Old soldier loses last battle

ONE OF THE LAST: Solomon Whakahoro Te Whata, pictured at a reunion at Waitangi in 2012. PICTURE/RON BURGIN

One of the last two surviving Northland members of the famous 28th Maori Battalion, 96-year-old Solomon Whakahoro Te Whata, has fought his last battle.

Mr Te Whata passed away peacefully at his Moerewa home on Sunday, surrounded by family and friends. He had become increasingly frail, and his health had deteriorated over several weeks.

His funeral will take place at the Mataitaua Marae, at Utakura, at 10am today. He will be interred at the Meheke cemetery, at Utakura.

The sole surviving Northland member of the Maori Battalion A Company 'Gumdiggers', Charlie Petera, who lives at Pukenui, said he was a "cot case" and would not be able to attend Mr Te Whata's tangi, but his son Wayne was attending in his place.

Mr Petera said he and Mr Te Whata had served in the same platoon in North Africa and Italy between 1941-45.

"We did a lot of things together, good and bad," he said.

Mr Te Whata was to have accompanied 14 students from the Leadership Academy of A Company in Whangarei to the 70th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Cassino in Italy in May, but his health began fading before the trip.

The Maori Battalion suffered the greatest losses of any Allied force at Monte Cassino, with 120 casualties out of a force of 200. Fifty-eight of those casualties were buried in the war cemetery there, among more than 400 other New Zealanders.

The academy boys acknowledged every New Zealander buried in the cemetery, and laid poppies on the grave of Mr Te Whata's brother.

Two teams, each of about 10 academy members, were in Moerewa earlier this week, dressing the coffin, helping take Mr Te Whata to his marae and remaining there with him until his burial.

Mr Te Whata is survived by his wife Martha, six of his eight children and many grand and great-grandchildren.