Sir Robert Nairn “Koro Bom” Gillies, the last remaining soldier from the legendary Māori Battalion died last week.
He was adamant that war was a terrible waste of life and was a vocal champion for Māori battalion survivors.
What is not widely known amongst Pakeha is the struggle many returning Māori soldiers faced coming home to seized lands because of unpaid local council rates and the double standards that saw many pakeha soldiers given parcels of land and help, while the Māori Battalion soldiers did not.
It is a stain forever on the mana of New Zealand that we did not respect and celebrate Māori war sacrifice the way we applauded Pakeha war sacrifice.
Both Māori and Pakeha sacrificed equally but were rewarded far differently.
There is a deep irony that in the very same week that the last Māori battalion soldier dies – a Māori Battalion that sacrificed to pay the price of NZ citizenship – in the same week he passes, the Government introduces a Bill to redefine the very Treaty and citizenship the Māori Battalion fought and died for.
A great tōtara has fallen, shedding light on an injustice that needs to be exposed, as do all the forces behind this injustice.
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