January 25, 2018
Pukehinahina and Te Ranga to be part of Australian war memorial
Tauranga Moana iwi and Waikato Tainui have been approached by the New South Wales government to contribute soil from their battle sites to a new war memorial.
Buddy Mikaere from Ngati Pukenga says he was surprised to find up to 400 Australians had been recruited into the militia which fought at Pukehinahina-Gate Pa and Te Ranga in 1864, and there was also a militia had also recruited across the Tasman for the Waikato War.
The proposal is the memorial includes soil from every battle site where Australian troops have fought.
He says it has piqued the interest of iwi.
"It’s a way of of making sure our story of what happened at Pukehinahina has a much wider audience and the other thing I think is really important is it gives our people living in Australia, here is a piece of home you can go to on that day and use it as a maumahara for what happened at Pukehinahina and Te Ranga in 1864," Mr Mikaere says.
Tauranga Moana is keen to be involved in the opening ceremonies for the memorial.
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