Kepa Naera
Born 31 May 1922 - Died 24 Jul 1944
- Service number
- 808548 AWMM
- Also known as
- Keepa Te Aoturoa Naera AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- Private AWMM 28 (Maori) Battalion, D Company AWMM
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Kepa AWMM
- Surname
- Naera AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- Keepa Te Aoturoa Naera AWMM
- Service number
- 808548 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM
- Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngā Iwi o Tākitimu, Tākitimu, Waka o Ngā Iwi, Ngā Iwi, Māori AWMM
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 31 May 1922 AWMM
- Date of birth
- b. 1921Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 26 July 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/kepa-naera
- Place of birth
- —
- Birth notes
- Son of Te Weringa Naera and Te Kaihou Manihera Naera,Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 26 July 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/kepa-naera
- Address before enlistment
- Unknown AWMM PO Box 60, Gladstone, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- Mrs V.R. Naera (wife), Naumai, Gladstone, New Zealand AWMM
- Mrs V R Naera (wife) of GisbornePublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 26 July 2023 - https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/kepa-naera
- Relationship status
- Pre 21 Jul 1943 AWMM Married AWMM
Te Rauhina Stewart on 22 June 1943, in Masterton AWMM - Husband of Vivienne Rauhina Naera (nee Stewart)Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 26 July 2023 - ROLL OF HONOUR
GISBORNE HERALD, VOLUME LXXI, ISSUE 21474, 4 AUGUST 1944, PAGE 4
- Pre 21 Jul 1943 AWMM Married AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
- Campaign
- Italy AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- 808548 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
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Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
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Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW2 Labourer/Civilian 2NZEF Nom. Roll 12, p.141
- Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW2 Vessel was Nieuw Amsterdam AWMM Private 2NZEF Nom. Roll 12, p.141 28 (Maori) Battalion, D Company 2NZEF Nom. Roll 12, p.141 Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
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- Days interned
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- Liberation date
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- POW liberation details
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- Liberation Repatriation
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- POW serial number
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Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed in Action, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Private AWMM
28 (Maori) Battalion, D Company AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Kepa Naera was the son of Te Weringa Naera (also spelled as Te Weringa-ite Rangi Naera) and Te Kaihou Manihera Naera, of Takapau; husband of Vivienne Rauhina Naera (nee Stewart), of Carterton.
Embarked as part of the Tenth Māori Reinforcements. Sailed from Wellington for the Middle East in the Nieuw Amsterdam on 21 July 1943. Disembarked at Port Tewfik on 14 August 1943.
Of Ngāti Kahungunu descent, Private Kepa Naera (808548) was born in Pirinoa in 1922. The son of Te Weringa Naera and Te Kaihou Manihera, he was raised on his papakāinga at Tawari in Takapau and at Te Oreore Marae in Masterton.
He was the husband of Vivienne Rauhina Naera (née Stewart) of Carterton. Prior to enlistment he worked as a labourer and was living in Gladstone.
Kepa served as a Private with D Company, 28 (Māori) Battalion during World War II. He embarked as part of the Tenth Māori Reinforcements, sailing from Wellington aboard Nieuw Amsterdam on 21 July 1943. He disembarked at Port Tewfik, Egypt, on 14 August 1943 and served in the Italian campaign.
He was killed in action near Florence, Italy, on 24 July 1944, aged 23, and is buried at Florence War Cemetery. In September 2000, members of his whānau visited his grave during a 28 Māori Battalion tour of Italy. Their visit forms part of the wider pilgrimages made by New Zealand families to overseas cemeteries to honour and reconnect with loved ones who did not return home.
Kepa is commemorated on the Gisborne War Memorial and is remembered through contributions to his Online Cenotaph record. His memory lives on within his whānau, with many nephews and later generations carrying his name.
Moe mai rā e te rangatira i tō moenga roa (Profile written for “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 initiative by Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand). AWMM
About death
- Death
- 24 Jul 1944 AWMM
Age 23 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Florence War Cemetery, Italy AWMM VII. F. 12. AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- Naera.—Killed on active service, Kepa, dearly beloved husband of Rowena (nee Stewart) and second son of Te Wiringa and the late Mrs. Naera, Takapau. E. Moe mai e tama ito moenga roa.Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 26 July 2023 - ROLL OF HONOUR
GISBORNE HERALD, VOLUME LXXI, ISSUE 21475, 5 AUGUST 1944, PAGE 1 - Memorial name
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
- Gisborne First World War Memorial, The Esplanade, Kaiti, Gisborne AWMM
Sources
- 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/2379170
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 - Naera, Keepa Te Auturoa In Memoriam Notice 1997
https://www.knowledgebank.org.nz/text/naera-keepa-te-auturoa-in-memoriam-notice-1997/
Further Reference
- 28th Maori Battalion Website 1941-1945
- References
- The Weekly News
The Weekly News 1944 - Cody, J. (1956). 28 (Maori) Battalion. Wellington, N.Z.: Department of Internal Affairs, War History Branch.
- Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1945). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 12 (Embarkations from 1st July, 1943 to 31st December, 1943). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
WW2 12: WW2 141 - Pipiwharauroa
Douglas, H. (2000). Maori Battalion whanau visit Italy. Pipiwharauroa, p. 8. - Information kindly provided by family
- This record was part of “A Flight to Remember”, an Anzac Day 2026 commemorative partnership between Online Cenotaph and Air New Zealand, where service stories were shared onboard a dawn flight from Auckland to Sydney.
- The Weekly News
The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.
Online Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.