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With less than three weeks to go until the highly anticipated opening of the C Company Memorial House, Monty Soutar has decided to add more to his already full plate.
He’s put the call out for 60 young men, who will form a special guard of honour to lead a commemorative parade before the opening of the house. The 60 will recreate the moment when the first 60 men from the Tairawhiti marched out of Gisborne 100 years ago for camp in Auckland at the start of WWI. They’ll be kitted out in replica uniforms supplied by Sir Peter Jackson no less.
What Monty gets is a mix of mostly teenagers in hoodies, a handful of over 30s who stand out because they can grow facial hair, and a few underaged boys who’ve begrudgingly come along to please their mothers. A team of drill instructors set about turning these lads into a cohesive unit – a big ask when almost all of them have no military experience beyond Xbox. This could be a disaster.
The first couple of trainings aren’t the most promising. Boys clumsily handle the wooden rifles, timing is way off, others march around with the enthusiasm of a lamb about to be docked. Fast forward to the eve of the opening and the attitude has changed entirely. Instructor Raynor Jahnke says the 60 are ‘90% where I would like them to be”.
The kit has arrived, all the boys have had an army hairdo makeover, and are having a semi-dress rehearsal in the Manutuke night. Suddenly the small settlement booms with the crunch, crunch, crunch sound of hobnail boots hitting asphalt as the 60 march in the darkness. People peer through their curtains at the surreal sight. It’s not hard to imagine the absolute fear that sound must’ve instilled during war time.
When the moment of truth arrives for the 60, they look nothing short of magnificent in full uniform. Hundreds have gathered at Te Poho o Rawiri marae, waiting to be led by the troop. Thousands more line the streets in anticipation. When the 60 finally arrive they keep cadence with a Maori chant. It’s a truly moving moment that brings many to tears.
The parade is a cacophony of noise, the crunching sound of hobnail boots, bagpipes, vintage army vehicles and the clop clop of horses. The sweetheart of Mikaere McBeth walks alongside the 60 the entire way. “I just don’t want to let them go”, she explains. She’s feeling in some small way what our kuia must’ve felt.
A rousing rendition of ‘Ka mate’ is performed by the 60 at the Wi Pere monument where wreaths are laid in honour of the man who named the first ‘Te Hokowhitu’. A kuia clutching a framed photo of a Maori battalion soldier wipes away tears. The parade then marches on to the Army Hall where the 60 perform a drill. They are ‘released’ to cheers from the assembled crowd.
The final duty for the 60 is to perform a haka outside the new C Company Memorial House in front of dignatories, kaumatua, Papa Api, and of course C Company vets Noel Raihania and Rutene Irwin. Papa Noel says watching the 60 transported him back in time to when he was a teenaged boy. Papa Rutene is in awe of the uniforms.
Drill instructor and NZDF recruiter Lloyd Donnelly is beaming. “Awesome the way they’ve represented their great great grandfathers, they’ve done a fantastic job”. Pimia Faenza couldn’t agree more, her heart is bursting with pride as her son Tane plants a kiss on her cheek.
