A new book on sale this Thursday provides unprecedented
insight into the Māori experience of the First World War by retelling the life of
Ngāi Tahu
soldier Wiremu Maopo.
Through more than 40 letters to his friend Virgie Fincham at his
home outside Christchurch, Wiremu depicts the robust contribution the Māori
Pioneer
Battalion made to the First World War – despite official
attempts to keep them away from frontline duties.
Back home, friendly relations between
Māori and Pākehā – embodied in the warm letters between Wiremu and Virgie –
masked tragedy and discrimination. All of Wiremu’s siblings died in childhood
or later in life and after the war, he ironically becomes the sole survivor of his
once large family.
Wiremu had left for the war unaware that
his Pākehā girlfriend Phoebe was pregnant. Her outraged parents told Phoebe
that Wiremu was dead and forced the adoption of their daughter.
Neither Wiremu nor Phoebe ever learned the
truth, and only now has the family line been revived by the work of Tania
Simpson, a leading businesswoman who is Wiremu’s great-granddaughter.
“This is a personal story but one that
sheds light on the sacrifices Māori made in contributing to the First World
War, and the challenges they faced in early New Zealand,” she said.
The book will be officially launched at
Ngati Moki marae in Taumutu, near Leeston, on Anzac Day.
THE LAST MAOPO
The Life and First World War Sacrifice of Wiremu Maopo
Tania Te Rangingangana
Simpson
Release
Date: 10 April 2014 | ISBN: 978-1-877514-66-1 | RRP $34.99
The deal, initiated at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2013 and
finalised recently, will see a North American edition released within the next
year. 
