He whai i ngā tapuwae i waihotia ai e te 28-koirā te whakahau a ngā kaiwhiwhi o ngā karahipi Ngarimu VC i tēnei wiki.
Ko ngā karahipi o Ngarimu VC me Te Hokowhitu a Tū (te 28), he tohu whakamānawa i ngā toa i whawhai ki te pae o te riri, ā, he mea whakahōnore hoki i te rongotoa o Te Tai Rāwhiti i a Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu (VC).
Tekau mā toru ngā tauira i whakawhiwhia ki wēnei tohu i Te Whanganui a Tara i te Taite, ki ngā tauira tohu paetahi, tohu paerua, tohu kairangi anō hoki.
Hei tā Peata Melbourne (Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata), te kaiwhiwhi takitahi mō te karahipi tohu kairangi, kāre he tohu i tua atu i tēnei mō ngā tauira Māori.
“E tika ana me tū ngā momo karahipi pēnei i a Ngarimu VC, me te mōhio i te mana i kawea [e] ngā hōia te ope taua i ngā tau ki muri nei.”
Āpiti atu ki tēnā, ka whakanui anō i ngā toa o te whakataetae 2024 Ngarimu Video me te whakataetae Ngarimu Waiata Composition.
Elite Reti (Muriwhenua, Ngāti Wai, Ngāpuhi) was one of the scholarship recipients at this week’s ceremony in Te Whanganui a Tara. Reti is studying towards a Bachelor of Law at Waipapa Taumata Rau.
“Ko tāku, [he] whai i ngā tapuwae o ngā rōia rangatira nei, pēnei i a [Moana] Jackson.”
Reti hopes to focus on the issues that help Māori thrive, starting with his iwi in Te Taitokerau.
“Mōhio kē [ki] te nunui hoki o ngā hara, o ngā take kei a rātau. Nō reira e whai ana i te oranga i roto i tēnei mea te ture.”
He rau mahara ki a Tā Bom Gillies
Tributes also flowed for the last surviving member of the 28th Māori Battalion, Sir Robert ‘Bom’ Gillies, who passed away last year.
“Mōhio ana te hokinga mai o Te Hokowhitu a Tū i tāwāhi, i āhua pā te kino ki a rātau,” Reti says.
“Ka maumahara au [ki] te kōrero a Tā Bom [Gillies]—kīhai o rātau wawata i eke, kīhai i whai hua te rirohanga atu o ana hoa. Koianei tētahi wāhi kongakonga e mana ai te rirohanga o [ō] tātau tipuna.”
The Ngarimu scholarships are funded by the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board, which was established in 1945 to support the study and preservation of Māori language, history, traditions and culture.
The board awards scholarships each year to outstanding Māori students pursuing vocational or tertiary education. These scholarships are granted to students who embody the values upheld by the 28th Māori Battalion.
“Ko tēnei momo karahipi, akene pea he momo kāreti mō ngā ākonga pēnei i a au hei whai,” Melbourne says.
The long-standing broadcaster is currently pursuing a PhD of Philosophy in Māori Studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and emphasizes the importance of this moment, beaming with pride as she shared that she, too, has tipuna who fought in the Māori Battalion.
“Me te mōhio [ko] mātau tēnei o Ngāi Māori e anga whakamua ana, me te hiahia kia eke ki ngā taumata teitei i roto i te ao mātauranga.”
