The teacher provides background information on the differing views of Ngata, Te Puea and an MP at that time, Taurekareka Henare. (View Who encouraged men to go to war? Why?, about that MP encouraging men to enlist, and Princess Te Puea’s perspective, which highlights the viewpoint of Te Puea on the participation of Waikato in the war, plus the need to keep the home fires burning.)

Students view the waiata E te Hokowhitu a Tū being performed, and discuss how the composer, Tuini Ngāwai, alludes to the loss of Māori male leaders/role models. (View Rendition of the waiata E te Hokowhitu a Tū, and The meaning of the waiata E te Hokowhitu a Tū, which explains that the waiata was first performed as a tribute to Ngarimu VC.)

Students imagine what it would have been like on the home front with so many Māori men leaving for war, for example, women took up what were traditionally male roles/jobs (both on the marae and within the local community), children were fatherless, the types of jobs available were more war-focused, rations meant trying to be more self-sufficient, there was emotional trauma knowing that a loved one was killed in the war but not being able to bury them on home soil – having funerals without a body, only photos, and so on. (View Nolan Raihania – tangihanga without a tūpāpaku, where a veteran recounts his experience of attending a funeral for a fallen soldier whose body could not be returned home.)

Students discuss what it would have been like for the Māori men (approximately their age) participating in the war, for example, dampness, heat, cold mud, not being able to wash, relationships/camaraderie, seeing others die, sense of adventure, seeing other lands, experiencing other cultures, missing the comforts of home and loved ones, and so on. (View Nolan Raihania – telling lies to go to war, about the boys telling lies in order to enlist.)

The teacher encourages students to empathise with what it was like during the war:

• Why enlist? Why volunteer to fight in the war? Why do young people today still enlist for military service? For example, youthful adventure, following peers/siblings/whānau members, pride, obligation, and so on.
• How would it have felt for the young Māori men departing? For example, excited, apprehensive, and so on.
• What would it have been like for loved ones in Aotearoa farewelling soldiers? For example, feeling of loss, foreboding, sadness, fear, and so on.Various media for presentation of research.

Requirements

• Various media for presentation of research.

Possible extension activities

Students explore what Māori society and culture was like before the war, for example, more rural, less urbanisation, sons/fathers/ brothers working the land on their marae, the waiata/haka being relevant to what was happening pre-war.

Students could suggest ways they personally might address the issue of leadership loss.