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Story: European ideas about Māori

Māori soldiers

Video file

The 28th (Māori) Battalion, which fought in the Second World War, drew on Māori warrior traditions and gained a reputation as a fearsome foe. This warrior image was imprinted on European imaginations. Here Māori soldiers train in Northland in 1942.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 67. National Film Unit, 1942

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

James Belich, European ideas about Māori – Modern racial stereotypes, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/29890/maori-soldiers (accessed 19 June 2026).

Story by James Belich, published 27 April 2011.