Small town New Zealand’s contribution to World War 1 explored in new book – Stuff.co.nz

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A marble memorial near the East Coast town of Tikitiki commemorates soldiers who served from the district.

Most Kiwis have probably never heard of Tikitiki, nor could they imagine the impact World War I had on the tiny East Coast town.

The town about 145km from Gisborne once had a thriving population, counted in the thousands, but today it numbers only a few hundred.

Between 1914 and 1918, 435 men, many of them Mori, signed up to fight for King and Country, with 85 paying the ultimate price.

The story of St Marys Memorial Church and the Tikitiki memorial is just one of many highlighted in Billie Taylors book The Shape of Grief, 1914-1918.

READ MORE:* Letters from the trenches return to Passchendaele for a very personal Anzac tribute * Tom O'Connor: We should at least remember them* The Battle of Passchendaele: New Zealand's military's darkest day* Nelson College teacher remembered in World War I exhibition* War memorial recalls those who served

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The Rev Canon Matanuku Kaa rededicated the St Marys Memorial Church in Tikitiki earlier this year. The East Coast church serves as a memorial to Mori who served and died in World War I.

Taylor travelled the length and breadth of New Zealand to photograph and record the stories behind the memorials that pay tribute to those, who served in the war, from small town New Zealand.

Wherever possible, Taylor recorded how many served from each area and how many died.

The stats make for sobering reading. ptiki, with a population in 1916 of 1073, recorded 100 deaths.

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St Marys has an honours board recording the names of all Mori who served from the region.

In Waipukurau, with a population of 1167, 75 died from 66 families.

Such statistics, she says, tell the story of the human cost of the war, help explain the on-going grief associated with the war, and its impact on local economies.

The Tikitiki war memorial commemorates Mori men from the East Coast between Parit (south of Gisborne) and Tarakeha/Torere (east of ptiki) who served.

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The Horowhenua Pipe Band commemorates Anzac Day in Foxton, in 2015.

Tikitiki, she says, was typical of what happened throughout New Zealand and its memorial is a reminder of the often overlooked impact the war had on Mori.

Initiated by Ngti Porou leader Sir Apirana Ngata the memorial recorded the names of all East Coast Mori who died in the war. The foundation stone was laid on Anzac Day 1924.

Paramount chiefs from all over the North Island attended the 1926 consecration by the Bishop of Waipau, the right reverend William Walmsley.

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The 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion NZ Army on Anzac Day, at the Foxton memorial in 2105.

With up to 5000 people attending, including Cabinet Minister Sir Maui Pomare and Prime Minister Gordon Coates, it was one of the biggest gatherings ever held on the East Coast at that time.

Governor-General Sir Charles Fergusson acknowledged the East Coasts great loss during the war, and unveiled a marble memorial depicting a Mori soldier with rifle and lemon-squeezer hat.

The nearby St Marys Church has an honours board recording the names of all Mori who served from the region. Taylor notes that Ngata oversaw the preparation of the memorial component of the church.

Billie Taylor/Stuff

Author Billie Taylor travelled widely to record the impact of World War 1 on small town New Zealand.

Local women worked daily to complete complex tukutuku panels and school children helped with the many tasks, required to complete the project. Hone Ngatoto, a local tohunga whakiro, was responsible for much of the carving.

The Shape of Grief, 1914-1918 is available from writenow@xtra.co.nz

November 11 is Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War 1 in 1918.

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Small town New Zealand's contribution to World War 1 explored in new book - Stuff.co.nz