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The Ministries of Education and Culture and Heritage are to pump more than $1 million into a project to capture the history of the 28th Maori Battalion.
Education Minister Hekia Parata says the history of C Company, which drew recruits from the East Coast, has been covered in Monty Souttar’s 2008 book Nga Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship.
Her ministry will spend $700,000 to compile and preserve information on the Battalion’s A, B and D companies, with some of the stories collected used for new learning resources for school students particularly those studying social studies and history.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage will contribute $400,000 in kind, including support for three historians to undertake the project.
The history fellows will be mentored by Dr Soutar.
The Ngarimu VC and 28th (Maori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board will contribute $50,000 for company district to gather up source material for the histories.
Ms Parata says whanau, hapu and iwi are crucial to the project’s success as they hold the stories, letters, photos and records that will breathe life and colour into the histories
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