Profile
Full name
Pekama Rongoaia Kaa
Other Name(s)
Captain Pekama Kaa
Date of Birth
??.??.????
Place of Birth
na, New Zealand
Date of decease
14.08.1917
Spouse(s)
na
Children
na
Parents
Siblings
Wiremu Ihikepa Kaa
Te Rauna Kaa
Henare Tangaere Kaa
Emere Makere Waiwaha Kaa-Moutain
Tipi Whenua Kaa
Hoani Kaa
Kawa Rongoa Kaa
Hone Te Kaura Kaa
Gordon Reremoana
Mere Katene Kaa
Manahi Kaa
Pekama Rongoaia Kaa
Bio
Pekama Rongoaia Kaa, the son of Panikena and Matewa Kaa, of Rangitukia, Waiapu, New Zealand was a descendant of a notable line of Maori warriors of the Ngatiporou 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 on the 12/6/15 at the age of 21 and was attached to the the 1st Maori contingent, "Te Hokowhitu a Tu," the Maori Pioneer Battalion, which had sailed from New Zealand in February, 1915 and fought as engineers and snipers in Gallipoli. He was commissioned as a 2/Lt on the 1/9/15. It is unclear if he served on Gallipoli.
After evacuating from Gallipoli, the surviving fit men of the Maori contingent were combined with the survivors of the Otago Mounted Rifles to form the NZ Pioneer Battalion, which went to France.
In May 1916, they fought at Armentieres, digging trenches and going on raiding parties In August 1916 they went to the Somme, where they dug what became the famous communication trenches 'Turk Lane' and 'Fish Alley' ( or French Lane).
By August 1917, enough Maori reinforcements had arrived to make a complete NZ (Maori) Pioneer Battalion of 928 men. Lt Kaa was promoted to Captain on the 7/8/17 and posted as Grenade Officer. He was killed in action on the 14/8/17. He was age 23.
He body rests in Kandahar Farm Cemetery, Nieuwkerke, West Vlaanderen, Belgium (pictured above).
An image of Henare Mokena Kohere (Kaa's predecessor, KIA Sep 1916) and Pekama Kaa have pride of place in the stained glass windows of St Mary's Anglican Church overlooking Tikitiki, Rangitukia and the Waiapu valley.
The following is an excerpt from The Story of a Maori Chief:
"The Passing of Kohere—A Rangatira's Wish"Under this heading in a London newspaper of 19th December, 1916, appeared the following article:—"Old Kohere was the chief of Ngati-Porou. He named Ropata Wahawaha to lead his taua for his prowess; and he himself sat in council in the New Zealand Parliament in his ripe years. Lieutenant Kohere lay on a stretcher in the dugout on the Somme. He was quite comfortable and happy. Two of the Pioneers were with him. In one hand he held a lighted cigarette; the other hand was smashed by a high-explosive shell. He was grievously wounded, too, in the groin. Kohere was a chief, and he was paying his small debts, his trifling mess accounts and so on, because he expected to die.The Major (Rangihiroa) thrust his head and shoulders in at the door, darkening the dugout. “How is it, Kohere?” he asked in Maori.
“Ka nui te kino,” was the quiet reply. The tohunga might not know. But Kohere knew it was very bad, and he was squaring up with life like a chief. Kohere's grandfather had named Ropata for the war captain, because a chief always wishes well for the tribe. Was there anything Kohere wanted?“There is only one thing,” whispered the dying rangatira. “I want the platoon to go to Kaa.” It was the old tribal mana. Ngati-Porou had a full platoon of their own, and yet another platoon was chiefly of Ngati-Porou with a Ngati-Porou leader, Lieutenant Kaa. The rangatira wished to hand over his tribesmen to their chief.Kohere went down the line and died, and was buried, and far away at the Antipodes the greatest tangi of Ngati-Porou mourned his passing. “What is to be done?” said the Colonel to the Major when they talked of subsequent appointments.”Well, the first thing to do is to be square with Kohere. Kaa must have the platoon.” And Kaa leads the Ngati-Porou to-day."Captain Pekama Kaa was killed while in charge of men carrying the wounded to a place of safety.Extract from Chronicles of the N.Z.E.F., September 5th 1917
courtesy of Bill Meldrum, 4103003
Lieut P. Kaa
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 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 absolutely refused to let 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 te Ariki”
S.M.L.
