Henare Hapi Kutia

Forenames

Henare Hapi AWMM

Surname

Kutia AWMM

Also known as

Henry Hapi AWMM

Service number

805204 AWMM

Gender

Male AWMM

Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe

Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM

Date of birth

Abt. 1924

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 1 May 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/henry-hapi-kutia

Place of birth

East Coast, NZ

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 1 May 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/henry-hapi-kutia

Birth notes

Son of Rawiri Kutia and of Mihi Kutia (nee Leach), of Tolaga Bay

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 1 May 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/henry-hapi-kutia

Address before enlistment

Unknown AWMM Tolaga Bay, New Zealand AWMM

Next of kin

Mrs M. Kutia (mother), Tolaga Bay, New Zealand AWMM

Relationship status

Pre 21 Feb 1944-31 Mar 1944 AWMM Single AWMM

War

World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM

Campaign

Italy AWMM

Armed force / branch

Army AWMM

Service number

805204 AWMM

Enlistment

WW2 Labourer/Civilian AWMM

Embarkation details

WW2 Vessel was Mooltan or Willem Ruys AWMM Private AWMM 28 (Maori) Battalion, C Company AWMM Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM

Medical notes

Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM

Last rank

Private AWMM
28 (Maori) Battalion, C Company AWMM

Henry Kutia was the son of Rawiri Kutia and of Mihi Kutia (nee Leach), of Tolaga Bay, New Zealand. AWMM

Death

24 Jul 1944 AWMM
Age  22 AWMM

Cause of death

Killed in Action AWMM

Cemetery

Florence War Cemetery, Italy AWMM VII. F. 17. AWMM

Obituary

Private Hapi Kutia, whose name appeared in a list of men killed in action recently, was the youngest son of Rawiri and Mihi Kutia, Tolaga Bay, and a member of a family which had rendered exceptional service with the Maori Battalion. He enlisted when not quite 18 years of age. and served for nearly two years at Fort Dorset. Wellington, as a gunner. In October of last year he received his parents; consent to a transfer to the Maori Battalion, and eventually left New Zealand with a draft in February last. He was employed by the Native Department as a carpenter’s apprentice at the time of his enlistment. One of his brothers, Private Victor Kutia, was killed in the Libyan campaign, another. Corporal Pomaro Kutia. was twice wounded and is now discharged, and a third brother is still serving overseas, having been wounded three times,.

Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 July 2023 - ROLL OF HONOUR
GISBORNE HERALD, VOLUME LXXI, ISSUE 21478, 9 AUGUST 1944, PAGE 4

Memorial name

• Auckland War Memorial Museum, World War 2 Hall of Memories AWMM
• Gisborne First World War Memorial, The Esplanade, Kaiti, Gisborne AWMM
• Henare Hapi Kutia also features on the Hinemaurea Memorial Gates in Mangatuna.
  Public - Ngaio - 14 February 2020 - Hinemaurea Marae Memorial Gates, History NZ website.

Related objects

External links

• 28th Maori Battalion Website 1941-1945
  http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/
  Further Reference
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
  https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2614427
  Sources Used
• Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington: Dept. of Internal Affairs, War History Branch. Digital copy.
  https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20210104000423/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Maor.html
  Further Reference

References

• Auckland Museum. Roll of Honour, Auckland Province, 1939 - 1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 93/139.
• Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1945). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 13 (Embarkations from 1st January, 1944 to 31st March, 1944). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
  WW2 13: WW2 68
• Soutar, M. (2008). Nga tama toa = The price of citizenship : C Company 28 (Maori) Battalion 1939-1945. Albany, N.Z.: David Bateman.
  Portrait published in Soutar (2008)
• Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.