Te Papaiouru marae in Rotorua is welcoming manuhiri from all around the motu who are wanting to say their final goodbyes to Sir Robert Gillies . The 99-year-old known as "Bom" was the last remaining member of the Māori Battalion B-company which fought in the World War II. Defence Minister Judith Collins was among the government dignitaries welcomed onto Te Papaiouru marae at Ohinemotu in Rotorua Sunday to pay her respects.
She recalled meeting Bom at the the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cassino and learnt about the connection between him and her father. "Both fought at Cassino and I didn't ask if he knew my father but I expect that he probably did in many ways because the New Zealand contingent is always relatively small and the big thing is, is that they both survived..
. I was very pleased to be able to meet Sir Robert and his whānau who were there were just lovely as well," Collins said. Gillies's death is an end of an era and represents the last of a generation who fought in World War II, Collins said.
"He represented a generation of Māori who volunteered to go to World War II, all of them were volunteers who put their country first. They'll also be a generation that lost their youth and many of their own aspirations, and what that means is that those whakapapa are forever the rest of their contribution," Collins said. Others who arrived on the marae Sunday included more than 150 people from Ngāti Kahungunu, his father's side of his whānau.
Kōrero at Gilli.
