| Full Name: |
Captain Pekama Kaa |
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| Rank Last Held: |
Captain |
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| Forename(s): |
Pekama |
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| Surname: |
Kaa |
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| War: |
World War I, 1914-1918 |
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| Serial No.: |
16/620 |
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| Iwi: |
Ngati Porou |
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| First Known Rank: |
Second Lieutenant |
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| Next of Kin: |
Panikena Kaa (father), Rangitukia, via Gisborne, New Zealand |
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| Marital Status: |
Single |
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| Enlistment Address: |
Tuparoa, New Zealand |
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| Enlistment Date: |
12 June 1915 |
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| Military District: |
Wellington |
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| Body on Embarkation: |
2nd Maori Contingent |
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| Embarkation Unit: |
Wellington Infantry Battalion |
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| Embarkation Date: |
18 September 1915 |
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| Transport: |
HMNZT 29 |
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| Vessel: |
Waitemata |
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| Destination: |
Suez, Egypt (26 October 1915) |
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| Page on Nominal Roll: |
381 |
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| Last Unit Served: |
Pioneer Battalion |
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| Place of Death: |
Ypres, Belgium |
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| Date of Death: |
14 August 1917 |
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| Age at Death: |
23 |
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| Year of Death: |
1917 |
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| Cause of Death: |
Killed in action |
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| Cemetery Name: |
Kandahar Farm Cemetery, Heuvelland, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium |
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| Grave Reference: |
II.G.10. |
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| Obituary: |
- "Lieutenant Pekama Rongoaia Kaa, who recently died of wounds in France, was a descendant of a notable line of Maori warriors of the Ngati Porou tribe. He was educated at the Rangitukia school, where he won the Makanui scholarship. Two years later he entered the Department of Agriculture. He enlisted in the first Maori Contingent, and was given a commission in the Second Contingent. Lieutenant Kaa was fatally wounded while directing the movements of the Ngati Porou platoons." (Auckland Weekly News, 20 September 1917, p. 19)
- "By the death in action on August 14th of Lieut. P. Kaa, the Maoris have lost not only a splendid officer, but a true friend, and there are many sad hearts among them, especially in the Ngatiporou, his own tribe. From childhood he has been a straightforward, honourable character, and as an officer his men have ever been his first consideration. Educated, in the first place, at Rangitukia Native School, he passed on to Te Aute College, and at the close of his two years' course there, he passed the Junior Civil Service examination. The story of his death, as told me by one of his men who is now in hospital, is as follows:- He and several of his men were caught by shell fire while in a very awkward sector of trench. Some were killed outright, and Lieut. Kaa and several others were wounded. He resolutely refused to allow the stretcher-bearers to lift him until his wounded men were carried to safety. Before he could be rescued, another shell burst, and he was killed on the spot. To our limited vision, it seems as if an officer like this can ill be spared; but the example of his life lived, and finally given for others, will always be of inestimable value to those who knew him. 'Heoi, e oku teina, kia whai kaha koutou i roto i t Ariki.' S. M. L." (Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F., 5 September 1917, p. 27)
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| Biographical Notes: |
- Son of Panikena and Matewa Kaa, of Rangitukia, Waiapu.
- Gained Second Lieutenant's commission on 1 September 1915 (Studholme 1928).
- Promoted to Captain on 7 August 1917 (Studholme 1928).
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| Description of Image: |
Portrait, Auckland Weekly News 1917 |
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| Further References: |
- NZETC topic page for Pekama Kaa. URL: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-130644.html
- Studholme, J., 1928, Record of personal services during the war of officers, nurses, and first-class warrant officers; and other facts relating to the N.Z.E.F., Government Printer, Wellington, p. 173.
- Cowan, J., 1926, The Maoris in the Great War: A History of The New Zealand Native Contingent and Pioneer Battalion, Gallipoli, 1915, France and Flanders, 1916 - 1918, Maori Regimental Committee/Whitcombe and Tombs, Auckland, pp. 68, 71, 84, 85, 90, 93, 121.
- Search http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz for information about this person's Military Personnel File. Use the Simple Search option.
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| Sources Used: |
Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume I. Wellington: Govt. Printer, 1914-1919 |
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