UNIQUE OCCASION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 12, 5 October 1943, Page 5

UNIQUE OCCASION

V.C. INVESTITURE

HAKAS OF WELCOME

Lavish preparations are being made by the Maori people in preparation for the unique occasion when the V.C. is to be bestowed on the parents of the late; Lieutenant Moana Ngarimu, the first Maori to have the Empire's highest award for valour in the field of battle.

The function, which will lie held on Whakarua Park, Ruatoria, tomorrow, will occupy the Avliole day,, coimncncing at. 10.15 a.lll. The morning is to l)e devoted to a welcome by the Ngatiporou, Te Wlianua-a-Apanui and associated tribes to the Goivernor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, and his party, and also to the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, and other official visitors.

The welcomes will follow the Maori traditional style in regard to important personages, the chants,, songs and hakas being modified or extended to fit the occasion. Both the men and women will participate, and a feature. Avi'll be a welcome by 1000 school children,. avlio will bo drawn up to represent the letters "V.C." The schools are being asked to assist, in raising money for the Ngarimu V.C. scholarship fund, and a list of their contributions to date will be submitted to His Excellency, together with a loyal address. A speech of welcome will be given by Mrs Materoa Reedy, an aunt of the late Lieutenant Ngarimu, who went overseas with Mrs Rcedy's eldest son,, Captain Hanara Tangiawha Reedy, who is a prisoner of war in Germany. Mrs Reedy was the only woman to address Lord and Lady Bledisloe on the Waitangi marae in the. great gathering there in 1934. In addition, other speeches of welcome by Maori leaders are to be made to the: visitors, and the morning will conclude with a reply by the Governor-General. Several Other Awards First in the afternoon's portion of the ceremony will be a service conducted hy the Bishop) of Aotearoa, the Rb .Rev. F. A. Bennett, and an address hy an elder of the Ringatu Church. Following this there will be an address by the Prime Minister, and after His Excel] 01103- delivers an address he w T ill invest Mr Hamuera Ngarimu, father of the late Lieutenant Ngarimu, with the V.C.

In addition, several other awards are to be bestowed, including the badge of the D.S.O. to LieutenantColonel Charles Moihi Bennett and to Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Baker, while Lieutenant-Colonel George Frederick Bertrand and Warrant Officer (Class 2) Martin Tc Takalia McRae arc to receive the. insignia of an officer of the 0.8. E., military division, and the Military Cross and bar is to be presented to Major Rangi Royal and to Captain William Porter,, also the Military Cross to Lieutenant John Puiraki Tikao-Bar-rett.