Former kura kaupapa students honour tūpuna at birthplace of Anzac legacy
What began as an Anzac commemorative deployment to Gallipoli became a deeply personal journey of whakapapa, identity and remembrance for two former students of Rotorua’s Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu.
Chief Petty Officer Te Teira Maxwell of Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Corporal Atelea Mapapalangi of Ngāti Whakaue travelled to Türkiye as part of the New Zealand Defence Force contingent marking the 111th anniversary of Anzac Day on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
For both men, the experience carried significance far beyond military ceremony, reconnecting them with the stories and sacrifices of tūpuna who served during the First World War.
Corporal Mapapalangi’s journey was especially personal. His great-great-grandfather, Private Hohepa Marino of B Company, New Zealand Māori Contingent, died from wounds sustained at Gallipoli in 1915 at just 19 years old.
Travelling to the military cemetery where his tūpuna is buried marked the first time a member of the whānau had visited the site. Standing at the graveside and reciting whakapapa became a powerful reconnection between generations separated by more than a century.
Corporal Mapapalangi, who joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 2019, says the experience reinforced the importance of remembering the sacrifices of those who came before while carrying their legacy into the future.
Named the 2025 NZDF Aviator of the Year, he credits his koro, former RNZAF serviceman Peter Bates, as a major influence in choosing a military career.
Alongside him at Gallipoli was Chief Petty Officer Maxwell, who joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2009 after years performing kapa haka internationally with his hapū group Rangiwewehi.
For Maxwell, leading the NZDF haka at Chunuk Bair carried immense spiritual and historical significance. More than 850 New Zealand troops died taking and defending the site during the Gallipoli campaign.
He also led Ka Mate at the same location where Captain Pirimi Tahiwi performed the haka during the First World War — believed to be the first haka performed on a European battlefield.
The emotional weight of standing on the same whenua once occupied by their tūpuna transformed years of classroom learning into lived experience.
Both men say their upbringing through kura kaupapa Māori shaped how they understood and experienced the journey, grounding the experience in tikanga, whakapapa and te ao Māori.
Their connection as tuakana and teina added another layer to the experience, with Maxwell having mentored Mapapalangi since their days together at Te Koutu.
The pair finished their kōrero at Gallipoli by performing the haka Tamatekapua in honour of the tūpuna who served and those who never returned home.
For both servicemen, the journey became more than remembrance — it became a reaffirmation of identity, ancestry and the enduring presence of those who came before them.
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