MOBILE CANTEEN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 40, 21 October 1946, Page 5

MOBILE CANTEEN

VISIT TO DISTRICT MAORI BATTALION VEHICLE In 1940/41 the Maori children of the Native schools in New Zealand collected a large sum of money to purchase a special mobile canteen for the Maori Battalion. The money was given to the National Patriotic Fund Board for this purpose. The canteen was bought and equipped by the board. It was operated overseas by the field secretaries of the New Zealand Y.M.C.A. unit. The canteen became famous.

It went with the Battalion'through all the campaigns of the Desert, Tunisia—it travelled to Syria—it went to Italy. On more than one occasion it was a war casualty. So precious was it to the men of the Battalion that on several occasions when it seemed beyond repair and had been ordered to the wrecking heap by higher authorities, they took it upon themselves to tow the bus wherever they went. Finally it was repaired enough to bring it home to New Zealand.

The Government is sending this bus to visit all the Native schools in the Dominion. The returned men of the Battalion and parents of Maori servicemen are assembling at the various schools to meet the bus. It still bears the.scars of battle. It is complete with its wound stripes, service stripes and war service ribbons, painted by an artist of the Battalion. One day the full story will be told of this canteen. It is a long and intensely interesting story, which space unfortunately will not permit it at this, stage. As it appears today, the vehicle bears the names of some 56 schools which have been visited during the course of its tour of the North Island. One unfortunate aspect of the repair work that has been performed upon it is that much of its battle characteristics have been removed by the replacement of shell torn portions of the bodywork. There are, however, still many scars and bullet holes marking the action it has seen.

We understand that it is probably the only vehicle which was returned from the Middle East and Italy to New Zealand. The canteen vehicle visited Whakatane over the weekend and on Friday last visited the Native schools at Poroporo and Paroa. On Saturday it travelled to Ruatoki and today left for the Rotorua district to fulfil its extensive itinerary.