'Show and tell' for 28th Māori Battalion descendants in Whangārei

Members of the 28th Māori Battalion march up Nias Track to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in 1940. Photo / PF Nash, NZ Herald Glass Plate Collection

Descendants of soldiers from the 28th Māori Battalion are invited to a ''show and tell'' in Whangārei this weekend as part of preparations for a new museum and a book about A Company.

The hui is part of preparations for a Māori Battalion Museum, currently under construction at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and due to open on February 5 next year, as well as a new book about A Company, whose members were drawn largely from Northland.

Treaty Grounds curatorial manager Caitlin Timmer-Arends said the "show and tell" was one of a series of hui planned around Northland.

Like the previous event at Moerewa's Otiria Marae in March, it was a chance for families to share their stories and bring along photos and taonga.

Timmer-Arends said the museum was seeking taonga for a large display case which families could loan for periods of a few months to a few years.

Soldiers of the 28th Māori Battalion perform a haka at Maadi Camp, Egypt, in 1941. Photo / Harold Paton

The museum also wanted a regimental photo of every member of A Company for a memorial room, and to confirm the identity of soldiers in photos it already had.

Staff from Workshop e, the company hired to build the displays, would be at the hui. Museum staff would be available to make high-resolution scans of any documents and medals.

Images and stories would be shared with the A Company Association for an upcoming book, Timmer-Arends said.

■ The show and tell will start with a powhiri at 10am on Saturday, June 22, at the Whangārei RSA at 9 Rust Ave. Anyone who can't attend but wants to contribute photos or find out more can email caitlintimmerarends@waitangi.org.nz. More hui will be hosted by A Company Association branches around the North in coming months.