Maori Battalion
(Te Hokowhitu-a-tu)
Response
Level One – Skim and Scan
- What did New Zealanders start to call themselves during the First World War?
| The New Zealanders started to call themselves Kiwis. |
- How did the government encourage Māori to join the war?
| The government said it would include a special group of soldiers called the maori ontingent . |
- What was the war cry used to encourage Māori to fight?
| O people prepare yourselves for battle spring up spring up . (Maori) E te iwi whìtiki whiti whiti e. |
Level Two: Vocabulary
| Word | Definition | Your own sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Rural | A place that looks like the countryside more than the town. | I live in a rural place. |
| Contingent | A group of people that share a common feature. | |
| Conscripted | Someone that has to join the army by law. | The government conscripted people in the army. |
Level Three: Inference (Responses require AT LEAST one full sentence)
- Why did some Māori feel unwilling to fight in the war?
| Because a lot of their lands had been taken in 1860 and caused poverty. |
What did the British high command feel uncomfortable about, and why did they initially keep the Māori soldiers busy with digging trenches?
| The British high was uncomfortable because the Maori people were fighting with the europeans. So the Maori people were busy digging trenches and supply. |
What does the chaplain’s prayer tell us about who the Māori soldiers were responsible for?
| The Mana, the honour and the good name of the Maori people. |
How did the First World War change the relationship between Māori and Pākehā?
| Some Maori and Pakeha were friends but not much had changed and most Pakeha and Maori people viewed themselves as different. |
How did World War One change, and shape New Zealand’s national identity?
| Because they started to be proud of what their nation had done in the war. So they started to call themselves kiwis for their country’s new identity. |