British Section NZEF

[atillathenunns]

Originally Posted by PaddyWW

Kia ora atillathenunns,
Great post. I'm very interested in your statement indicating that Rere Nikitini gave the particular piupiu that Capt Halsey wore; have you any special evidence that it was this one rather than the one given by Taare Parata MP a few days earlier in Wellington? Thanks

Kia ora Paddy,

Interestingly, Wikipedia quotes “HMS New Zealand contributed to the destruction of two cruisers during her wartime service and was hit by enemy fire only once, sustaining no casualties; her status as a "lucky ship" was attributed by the crew to a Māori piupiu (warrior's skirt) and hei-tiki (pendant) worn by the captain during battle.”

It is recorded in 1937 by the NZ Navy League that Captain Halsey wore the piupiu— “twice in the North Sea, [at Heligoland Bight on August 28, 1914, and Dogger Bank, January 24, 1915] and his successor also had cause to don the emblems [Captain J. F. E. Green at Jutland, May 31, 1916]. When a third captain took over command of the New Zealand and it appeared that action was imminent [on November 17, 1917]. —“Early in the morning some German light cruisers were sighted and engaged by our light cruisers and in the New Zealand we went to action stations/ wrote an officer. "The Admiral, the Captain (now Captain R. Webb), and myself were all on the upper bridge when I saw a sailor come up the ladder, peep round the corner, and then disappear. 'It's all right, he's got it on,' I heard him tell several men on the lower bridge, from which I understood that he was a scout sent out when there was a possibility of an action to make sure that the Captain actually was wearing the piu-piu and the tiki."

It is also recorded during that 1937 Navy League meeting that the piupiu in question was presented by the “Maoris of Rotorua.”

For those who are interested.— “When H.M.S. Ramillies visited Wellington in December 1939, as one of the escorts of the ships which carried the First Echelon 2NZEF, to the Middle East, her captain was presented by the members of the Ngati-Poneke Club with a Maori piu-piu, or flax kilt A which he was enjoined to wear whenever the ship went into action. The piu-piu a greatly treasured possession of the Ramillies, has been so worn several times since 1939, the most recent occasion being on June.6 (D Day) and succeeding days when this battleship, among others, supported the landing operations on the coast of Normandy by shelling enemy batteries and other positions.
The Captain of H.M.N.Z.S. Tui, was presented by Maoris of the Waikato, a Kowowai mat and a 400-year-old tiki loaned by the Arawas which were worn by him on a number of occasions in the South Pacific.

Taare Parata was MP for the Southern Maori Electorate, and the piupiu presented by him on behalf of chief Mana Hiniona appears to me to have taken place on the 21st of April 1913, which is four days after the piupiu presented to Capt Halsey by the chiefs of Ngati Raukawa which took place on the 17th of April.

The last photo in post # 42 originally came with the following photo, which shows Captain Halsey’s cabin with a selection of Maori gifts that were received that day.