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Story: Body shape and dieting

Māori soldier's enlistment form

Karena Tamaki, a surveyor of Te Kūiti, enlisted in the Native Contingent in 1914, undergoing the usual medical examination for all recruits. The results were documented on his enlistment form. A  well-built 26-year-old man in perfect health, he was taller and heavier than the average Māori recruit. Tamaki served at Gallipoli and in France. He was hospitalised for illness and injury in 1918, but survived the war and returned to New Zealand. He died in 1960, aged 71 or 72.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: AABK 18805 W5553 93 0111748

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

Caroline Daley, Body shape and dieting – Average heights and weights, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/41391/maori-soldiers-enlistment-form (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Caroline Daley, published 22 April 2013.