Maori Battalion
(Te Hokowhitu-a-tu)
Response to Text. Highlight or answer each question to the best of your ability, including important information and detail to your answers.
Level One – Skim and Scan
- What did New Zealanders start to call themselves during the First World War?
| They called themselves kiwi’s. |
- How did the government encourage Māori to join the war?
| They encouraged them to do their bit. |
- What was the war cry used to encourage Māori to fight?
| “E te iwi, whìtiki! Whiti! :Whiti e!” This is what it meant (“Oh people,
prepare yourselves for battle! Spring up! Spring up!”) |
Level Two: Vocabulary
| Word | Definition | Your own sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Rural | A Country side. | Rural is a place in the countryside. |
| Contingent | A group of people. | Is a group of Māori soldiers. |
| Conscripted | To enlist someone compulsorily typically into armed services. | To enlist people to join the army. |
Level Three: Inference (Responses require AT LEAST one full sentence)
- Why did some Māori feel unwilling to fight in the war?
| Because the government has taken land from them and the government called them rebels. |
- What did the British high command feel uncomfortable about, and why did they initially keep the Māori soldiers busy with digging trenches?
| The Māori was made to dig trenches and the British were uncomfortable with the Māori working with the pakeha. When more British died they had to send in the Māori. |
- What does the chaplain’s prayer tell us about who the Māori soldiers were responsible for?
| The prayer says “Remember you have the mana, the honour, and the good name of the Maori people in your keeping this night.” so the prayer is telling us that the Maori soldiers had the lives of the Maori warriors. |
- How did the First World War change the relationship between Māori and Pākehā?
|
Since they worked together and worked as friends not enemies they became friendlier to each other. |
- How did World War One change, and shape New Zealand’s national identity?
| Since they started to call themselves kiwis they felt more comfortable and they started to be independent. |
