While sorting through a box of car parts that had been donated to an Auckland car club, Rob Hughes came across a small draw stringed cloth bag containing three medals and other items. Rob asked the donor (name unknown) who the medals belonged to, to which the donor replied “one of my Maori uncles”. The donor was apparently leaving New Zealand to live in America and not wanting the medals told Rob he could keep them! Rather than dispose of the medals Rob decided to keep them and attempt to find a related family he could return them to. His enquiries of a couple of old Northland identities he knew unfortunately did not produce any useful result and so Rob contacted MRNZ in July 2022 for help.
The three medals – a 1914/15 Star, British War Medal 1914/18 and Victory Medal were named to 16/352 PTE. T. REWIRI N.Z.E.F. As well as the medals the bag also contained a Returned Soldier’s Badge with the number 16/352 engraved on it, a key chain and an officer’s rank pip (most probably a souvenir).
My initial research showed that Private Taoho Rewiri (Ngapuhi–TeRoroa) was born on 16 Feb 1880 at Waiotemarama in the Waimamaku, an area bordered by the southern side of the Hokianga Harbour and Tasman Sea. The fourth of 14 children, Taoho was born to parents Rewiri (David) TIOPIRA (1835-1896) and his wife whom he married in 1876, Ahenata HEREMAIA (1856-?) from Waipoua, the home of Tāne Mahuta and the Waipoua Kauri Forest, Hokianga. Rewiri Tiopira was the son of the Waipoua chief, Tiopira KINAKI (1820-1887).
Twice married, Taoho’s first wife Moerangi Herekohu “Moe” PAATI (1875 – ?) died young and childless by 1900. In 1902 Taoho re-married, Hiri Moetu Maud “Moe” TAOHO, nee PAATI (1888-1919) [ka BIRCH] of Rawene-Taheke. Together they had four sons: Hone (John) Ihaka (Isaac) Taoho (Thomas) TIOPIRA [Davis] (b1907), Wakena REWIRI [Davis] (b1907), and Raniera Taoho REWIRI [Davis] (b1910 – died at 6yrs). Taoho’s fourth son, Taungahuru (Cyril) Taoho (Thomas) REWIRI [Davis] was born in 1915 while Taoho was overseas.
Note: After the war Taoho Rewiri went by an anglicized version of his name, Thomas “Tom” DAVIS, as did his children.
The fight to fight
When Britain declared war in 1914, New Zealand was one of the first to pledge its support with a Division of soldiers for the British Empire’s army. Recruiting in New Zealand began in earnest, firstly for an 1800 man Samoan Expeditionary Force and the 8000 men required for the NZ Expeditionary Force. Despite the willingness of many to fight, Maori were unable to be recruited as Imperial policy initially opposed the idea of indigenous peoples fighting in what was seen as a ‘white man’s war’. Senior Maori politicians of the day continued to lobby the government hard for Maori to be included but with little success. Eventually when it became known to the New Zealand government that ‘non-white’ troops from British India and France would be taking part in the conflict, the government changed its views and authorised the formation of a 500-man contingent – 250 would be allocated for garrison duties in German Samoa and 250 for garrison duties in Egypt. Those in Samoa would join eventually join the remainder in Malta.
1st NZ Native Contingent
The 1st NZ Native Contingent, later to be known as the Maori Contingent, comprised 461 other ranks (Private to Sjt-Major) and 16 officers, totaling 477 volunteers drawn from most tribes across the North Island. Two companies (A – Egyptian, and B – Samoa) of 250 men in each was comprised of four platoons of approximately 30 men in each company. The platoons were numbered and grouped according to tribal origin/affiliation as follows: Platoons 1–4 (Northern Maori, West Coast and South Island) and Platoons No 5–8 (Rotorua and East Coast).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enlistment
Taoho Rewiri was 35 years 9 months of age when the call came for enlistment in the 1st Native Contingent. At the time he was miles from home working for contractor T.C. Hawkins at Tangowahine, about 10km NE of Dargaville. Taoho returned to his family at Faithful’s Camp, Taheke and then made his way to Auckland, to the Avondale military training camp that had been established on the Avondale Racecourse to both train and accommodate the contingent. Taoho was one of 25 volunteers who enlisted from Rawene-Taheke area, a total of 100 men being accepted from Tai-Tokerau (Northern Maori).
16/352 Private Taoho Rewiri enlisted at Avondale on 19 October 1914. Standing 5 feet 11 inches (180cms) tall and weighing 11 stone (70kg) he was every inch the tough and well-built bushman. Accordingly he flew through his medical examination and passed ‘Fit’ for overseas service. Pte. Rewiri was placed in No.1 Platoon of ‘A’ Company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For four and a half months the Contingent undertook basic military skills training and an received a rude awakening in the requirements of military discipline. Following a short period of leave at the end of their training, the contingent embarked on to HMNZT 20 Warrimoo on 14 Feb 1915 and departed for Suez, Egypt. Reaching Port Suez on 26 March, they disembarked and entrained for the 10 hour journey to Cairo. Their destination was Zeitoun Camp that had been established as the NZEF’s training depot in Egypt. Cairo being only 15 minutes by train from Zeitoun also allowed the men to have their first experience of all the temptations Cairo had to offer, including ‘banter’ with the Australians (camped at Mena near the Pyramids), shopping in the souks plus the inevitable bars and flesh pots the city was infamous for. A number of soldiers left Cairo with a painful reminder they rather wish they hadn’t been given. Of course no trip to Cairo was complete without an obligatory camel ride and photograph while visiting the Pyramids and Sphinx.
Meanwhile the officers of the contingent took every opportunity pressing their superiors to have the contingent take an active role in the war, whilst their elder politicians back in NZ also continued to press for their inclusion. On April 4th the Contingent finally learned that the War Office had agreed to the Contingent going to Malta (to continue their training and perform defensive garrison duties) – a War Office decision. The excitement of the Maori Contingent quickly turned to disappointed as soon as they found out that not only would they be travelling to Malta on the same ship with 206 soldiers suffering from venereal disease, but that the majority of units gathered at Zeitoun were off to the Dardanelles!
As history now tells us the Maori Contingent on Malta became a vital contribution to the Gallipoli campaign as the unforeseen and catastrophic casualty rate among Anzacs threatened force capitulation and off the Peninsula. The NZEF’s dire need for reinforcements together with continued lobbying of the senior Maori politicians to win the right for their men to fight, finally met with success (by necessity!). Authorisation was granted for the Maori Contingent to join the battle at Gallipoli.
On 21 June, the Maori Contingent (minus 30 men still in the Malta and Egypt hospitals) left their camp at Marina Pinto, Malta to begin the three day march to Valetta where they were embarked onto the SS Massila that would take them back to Alexandria. Following a brief few days to unload and store their kit bags, the men got shore leave to stock up with supplies. The Massila left Alexandria on 28 June and headed for Mudros Bay in the island of Lemnos, the staging point for all entries to and from the Gallipoli Peninsula. Final preparations were made to go ashore. At 1700 (5pm) on 2nd of July the Contingent transferred to the steamboat Prince Abbas which made its way slowly towards Anzac Cove. Arriving at 0200 (2am) on the morning of the 3rd, the anchor was dropped and the men transferred to open boats that would take them ashore. Three 300 meters from the shore the sounds of gunfire was startling while bullets and pieces of shrapnel at their terminal range splashed into the water around the boats, some splintering the wood of their boats. This experience quickly hammered home the fact they were now about to experience what the wished for. It took two hours to get the 477 men ashore. They would soon have all the action the wanted – and more!
After almost three months of battling the Ottomans and the elements at Gallipoli, a month’s rest break on Lemnos was ordered in late October in order for the weary men to rest and recover. The Contingent returned to Gallipoli in November for their last five weeks on the Peninsula during which time it snowed several times. The Maori Contingent left Anzac Cove at 5 am on 15 December along with the Otago Infantry Battalion, as the 2nd and 3rd Maori Contingents were preparing to leave new Zealand.
All that remained
Of the original 477 men of the 1st NZ Maori Contingent that landed at Gallipoli, Pte. Taoho Rewiri was one of only 134 remaining – 2 officers, 29 NCOs and 103 Privates. Fifty men had been killed or died of wounds or disease, while the remainder had been withdrawn to Egypt, sick or wounded. From Pte. Rewiri’s No.1 Platoon plus 2 Platoon, only 22 Privates remained of an original strength of 112. The other six platoons had similar numbers of survivors.
NZ (Maori) Pioneer Battalion
In Feb 1916, Pte. Rewiri and the 1st NZ Maori Contingent members were amalgamated with the remnants of the severely decimated Otago Mounted Rifles to become the genesis of the NZ (Maori) Pioneer Battalion. Thereafter he stayed in this battalion for the remainder of the war until eventually returning to arriving in Auckland on 24 June 1919. For all he had endured, including his fair share of pay deductions and Field Punishment No.2, mainly for overstaying leave or not obeying orders, Taoho returned to Waimamaku with no significant injuries or wounds. Having completed four years overseas Taoho was discharged on Permanent Leave Without Pay on 19 July 1919. This simply meant he could be re-called to duty and deployed overseas again should a crisis arise that required re-mobilisation. This date became his official discharge date from the NZEF.
Medals: 1914/15 Star, British War Medal 1914/18 and Victory Medal
Service Overseas: 4 years 3 days
Total NZEF Service: 4 years 279 days
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Casting the net …
In the course of my initial research one of the complicating factors with the genealogy of Maori soldiers is the mix of Maori and Anglicized versions of names, such as Taoho used. Whilst he enlisted as Taoho REWIRI, known as “Tom”, he also used the name Thomas REWIRI as well as Thomas DAVIS. Whilst this doubled my options in terms of possible descendant families to whom he may have been connected to it also double the work necessary to rule out those not connected. By the time a had a semi plausible family tree of the Rewiri/Davis whanau, I still had no connection to a living descendant.
Given the remoteness of Taoho’s birth home at Taheke, I was also under no illusions that tracing his whanau could be difficult. Over the next year I whittled away my search options but at the end of it still lacked a few vital elements to verify the Rewiri whakapapa I had assembled was accurate and that I was looking for the right connections. The interchange of Maori tribal names that change with generations together with the interpreted or ad hoc adoption of an anglicized name, makes for an impossible mix that only family would know. What I desperately needed was a descendant if this case was to be solved.
In order to achieve quick and widespread coverage of my quest I posted information on various online community noticeboards of the main towns and cities in Northland, ever hopeful of a useful nibble – nothing! I also called on various ex-Army colleagues who might have been able to make a connection or steer me in a helpful direction but that also was to no avail. Of those whom I contacted on the Ancestry website, very few responded and only one with a useful lead that subsequently petered out to nothing. I made approaches to the Waitangi Museum and the various smaller company museums of the 28th Maori Battalion that also resulted in no further progress. After several more months working on the case intermittently I put it on the back-burner pending new information that might reinvigorate a search for descendants.
Blessings by email
In July of this year I received new information by way of a most unexpected email. Dr. Rob Crickett is a man of God, a Monk and currently the Prior of St Enoch and St Elijah Monastery in Northland. However Rob is no ordinary cleric; he has a past that connected with a story I had previously posted in. In Sep 2020 I posted the story of an RNZN medal that was returned to former RNZN Marine Engineer Warrant Officer Don Reed.
As it happens Dr. Rob Crickett is also and ex-navalman, a former chef in the Royal New Zealand Navy during the 1960s! Rob said that a chance sighting of the name of a former sailor with whom he had been on the same ship with, came to him during a nostalgic moment while he was surfing the RNZN Communicators Association website. The story of Don Reed and his medal greatly had impressed Rob as he recalled the memories and his own days in the navy. Rob email me his regards and expressed his admiration for the post, saying that he had served with Don on HMNZS Blackpool in the mid-1960s. He concluded his email asking me to pass on his best regards to Don. I contacted Don (retired in Australia) with some difficulty but finally was able to put both ‘old salts’ in touch with each other. But that wasn’t the best part of Rob’s email. In his contact details at the bottom of the page I was startled to read that the location of St Enoch and St Elijah’s Monastery was “State Highway 12, TAHEKE” – the one time home of Taoho Rewiri! This indeed was providence, I felt help was at hand.
Rob lives near one of Taoho Rewiri’s former homes of the 1890-1910s. Taheke is very rural and situated in the far North District of Northland. Taheke sits beside State Highway 12, west of Kaikohe and east of Waima. A cluster of houses, a school, marae, store and a pub (now closed), Taheke today has a scattered population of just 234, probably not much more than in 1900?
I outlined the story of Taoho Rawiri to Rob and told him of my difficulty with locating Rewiri family descendants – could he help to locate a point of contact? Rob readily agreed and a chain of events was put in motion to find a contact. Rob put the word, visited several locations seeking someone who might have known the family, after all Taoho’s siblings numbered up to twelve that I knew of. Rob even went to the extent of making up and passing out flyers in order to get the message out. Within a couple of weeks, ‘divine intervention’ Rob believes provided him a firm lead. Contact was made with a person in the local area who knew of a possible family connection in Kaitaia. In due course Rob received a call from Bethnee who said that she was a great-granddaughter of Taoho Rewiri. Even better, Bethnee confirmed that her mother June Te Aroha Davis TAYLOR (79) was still living. Fantastic! In fact June was one of the five surviving siblings of the nine children born to Wakena REWIRI Davis (1907-1983) – Taoho and Moe’s third born son – and his wife Paulene Huia CLARK (1914-1984).
Rob duly put me in touch with Bethnee who confirmed her mother June was in close touch with her siblings, eldest sister Dorothy Davis LEYLAND, Mary Davis ASHBY, Patricia Davis RAMEKA and their brother, Taoho’s only surviving grandson Lou DAVIS. Deceased are Ann Davis HIKO, Tom DAVIS, Jennifer Davis TE AWA and Isobel Davis BROUGHTON.
As it transpired Taoho’s descendants knew very little of their Pioneer Battalion ancestor. It would not be an understatement to say that the research we had done to date would fill a considerable gap in the whanau’s knowledge of Taoho Rewiri’s life story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Taoho (Tom) returned from the war he did so at a time when the country and indeed the whole world was being ravaged by an Influenza pandemic of 1918. Maori had been particularly susceptible with many returning soldiers unknowingly carrying the virus and spreading it in their communities. Tom’s wife Moe became victim to the disease in 1919 leaving him with three motherless children between the ages of 6 and 13. There is little information about him from this time on but presumably relatives or extended family in the Waimamaku took care of his children while Tom returned to logging in the bush. The three boys eventually went to live in North Auckland.
I picked up Tom’s trail again as a result of locating his grave in Thames. This led to several newspaper articles that associated his name, both Rewiri and Davis, with the Thames-Coromandel area. In Jan 1920, Tom and his brother John (Rapata Rewiri TIOPIRA, 1896-1952) were cited in a newspaper dated January 24th, that advertised a sports day to be held at Hikutaia in which Tom and John took part. Hikutai is 21 kms south east of Thames and north of Paeroa. Today it has a population of 42. Both handy with an axe, Tom competed in the standing and underhand chopping events, while John took part in the maiden chopping event and the two-handed saw competition with a fellow sawyer. Running races of various distances from 25 yards to 1 mile were also on the program.
In 1921 Tom married for the third and last time to Ngakari WIRIKIHANA (of unk origin, no known children). He was also a keen supporter of the recently formed branch of Thames Valley Returned Soldiers’ Association which held its meetings at various venues such as the Masonic Hall and Fire Brigade Hall. Bar facilities were provided courtesy of a local pub. To give the reader an indication of support for returned servicemen and Anzac Day at this time, according to a 1933 issue of the Thames Star, the RSA ordered 400 poppies for their annual Poppy Day Appeal, and closed the year with a roll of 120 returned serviceman. By April 1934, that number had doubled to 220 as more returned men were encouraged to join the association and try to put their war experience behind them. In excess of 200 veterans of the Land Wars, Boer and First World Wars attended the Anzac Day parade and service on 25 April 1933, an occasion that no doubt Tom and his John attended.
Little however did Tom know, it would his last.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No way to die …
On the day Tom [Taoho] Davis [Rewiri] died, he and another Maori man were logging at Tapu which is about 19 kms north of Thames on the Firth of Thames coast road. An article appeared in the Thames Star of Wednesday, 21 January 1934 which revealed the sad details:
TAPU FATALITY.
Stepped out of Bush
Note: By all contemporary accounts, Taoho Rewiri was not a half-caste, but a full-blood. It is believed his “half-cast” status was an (incorrect) assumption made by the reporter possibly due to Tom anglicizing his name. His name was also reported incorrectly in a number of other newspapers as “Allan Davis”.
~ KEI WAREWARE TATOU ~ LEST WE FORGET ~
Haere Mai ! Haere Mai !
Dr. Rob Crickett and his faithful assistant Sister Irini, covered many miles over the next few weeks spreading the word, asking questions, making phone calls, and keeping me in touch with progress. convey my intention for him to arrange to handover the medals on my behalf. It seemed to make perfect sense since he was on the spot … well, not quite. Once the date had been agreed for a handover of the medals and, given the age of the ladies involved, it was decided that rather than them coming to Taheke as was proposed, the handover should take place in Kaitaia. This was also where the majority of whanau lived who were keen to be present. Kaitaia is 107 kms, (2.5 hours) from Taheke which
Rob and Sister Hirini cheerfully agreed to drive on Saturday, November 9th – a very timely day as it was proximate to Remembrance Sunday (the next day) and considered part of the Armistice Day (11 Nov) commemoration ceremonies to honour the fallen, particularly when Armistice Day falls on a weekday as it did this year. I was most grateful to Rob for arranging a service of home-coming Taoho’s descendants as he was able to give the occasion the spiritual gravitas that the return of war medals to whanau in such circumstances. Rob’s enthusiasm for this project was also evidenced in another way. During his preliminary discussion with family members, it was clear to him that as Taoho had died in the 1930s, the families knew little of Taoho or have an understanding of what exactly he did in World War 1.
To help set the scene for the return of the medals Rob had been inspired to fill some of these gaps with a very professional booklet he produced in consultation with me, which told Taoho’s story as we knew it – his early life, his time in NZ Maori Contingent, Gallipoli, the Pioneer Battalion and eventual death. Complete with photographs (unfortunately none of Taoho were known to exist) it was a most unexpected and welcome surprise for the more than thirty whanau of Tom [Taoho Rewiri] Davis’s descendant granddaughters, great-grandchildren and their families who had gathered for the momentous occasion. Regrettably sister Patricia Davis Rameka was unable to attend. Rob’s booklet is now a cherished part of the family’s whakapapa that until now had been ‘missing in action’.
Saturday. November 9th, 2024
Following the Saturday ceremony in Kaitaia, Rob sent me an email the next day, which reads in part ….
“Today was a most remarkable day. Intelligent. Extremely sensitive and caring. Dynamically alive with affection, the desire to learn about Taoho and Moe his wife and their lives, was remarkably well received by all. Sr Irini and I had a ball. It truly was an exceptional day for the both of us. And we barely noticed the five hours of driving.
Today, we think, was life-changing for a great many of the family in attendance, and only family members attended, three generations. A key feature was when they realised that Taoho married two sisters named Moe from the same family. Suddenly, the genealogy made perfect sense to them: first the eldest sister and then her younger sibling.
Taoho’s grandson ensured the family were pakeha-educated rather than marae-educated. Accordingly, the whole event was as if it was being conducted in a refined person’s home. This is a family of professionals, they have a solid history of wealth management, were brought up Anglican and Methodist, and they value family and clean living very much.
Thanks for the opportunity, Ian. We learned a lot, and have been thankful to be a part of your work.
God bless, Rob
Dr. Rob Crickett: St. Enoch and St. Elijah Monastery, Taheke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One more to come …
When Taoho Rewiri died in 1934 it had been almost 20 years since the Gallipoli Landings had occurred. Whilst various commemorative events on both sides of the Tasman acknowledged the 20th, 30th and 40th anniversaries of the Landings (Anzac Day), the New Zealand and Australian governments decided to pay tribute to the sacrifice and service at Anzac with a special memento for 50th Anniversary in 1965. A bronze commemorative medallion was commissioned to pay tribute to the sacrifice and tremendous human cost the Gallipoli campaign had exacted on a generation of young men who were instrumental in bringing about their nation’s ‘coming of age’.
The Anzac Commemorative Medallion was designed and produced by the Australian Mint. It was available to all living Gallipoli veterans, as well as to the Next of Kin of those Gallipoli veterans who had been killed or otherwise died during the campaign, or at any time thereafter. Additionally, living Gallipoli veterans received a miniature representation of the medallion in the form of a Lapel Badge with their service number stamped on the reverse.
Taoho Rewiri’s service file showed that no such claim for the Anzac Medallion had ever been made on his behalf. The descendant family now have an application with which to claim that entitlement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My thanks to donor Rob Hughes for entrusting the medals with MRNZ. A very special thanks to Prior Dr. Rob Crickett and Sister Irini for their tireless assistance in making the return of these medals a memorable occasion for all concerned, a better outcome I could not have wished for.
Published Post medal tally is 519
Grand Total of medals reunited with families is now 781