World War I Māori Pioneer Battalion honoured by French delegation visit to Rotorua

Twenty metres under the streets of the French town Arras, 24,000 World War I soldiers sheltered in a 19-kilometre network of tunnels and prepared for battle.

At their most complete, the tunnels had running water, electric lights, kitchens, a light rail system and a fully equipped hospital, thanks to the efforts of 43 members of the Māori Pioneer Battalion, who dug the tunnels alongside many others.

The battalion, and hundreds of soldiers from the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, spent years turning the 200-year-old abandoned quarry into a life-saving underground shelter, working in the dark with the constant threat of carbon monoxide poisoning and tunnel collapse.

Descendants of the Māori Pioneer Battalion members who served at Arras during World War I at a powhiri in Ohinemutu, Rotorua. Photo / Maryana Garcia

To help tunnellers navigate underground, the caverns were given the names of New Zealand cities: Wellington, New Plymouth, Christchurch and Dunedin. The soldiers also carved names and messages into the tunnel walls that can still be read by visitors.

A delegation from Arras honoured the descendants of that battalion at a ceremony at Te Papaiouru Marae in Ōhinemutu on Tuesday.

Arras Mayor Frédéric Leturque said it was a privilege to be in Rotorua for the commemorations.

“This is a day which makes a lot of sense for me as mayor of Arras and for all the people of Arras and France, because the Māori Pioneer Battalion members played a strategic role in World War I,” Leturque told the Rotorua Daily Post.

Photos of some of the Māori Pioneer Battalion members who served at Arras during World War I. Photo / Maryana Garcia

“They crossed the sea, arrived in France, dug the tunnels and, in doing so, they allowed thousands of soldiers to be protected.”

Leturque said the soldiers’ efforts helped not just Arras, but France and wider Europe to win the war.

“For us, the Māori tunnellers represent those who love their country and love freedom.”

Leturque said the surviving tunnels also protected residents of Arras from bombardments during World War II.

“Today, they are often visited, with the Wellington cavern museum permitting thousands of visitors to discover this great story each year.”

Ronald Charles Walker, 37, from Wainuiomata, said the memory of his grandfather Robert Walker taught him the meaning of strength. Photo / Maryana Garcia

Wainuiomata resident Ronald Charles Walker travelled to Rotorua with his wife and three of his sons to honour his great-grandfather.

“My great-grandfather Robert Walker was in the Arras tunnel,” Walker said.

“He caught the Spanish flu three times, and he survived it, and he came home a hero.”

Walker said thinking of his grandfather’s decision to stay with his battalion despite multiple illnesses made him emotional.

“That’s real, you know? To stay, with your friends dying around you. It’s something to think about.

“I’m a hard worker, and when I look at my grandfather being a hero, from a working point of view, he’s done his job right and I’m proud of him.”

Walker said his ancestor’s experiences taught Walker and his sons the meaning of strength.

“Don’t give up. Kia kaha - stay strong, even when you feel weak.”

Iraia Kennedy Tuari, 11, (front left) with his mother Angela Karini (front row, second from right) received a certificate honouring their ancestor Toi Karini from the visiting French delegation. Photo / Maryana Garcia

Eleven-year-old Iraia Kennedy Tuari travelled from Gisborne to “be there for his tūpuna”.

“For me, today is about representing,” Iraia said.

Iraia said he was surprised at the ceremony to discover he was related to more members of the tunnelling battalion than his great, great grandfather Toi Karini.

“I was related to heaps of people,” Iraia said.

He said until the ceremony, he didn’t know his grandfather had gone to war with three cousins.

“Their memory teaches me about being brave and leaving a mark.”

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell (left) received a framed photo of the words "Kia ora NZ" carved on the tunnel walls from Arras Mayor Frédéric Leturque. Photo / Maryana Garcia

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said it was a pleasure to make connections with Arras and to “share the stories our ancestors shared together”.

“Moments like this are special because they bring people together.”

Tapsell said the story of the tunnels beneath Arras was one of sweat, tears and blood shed for freedom.

“It is also a reminder that there is joy; that from sacrifice and loss can come a better future.”

Te Arawa and Ngāti Whakaue kaumātua Monty Morrison said holding the ceremony so close to Anzac Day was “poignant”.

“It is a time to remember and a time to acknowledge,” Morrison said.

Morrison said Gallipoli and Arras were each “one battle of many” and it was important to “expand on the story” for future generations.

“It is important for the younger ones to hear these stories. Lest we forget.”