IT WAS A FANTASTIC TRIP

Describing the celebrations of the battle of rangiriri as fantastic, the four soldiers from 94 New Zealand battery who came here from Wales for the occasion, said that all they expected was to take part in was a Military parade.

One of them Sgt Mitchell is the Battery historian and is at Papakura writing up an account for the Battery History. Because of the two VCs that were won by the unit they represent at Rangiriri, the Battery celebrates the anniversary every year with a parade and a dance.

At Rangiriri they were each presented with a greenstone Tiki and were also handed a large engraved one to take back to the Battery for its Museum.
These were the gift of Mr C.G Hunt of the Historical Places Trust.
As they are on leave they are free to go where they please but they have accepted an invitation from Mrs N.H Morris of Runcimen and also a member of the Historical Places Trust, to see the several other Maori War Battlefields.
At rangiriri they wer surprised to find that the celebrations with themselves prominent were filmed by Mr Rudall Hayword for British ITV .
I asked them wether the trip which they themselves had made at some cost to themselves was worthwhile.
Sunburnt faces split with a grin "Rather" they said in chorus........