke hōiho o Kaikōura i a Cowan Wards (Ngāi Tahu). “Stepping out today is a great thing for what they've done for us and the way that they've shaped history over the years for our freedom.”
I te kotahi rau tau ki muri i whakahoki ai ngā tama eke hōiho o te riri o Waitaha me Ahitereiria ki Karipori kia nehu ai ō rātou hoa i hinga atu, whai muri i te waitohutanga o te whakaaetanga whakahauraro.
Ka whakanuia hoki e ngā uri tokorua ā rātou mahi i te mura o te ahi.
“I think it's a great honour for my family to keep that tradition going,” i mea atu a Terry Kingi, kaiwhakahaere, he uri hoki nā John Coppell (Nelson Mounted Rifles). “Even though our family took a high price and a lot of them didn't come home.”
Hei tā Joseph Robert, he uri nā tētahi ika a whiro o te ope tauā o Light Horse, “It means a lot for me to come to another country and represent us Australians who rode, fought and died alongside all of the New Zealanders, Māori's and keeping the ANZAC tradition alive.”
Ahatia ka kitea tonutia ngā pānga a rūaumoko e rua tau ki muri ki te taone tūruhi nei, e ora pai ana a maumahara i te ngākau o te tini ngerongero o te haukāinga.
“He kotahi te hapori i roto i te raru e whakararu nei i a tātou, ko tērā te mahi o te rūrū,” i mea atu a John Tait (Ngāi Tahu). “Kei konei ngā pakeke, kei konā hoki ngā tamariki mai i ngā kura, ngā whānau katoa, ahakoa he Māori, he Pākehā rānei. Ka tūhono tonu mai rātou i roto i tērā wairua.”
“The up-thrust of the seabed ground through this area here,” i kōrero atu a Kingi. “We were planning on having the waka to come in but we ran in to a lot of major problems not knowing where the reefs had popped up.”
Ko te hanga kiriata te kaupapa kei te aroaro o Kingi e pā ana ki ngā hōia eke hōiho Māori e waru me tōna tupuna.
