Nga Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship, C Company 28 (Maori) Battalion 1939-1945

Nga Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship, C Company 28 (Maori) Battalion 1939-1945  - Monty Soutar

David Bateman, ISBN 978-1-86953-593-3, $69.99 hbk

The fascinating story of C Company Māori Battalion told through personal recollections, eyewitness accounts, numerous anecdotes and fantastic photographs. At times heart-rending, at times heart-warming, this impressive book captures the special ‘spirit’ of the Māori Battalion — a remarkable book that documents the stories of those who were at the battlefront and at home.

Monty Soutar (Ngati Porou, Ngati Awa) has significant experience in historical research and, in particular, oral history. In the 1990s he led a team of researchers who interviewed more than 100 Maori veterans and widows about their experiences in the Second World War. He was the director of the Tairawhiti Museum in Gisborne from January 2006 to January 2009 and was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2002 and has been reappointed twice. He is also a member of the Archives New Zealand Council and the Guardians of the Alexander Turnbull Library.

Soutar has been a fellow in Maori History with the History Group of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and a member of the Maori Council for the Historic Places Trust. Monty also served in the New Zealand Army from 1986 to 1990. He is currently the CEO of Te Runanga o Ngati Porou.