Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu VC (7 April 1918 – 27 March 1943) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

soldier and posthumous recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

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and

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forces. He was the first Māori person to be awarded the VC while serving with New Zealand forces. He was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during Operation Supercharge II; part of the

Tunisian campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...

of World War II.

Early life

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...

and

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi (tribe) located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū. History Early history During the 17th ce ...

descent, Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu was born on 7 April 1918 in Whareponga in the East Coast region. He was one of ten children of Hāmuera Meketū Ngārimu, and his wife Maraea. The prominent tribal leader Materoa Reedy was his aunt.

Arnold Reedy Hānara Tangiāwhā Te Ōhakī "Arnold" Reedy (16 August 1903 – 8 April 1971) was a New Zealand tribal leader, farmer and soldier. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāti Porou iwi. He was born in Whareponga, East Coast, New Zea ...

, a tribal leader and captain in the

Māori Battalion The 28th (Māori) Battalion, more commonly known as the Māori Battalion (), was a light infantry battalion of the New Zealand Army that served during the Second World War. The battalion was formed following pressure on the Labour government ...

in World War II, was Ngarimu's cousin and served alongside him in the war. Ngarimu was initially educated at Whareponga Native School but when the family moved to Pōhatukura, near

Ruatoria Ruatoria () is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Māori Mast ...

, he attended Hiruhārama Native School. From 1933 to 1934, he went

Te Aute College Te Aute College (Māori language, Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams (missionary), Samuel Williams, an Anglicanism, Anglican missionary, and ...

Poukawa Poukawa is a rural community in the Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located south of Hastings, off State Highway 2. Demographics Poukawa settlement is in an SA1 statistical area, which covers . T ...

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

, becoming well regarded at rugby. After completing his fourth form year, he worked as a shepherd on his father's sheep farm.

Second World War

Following the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ngarimu joined the

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

on 11 February 1940, volunteering for the 28th (Māori) Battalion. The battalion, which embarked in May 1940 as part of the second echelon of the

2nd New Zealand Division The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-G ...

was destined for the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

to join the first echelon, but instead was diverted to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in May 1940 where it formed part of the island's defence against a possible German invasion. The battalion eventually arrived in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in March 1941. Ngarimu served through the battles of

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and

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

after which he participated with the battalion during the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

. Commissioned in April 1942, he served for a time as an intelligence officer before being given command of his own platoon. By March 1943, the campaign in Africa had moved to Tunisia. The 2nd Division, of which the Māori battalion was part, was tasked with the capture of the

Tebaga Gap The Tebaga Gap of southern Tunisia is a low mountain pass located in rough rocky broken country giving entry to the inhabited coastal plain to the north and east from much less hospitable desert dominated terrain in southern and south-western Tuni ...

, which disrupted otherwise mountainous terrain. Several hills overlooked the gap, which itself was forced relatively easy, although several hills remained in German hands. One such hill was Point 209, held by the 2nd Battalion, 433 Panzer Grenadier Regiment of the 164th Light Division. Ngarimu's company was allocated the objective of the capture of Point 209. On the afternoon of 26 March, he led his men up the slope and captured what was believed to be the top of Point 209, although it transpired to be a false summit and a feature lower on the slopes of Point 209. Fierce fighting transpired as the Germans attempted to drive Ngarimu's forces off the hill. Twice wounded, he and his men defended their position from several counter-attacks during the night. His position reinforced the following morning, he was killed during the next counter-attack. The false summit remained in the hands of Ngarimu's company, and the Germans still on Point 209 itself surrendered the same day once artillery support had been brought to bear on Point 209. Ngarimu is buried in

Sfax War Cemetery Sfax War Cemetery is a war cemetery located near Sfax, Tunisia, currently maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It contains a single Commonwealth burial from World War I, 1253 Commonwealth burials from World War II (52 of them have ...

, Tunisia.

Victoria Cross citation

The citation for Ngarimu's VC was published in the ''

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'' and read:

The medal

The medal was presented to his parents by the

Governor General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the advi ...

, Sir Cyril Newall, at a

hui The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

at Ruatoria on 6 October 1943 attended by government leaders, diplomatic representatives and local people. The first of only two Victoria Crosses awarded to Māori, it was displayed in Gisborne in the Tairawhiti Museum’s Price of Citizenship Gallery. He is commemorated by a scholarship promoting education of Māori, and also in the World War II Hall of Memories at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. There is also a plaque honouring him in Queen's Garden in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

Entry
in the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand (1966)
Second Lieutenant M.N.K. Ngarimu
in ''The Art of War'' exhibition at the

UK National Archives The National Archives (TNA; ) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the ...

* ''(brief biography details)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngarimu, Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa 1918 births 1943 deaths New Zealand Māori farmers 20th-century New Zealand farmers New Zealand World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross New Zealand military personnel killed in World War II People from the Gisborne District New Zealand Army officers Ngāti Porou people New Zealand Māori soldiers Burials at Sfax War Cemetery Military personnel from the Gisborne District