Essay Competition 2009

Guidelines

1. Students must be in Years 7 to 13 and of New Zealand Māori descent. 
2. All entries must be in hard copy format and stapled in the top left corner.
3. Essays must either be typed, with 1.5 line spacing, or handwritten. Only legible essays will be accepted.
4. The competition does not need to be run under examination conditions but entries must be the original work of the students. The use of research material is encouraged with any direct quotations attributed to the source; these must be listed in the space provided on the Entry Cover Sheet. 
5. All entries must meet the following minimum word requirement:
   - 800 words for Year 7-8 students;
   - 1000 words for Year 9-10 students; and
   - 1200 words for year 11-13 students.
   
   The word count must appear on the student’s manuscript. 
6. Each essay entry must have a completed cover sheet attached.

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Sections

There are six sections:

• Junior English and Māori (Years 7 & 8);
• Intermediate English and Māori (Years 9 & 10); and
• Senior English and Māori (Years 11-13).

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Topics

Junior Māori (Year 7 & 8):

1. Me kī 18 o tau, ā, kei te haere koe i te taha o te Rōpū 28 o ngā Hoia Māori ki te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao. He aha ngā mea tino nui ka pā mai ki a koe me tō whānau i te wā o te pakanga?
    
2. Rangahautia tētahi o ngā tamatoa o te Rōpū 28 Hoia Māori i mate mai i te whawhai, ā, tuhia mai ōu tirohanga pūrongo mōna; he aha te take i tohu koe i a ia. 
   
3. Anō ra, me kī he hoia koe no tēnei rōpū hoia, ko Pepuere - Maehe 1941 te wā, kei te whakangūngū koe ki tētahi whare hoia i Ihipa e whanga ana mō te whawhai i te pakanga. Tuhia mai he reta ki te kainga e kōrero ana mō ōu ake tirohanga mō tēnei mea whakaharahara.

Junior English (Year 7 & 8):

1. Imagine you are 18 and heading off to fight in World War II with the 28th Māori Battalion. What impact do you think this would have on you and your whānau?
    
2. Research one of the 28th Māori Battalion soldiers who were killed in World War II and tell us about him and why you chose him.
   
3. You are a 28th Māori Battalion soldier, it’s February – March 1941 and you’re in a camp in Egypt waiting to join the action of the war. Write a letter home sharing your experiences so far.

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Intermediate Māori (Year 9 & 10):

1. Ko te pātai a Te Puea Herangi, he aha te take ka whawhai ngā Māori mō Iwi kē mai rā anō i tūkinotia ana, i urutomo mai kātahi ka noho mānene i runga i ngā whenua o te Māori. I ki a Tā Apirana Ngata, "No te marae kōtahi tātou kātoa, mehemea ka hinga o tātou tūngane tauiwi, me hinga takitahi tātou. Me pēhea tātou e tū motuhake ai whaimuri i te Pakanga, anō te pātai, I hea koe i te urutanga o Aotearoa ki te whawhai." Whakawhitiwhiti ka taupatupatu mehemea he mea ahurei, he oranga i ahu mai i te hinganga o ngā hoia o te Rōpū 28 ki tāwāhi.
    
2. 'I te toremitanga o te ra tae noa ki tōna aranga mai i te ata, ka maumāhara tonu tātou ki a rātou'. Na Laurence Binyon 1941 i tuhi ēnei kupu whakamaumāhara ki a rātou i hinga i te 'Mura o te Ahi'. Tuhia mai ōu whakamāramatanga mō ēnei kupu. 
   
3. Māori Battalion march to victory
   Māori Battalion staunch and true
   Take the honour of the people with you
   We will march, march, march to the enemy
   And we'll fight right to the end
   For God! For King! And for Country!
   AU - E! Ake, ake, kia kaha e!
   
   He waiata hikoi-a-hoia tēnei no te Rōpū 28 o ngā Hoia Maori. Rangahaua ka rapu te whānautanga mai o tēnei waiata hikoi-a-hoia ka taupatupatu he aha i rongonui ai tēnei waiata i ēnei wā.

Intermediate English (Year 9 & 10):

1. Te Puea Herangi asked why Māori should fight for an empire that had, within living memory, invaded and occupied their lands. Tā Apirana Ngata said “We are of one house, and if our Pākehā brothers fall, we fall with them. How can we ever hold up our heads, when the struggle is over, to the question, ‘Where you were when New Zealand was at war?’ ”
   Consider and discuss whether the losses suffered by the 28th Māori Battalion were worthwhile.
   
2. ‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them’. This is from the poem “For the Fallen” (1914), written by Laurence Binyon to remember those who went to war. Tell us what this means to you. 
   
3. Māori Battalion march to victory
   Māori Battalion staunch and true
   Māori Battalion march to glory
   Take the honour of the people with you
   We will march, march, march to the enemy
   And we'll fight right to the end
   For God! For King! And for Country!
   AU - E! Ake, ake, kia kaha e!
   This is the March song of the 28th Māori Battalion. Research the origins of this March song and discuss why it is still widely known today.

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Senior Māori (Year 11 – 13):

1. I te wā o Oketopa 1943 ka whakawhiwhia ngā mātua o Te Moana nui ā Kiwa Ngarimu te tohu mētara te Rīpeka o Wikitoria arā te VC ki marae ātea o Whakarua ki Ruatorea. I whakawhiwhia ā Ngarimu i tēnei tohu whakahirahira mō āna tōhungatanga tipua i a ia e whawhai ana ki Tunihia. Ko ia te hoia motuhake i whiwhi tuatahi. He aha ai, he aha kē rānei?
    
2. I ētahi wā ka tapaina ā Tā Apirana Ngata ko te "Papa o te Rōpū 28 o ngā Hoia". I roto i ōu ake kupu, ki ōu whakaaro he aha rā te take ō tēnei ingoa i whakapiria ki tēnei kōroua mōrehu. 
   
3. 'I reira rawa kātahi anō āhau ka whakapono ki te mana ō tōku taha Māori, heoi ka hoki mai āhau ki te kainga ki te whakawhānui ake tēnei mea tino whakahirahira ki au.' (Lieutenant (Major) Paul Te Punga).
   
   Wāhanga: Tomo Mai E Tama Ma, mai i te pukapuka 'Ngā Tama Toa - The Price of Citizenship', kaituhi Monty Soutar, e kōrero ana mō te hokinga mai o Kamupene C ki te kainga. Whakaarohia tēnei wāhanga o te pukapuka ka tohua tētahi atu kamupene hoia o te Rōpū 28 me ōu whakaritenga, whakarerekētanga rānei i tō rātou hokinga mai ki waenga i ō rātou whānau, hapū iwi ki Aotearoa.

Senior English (Year 11 – 13):

1. In October 1943 the parents of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa Ngārimu were presented with his Victoria Cross at Whakarua Park in Ruatoria. He was awarded this medal posthumously in recognition of his bravery in Tunisia. He is the first Māori to receive such a medal. Are medals an appropriate way of recognising the achievements of a soldier? Discuss why or why not.
   
2. Tā Apirana Ngata was sometimes called the ‘Father of the Battalion’. In your own words, why do you think he may have been known by this name? 
   
3. ‘It was there that I realised the worthwhile part of me was my Māori side, I have come home determined to exploit it to the utmost.’ (Lieutenant [later Major] Paul Te Punga)
   Chapter: Tomo Mai E Tama Ma, from the book ‘Nga Tama Toa - The Price of Citizenship’ by Monty Soutar, discusses C Company’s return home. Consider this chapter then select another Company in the 28th Māori Battalion. Compare and contrast the two on return to their whānau, hapu, iwi and to Aotearoa New Zealand.

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Prize values

Prizes will be awarded to successful students and their school based on the following:

How to enter

Send your completed essay to:

Lheanna Kent
Ngārimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Essay Competition
Group Māori
Ministry of Education
PO Box 1666
Wellington
Phone 04-463 8957
Email lheanna.kent@minedu.govt.nz [no spam]

All entries must be received by the Ministry of Education no later than 5pm 6 August 2009.