The New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion was formed as a Maori unit on 1 September, 1917. Its forerunners were the Maori contingents, the first of which, Te Hokowhitu a Tu ('The seventy twice-told warriors of the war go', so named because 140 was the favoured size of a traditional war party or taua), sailed form New Zealand in February, 1915; and the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion, which was formed as a unit of the New Zealand Division almost exactly one year later.

'Te Ope Tuatahi', the recruiting song of the first Maori Contingent tells of the travels of the unit and its successors to Egypt, Gallipoli, and then to France and Belgium.

The New Zealand Battalion was a mix of Maori and Pakeha who as 'pioneers' provided the labour force of the New Zealand division, laying railways and building bridges and trenches in the battle zone. The term 'pioneers' has sometimes been taken to mean second-class soldiers. This is not true. As the following passages show, the pioneers were an essential part of the New Zealand Divisions fighting effort --- so essential that Major-General Sir Andrew Russell, the Divisional Commander, put his best man in charge of the battalion and gave it the same recognition as any of the infantry battalions.

The Maori became pioneers because they could not provide the flow of reinforcements needed to sustain an infantry battalion. Maori wanted to fight as infantry and, as the photographs show, many did so. But it was the Pioneer Battalion that was always first onto the battlefield, that worked and died alongside the infantry, and was last out. This was the achievement of Te Hokowhitu a Tu . . .

Summary
Maori soldiers were sorted into companies according to their tribal areas, and officers were picked sometimes based more on their tribal standing than the more conventional army selection processes. Soon they were on their way to Egypt.

Initially the Battalion was to be deployed as garrison troops but with some persuasion were deployed to Malta as combat troops. Gallipoli was the forefront of the battle where many ANZAC's had perished against the formidable Turks earlier that year (1915).

The 1st contingent of Maori numbering 500 made first contact with the enemy in a concerted effort of the New Zealand division against the Turks. The plan for this night attack was to capture the heights of Chunuk Bair. The New Zealanders part in this was to capture the Sari Bair ridge. Maori charged the Turkish trenches with fixed bayonets and with the cry of the Haka 'Ka mate'. This was the first time that Maori had fought on foreign soil.

Sadly, following this battle, the battalion faced an internal upheaval as officers were sent home due to personality clashes with their commanding officer and his inability to communicate effectively with the Maori soldiers. Godley, the Major-General in charge of the New Zealand Division, saw fit to split up the battalion and discharge the Maori officers apparently at fault.

This drew much protest from New Zealand as Maori recruiting boards refused to send more troops until the battalion had been united again. This pressure placed on Godley saw the eventual reuniting of the battalion, not as a combat unit but as a pioneer battalion.

This lead to the Maori Pioneer battalion to be re-deployed to France, arriving there in April, 1916. Their role there was as 'diggers'. The Pioneer battalion also now consisted of 2 Pakeha companies as well, so in total, 4 companies. This lasted for six months until they were reorganised into 3 Maori companies as 1 Pakeha company, finally in September 1917, saw the full Maori unit again.

The Pioneer Battalion mastered the art of digging trenches, still running their own raids into the no-mans-land ahead of them.

Adding to their ranks for a short period of time toward the end of the First World War, were soldiers from the Niue and Cook Islands.

Waikato tribes objected to being a part of the New Zealand war efforts due to recent large land confiscation's by the Crown. This was solved in 1917 by the New Zealand Government extending the Conscription Act to specifically include Maori. This was aimed of course at forcing Waikato into this war and is still considered one of the more shameful acts committed against Waikato, Maori.

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