This memorial gateway to the Māori village and geothermal area of Whakarewarewa commemorates Tūhourangi soldiers who lost their lives in the two world wars. ‘Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū’ (the 140 warriors of the war god) was the motto of Māori who served in the wars – the Maori Contingent which fought at Gallipoli in the First World War, its successor the Maori (Pioneer) Battalion, and the 28th (Maori) Battalion of the Second World War. The memorial was unveiled on 22 April 1950 by Lieutenant-Colonel W.H. Fortune. It was dedicated by Chaplain Wi Huata MC, assisted by Reverends H. Northcroft, Kepā Pāenga and Haami Rangiihu. On the back are the words 'Kia Mau Mahara' which translates as 'Lest We Forget'.
Sources: ‘Maori Sacrifices Commended: Whakarewarewa Arch Unveiled’, NZ Herald, 24/4/1950, p. 8; Te Whakarewarewatanga o-te-Ope-Taua-a-Wahiao: the people and the place, Rotorua, 1983 [pp. 2-3]; D.M. Stafford, The new century in Rotorua, Rotorua, 1988, pp. 295-6.
Images of gateway: Bruce Comfort, 2012.
Information and additional images from Te Ara and Bruce Ringer, Auckland Libraries, 2014.
More information on the men listed on this memorial can be found on the Cenotaph and 28th Māori Battalion websites.