Tā Robert Nairn Gillies (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Kahungunu), best known by his nickname ‘Bom’, has died at the age of 99.

He was the last surviving member of the more than 3,600 men who enlisted in the 28th Māori Battalion in World War II.

Te Ao Māori News understands he died at home in Rotorua surrounded by his whānau. He is survived by two of his sons, and six mokopuna.

In a statement released by his whānau moments ago, Tā Tīmoti Kāretu, also of Ngāti Kahungunu, offered a message of endearment.

E koro, Tā Rāpata, puaheihei mai ana, papaki mai ana ngā tai ketu, ngā tai kato ki tō ākau roa ki Waimārama. Tū mehameha mai ana ko tō maheno, ko Motu o Kura i te papa o Hinemoana, ō tohu mana, ō tohu rangatira rā ēnei ki tēnei kāinga ōu me ōna kārangaratanga hapū, a Ngāti Kurukuru, a Ngāti Hikatoa, a Ngāti Whakaiti me Ngāti Ura-ki-te-rangi ka mahue mai i a koe ki muri nei taurere ai.

Koutou rā, Tā Rāpata, ngā makorea, ngā ika a whiro i hoki mai i te mura o te ahi ‘kua takoto i te taunga,i te moenga roa’, poto katoa atu ana ki te pō kia puta ko te kōrero i tō koutou hokinga mai he utu nui i utua engari whakaaro koretia ana koutou ka tino tika ko ngā kupu nei ‘he moumou koutou ē’.

Kua hīkoia e koe te hīkoi roa i te wā o te ora, tākurukuru atu ana i te tatau o te kotahi rau tau ka kōhakina koe e te ringa tē taea e wai ake nei te pare ki rā haki.

Ā kāti, e koro,moe mai rā ki roto i to iwi, o Te Arawa, ka waiho ko mātou kia tangi tawhiti mai engari ia ko te mahara ka tū tonu hei oranga ngākau ,hei tūreikuratanga haere nei ngā tāu.

Ko te aunga rā o te moe ki a koe, e Tā, ko te aunga rā o te moe ki a koe.

Earlier this evening, Jeremy Tātere McLeod urged the motu to respect the privacy of the whānau until they were prepared to announce his passing.

“E te motu - whakaarongia te whānau pani. He kupu tēnei nā te whānau tonu."

Born in February 1925, Tā Bom lied about his age multiple times in order to join the New Zealand Army and deploy with the Māori Battalion to Africa and Italy.

An advocate for peace, Gillies attended many commemorations, which included this year’s 80th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino.

He expressed deep frustration at the lack of Māori cultural practices observed in official proceedings, saying the group was advised not to fly the Māori Battalion flag in the service at the Cassino memorial.

It was advice he refused to follow.

Until his death, he maintained his belief that war was futile, lobbying successive governments for an apology for the way Māori soldiers were treated upon their return from war.

Gillies carried the unusual distinction of a knighthood from two countries – an Italian Cavaliere, which he accepted in 2019 in honour of his comrades, and as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, which he received in 2022.

Tā Bom wore the honours with the humility that distinguished him all his life.

“As far as I am concerned the award is for every soldier who served in the Māori Battalion”, he told Stuff when his second knighthood was announced.

“There are others who deserve this more than me,” he said.

“There are many soldiers who did more and who have never been recognised. I accept on behalf of all the boys, all my mates who served in the Māori Battalion.”

He would later say while his knighthood was “an honour”, he also wished he “hadn’t accepted it. The fuss keeps going on and on”.

He Poroporoaki nā te waka o Te Arawa

”E Koro, ē, kai te hahae te tau o te ate,
Kai te hotu te whatumanawa, kai te pātuki te tārāuma
Kai te mōteatea ngā mahara mōu ka huri kāweka nei.

E te toka tū moana, ākinga tai, ākinga hau, ākinga ngaru tūātea.
E taku parepare, e taku whakaruruhau
Te murau a te tini, te wenerau a te mano

He aha rawa rā tēnei hanga? Koia rānei he pukenga wai?
He pukenga tangata? E Koro, whitikina mai te māramatanga ki runga ki tō iwi e haku nei.

E hoki rā koe ki ō rahi, ki ō nui i te pō,
E hoki koe ki tō makau, ki te uri o Ngāti Maniapoto, ki a Mariana Pareararoa Gillies (nee Ratima) e tatari mai rā ki a koe.Whāia rā te ia o tō tira kai te ikanui, kai te ikaroa, kai te ika a Māui-tikitiki-a-Tāranga. Ko te heke o Maruiwi tērā i toremi ai ki Te Reinga e whanga ana ki a koe, haere rā koe ki te kāpunipunitanga o te wairua, ki Hawaiki Nui, Hawaiki Roa, Hawaiki Pāmamao.

Kua mutu ngā mamae,

Kua wātea tō wairua,

E moe ō kanohi, e Koro,

Kia au te moe.”

Political Reaction

Labour’s Peeni Henare led the political condolences for Tā Robert, saying “New Zealand is a better place because of the service and advocacy from people like Ta Robert. His contributions will be remembered not only for their military significance but also for the impact he had on Te Ao Māori."

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell told the New Zealand Herald the nation would mourn the loss – the last of 3600 Māori Battalion soldiers.

“We saw him as a hero, but for Bom it was always about others. The only reason he’d accept honours such as the knighthood was in recognition of all his mates who went to war too, some of which still lie on foreign soil.”

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters also took to social media to praise the legacy of Tā Robert Gillies.

Early years

Robert Nairn Gillies spent his early years in Hastings, but his whānau was forced to move to Rotorua following the devastating 1931 earthquake.

From the age of six, he grew up in Ohinemutu pā, attending St Mary’s Convent in Seddon St, Rotorua Primary and Rotorua High School.

His first job was chipping ragwork with a shovel before the government opened Waipa Mill, where he worked night shifts.

He was a teenager when World War II broke out.

Military years

The minimum age for the army was 21 when Bom was 17, not that it stopped him, though it did take him three attempts.

He was posted to Papakura Military Camp, and then Ohaeawai in Te Tai Tokerau as fears mounted Japan might launch an invasion of Aotearoa.

As fears subsided, Bom was deployed to Egypt for desert warfare training, before deploying to Italy.

There, he was injured by a burst shell while unloading ammunition in Orsonga.

He recovered and continued on with the Māori Battalion into the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Tā Bom recounted the “dreadful February day and night in 1944” in this In Profile Rotorua story.

“A and B companies moved forward across the Rapido River. Jerry had been there for months. There were box mines exploding, flares going up, the river was wiped with machine gun fire. We were trying to get our tanks across the river. The engineers were building a Bailey bridge. They had one span to go. When daylight came Jerry started shelling. We were pummelled.

“When A and B companies took the railway station [Captain] Monty Wikiriwhi from Whaka put the signal up. The Jerries saw it and fired. His leg was shattered. His mates covered him with a tarpaulin with the leg sticking out so they [Germans] thought he was dead. Joe Te Whare from Taupo was cut in half.”

Like his Te Arawa mate Bom, Monty Wikiriwhi survived the war.

They learnt of its end crowded around Te Rau Aroha; the Maori battalion’s canteen truck donated by pupils from their homeland’s native schools.

Not a big spender by some soldiers’ standards, Bom had kept his “seven shillings a day” pay book topped up. It was his passport to post-war leave in Britain.

“England needed money, and I had enough to go. We went to London and to Scotland to look at Edinburgh Castle, made our way back to London before seeing the white cliffs of Dover, then going back to Italy.”

Return to Aotearoa

Bom’s mum had died in 1939 and his grandmother died while he was on active service.

He had a hard time settling back in as did many returned servicemen but settled into a job three months later, and by 1948, he’d married Rae (Mariana) Ratema.

The couple would go on to have three children - Martin (known as Ture), Robert and Te Taupua.

Tā Bom Gillies’ fight continued long after the war ended,but this fight was in the relentless pursuit of justice for the way Māori soldiers were treated upon their return from war, including the strong push for the reunification of whānau and the medals the battalion were entitled to receive.

He said no one told the battalion they had earned medals, and only found out about his when he was told he had to wear them at the Monte Cassino commemorations.

Bom also said some returned servicemen associations wouldn’t welcome the Māori Battalion veterans because they were Māori.

He also gave much of his life to the upkeep of Ohinemutu’s Te Papaiouru marae and Tamatekapua meeting house.

In May this year, Koro Bom, with a delegation from his iwi, went to Monte Cassino to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the battle.

Despite the success of the commemorations, Koro Bom was frustrated at the lack of Māori cultural practices observed in official proceedings.

At the time he said the group was advised not to fly the Māori Battalion flag in the service at the Cassino memorial.

He did anyway.

When asked if he was still protesting, the 99-year-old said yes, adding “ka whawhai tonu ki ngā keha.”

Tangihanga and koha details

Paraire 8 o Noema – waiho tēnei rā ki te whānau anake.

Hatarei 9 o Noema - 2pm ka whakaeke a Koro ki Paratehoata-Te Kōhea Marae, ki Tūnohopū.

Hatarei 9 o Noema – 4pm ka whakaeke te Kuīni Māori me te waka o Tainui ki Paratehoata-Te Kōhea Marae, ki Tūnohopū.

Ko te tono kia waiho te Hatarei 9 o Noema ki a Te Arawa me Tainui waka.

Hanarei 10 o Noema – ka tuwhera te marae ki te motu.

Mane 11 o Noema – ka tuwhera tonu te marae ki te motu. Poroporoaki ā taua pō.

Tūrei 12 o Noema – rā nehu, ka tū te karakia whakamutunga ā te 11am. Ka kawea a Koro ki Kauae urupā nehua ai.

Ko te hūpē, ko ngā roimata e maringi taharua nei i ngā mata o te tini whāioio. Me he roimata tē ea ā-tinana, ā tēnā, anei rā te kete hai tuku i ō whakaaro nui ki te whānau e pani nei:

38-9014-0471103-00

Robyn Henderson

Kei te uri o Tūmatauenga, te ika a whiro ka ngaro nei. Takoto mārire mai i te aroha o ou rahi.