Peter Rangihiroa Buck
Born 1877 - Died 1951
- Service number
- WWI 16/593 AWMM
- Also known as
- Peter Henry Buck AWMM
- Te Rangi Hiroa AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- Inter War Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM New Zealand Medical Corps, attached Pioneer Battalion AWMM
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
- Sir AWMM
- Forenames
- Peter Rangihiroa AWMM
- Surname
- Buck AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- Peter Henry Buck AWMM
- Te Rangi Hiroa AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 16/593 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM
- Ngāti Mutunga, Ngā Iwi o Tokomaru, Tokomaru, Waka o Ngā Iwi, Ngā Iwi, Māori AWMM
- Religion
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Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 1877 AWMM
- Date of birth
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- Place of birth
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- Birth notes
- Son of William Henry & Rina Buck of Urenui in TaranakiPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 June 2024 - https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henry
- Address before enlistment
- Pre 15 Jan 1915 AWMM Ohaeawai, Bay of Islands, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- Next of kin
- Mrs Margaret Buck (wife), care of Mrs Wilson, Manor Street, Milton, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 14 Feb 1915 AWMM Married AWMM
- On 4 October 1905, at Greymouth, Peter BUCK married Margaret Wilson, who was born in Northern IrelandPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 June 2024 - https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henry
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- 1914-1919 AWMM Western Front AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 16/593 AWMM
- Military service
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) AWMM
- Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) AWMM
DSO: London Gazette, 4 June 1917. Citation: "For distinguished service in the field [in France & Flanders]." AWMM - 1914-1915 Star AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
- Victory Medal with oak leaf AWMM
- King George V Silver Jubilee Medal 1935 AWMM
- Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) AWMM
London Gazette 04/06/1917 AWMM - Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) Twice AWMM
MiD: London Gazette, 4 January 1917 p. 262; MiD: London Gazette, 1 June 1917 p. 5430 AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
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- Branch Trade Proficiency
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- Enlistment
- WW1 15 Jan 1915 AWMM Medical practitioner AWMM
- Age on enlistment
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- Occupation before enlistment
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Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 14 Feb 1915-26 Mar 1915 AWMM
HMNZT 20 AWMM Vessel was Warrimoo AWMM Captain/Military AWMM Headquarters Staff AWMM 1st Maori Contingent 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
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Last known rank
- Last rank
- Inter War 4 May 1919 AWMM Lieutenant Colonel/Military AWMM
New Zealand Medical Corps, attached Pioneer Battalion AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Son of William Henry Buck and Rina. Husband of Margaret Wilson
NZ Member of Parliament, 1909-14.
Cabinet Minister, 1912-14.
He and other Maori MPs helped to recruit a Maori volunteer contingent.
Embarked 1915 for the Middle East, sent with the Main Body to land on Gallipoli where Buck was twice Mentioned in Dispatches.
After the withdrawal from Gallipoli the Maori troops were reorganised into the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion and sent to France
Promoted to Major, 2nd in Command of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion (1916-1919) and in actual command in the latter stages of the war.
1917 transferred to No 4 New Zealand Field Ambulance
He was awarded the DSO 4 June 1917 for distinguished services in France and Flanders
May 1918 posted to Britain and in September to No 3 New Zealand General Hospital at Codford
Published his anthropological research which included measuring the physical features of the men from the Pioneer battalion in the Journal of the Polynesian Society in 1922--23.
Buck's ashes were interred at Okoti, North Taranaki, New Zealand in 1954.
A copy of a letter written by Major Buck to his commanding officer regarding the potential cultural implications of marriages between Maori servicemen and European women is held in the Auckland Museum Library's Manuscripts Collection (MS 2004/89). Listed at Archives New Zealand as BUCK, Peter Henry - WW1 16/593 - Army
British [Pattern 1897] Infantry Officers sword and scabbard, WW1 Said to have belonged to Sir Peter Buck
leather scabbard with plated steel mouthpiece and a strap to attach it to the frog button of a Sam Browne belt; leather sword frog, marked in ink "PHB" markings: George V monogram on hilt; embossed star on leather wrap of scabbard; scabbard and sword frog initialled in ink under leather flap "PHB" - Sword on long term loan to 28 Maori Museum, Waitangi.
Auckland Institute Museum Council 1921-1925.
Member of the Auckland Institute. AWMM
About death
- Death
- 1951 AWMM
Age 74 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
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- Place of death
- HonoluluPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 June 2024 - https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henry
- Cause of death
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- Death notes
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- Cemetery
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- Cemetery name
- Ōkoki pā historic Reserve, near UrenuiPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 June 2024 - https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henryhttps://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/urenui
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- Te Ao Hou
Sir Peter Buck
Sir Petes Buck, whose death was reported on Monday, was a great Maori and a great New Zealander. New Zealand is justly proud of its record in race relationships, but often it is not sufficiently realised how much of the credit for this should be given to Maori leaders. By their example and guidance they have helped both Maoris and Europeans to live in amity and understanding. This is particularly true of the Young Maori Party, which did so much to stimulate the Maori renascence at the turn of the century; and Sir Peter Buck was in the forefront of this movement. Unlike Sir James Carroll, Sir Maui Pomare, and Sir Apirana Ngata, he played no great part in politics. As Dr. Pita te Rangihiroa he was a member of Parliament for only five years and a Cabinet Minister for only a few months. He served the Maori people not so much by what he did as by what he was—and he continued to serve both the Maoris and New Zealand in -that way during the 25 years he spent in Honolulu. Doctor, politician, soldier, and scholar, Sir Peter Buck showed what a man of Maori blood and a half-caste could be. The influence of his life and character is not confined to New Zealand; it has helped, and will help, to promote racial good feeling throughout the Pacific basin and in many other countries. (Source: Sir Peter Buck, Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26595, 4 December 1951, Page 6) AWMM - The Ngāti Mutunga people are centred on Urenui. A few kilometres north-east is Ōkoki pā historic reserve, where the ashes of Te Rangi Hīroa (Sir Peter Buck) are interred under a stylised canoe-prow memorial.Public - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 June 2024 - https://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/urenui
- Peter BUCK died at Honolulu on 1 December 1951. His ashes were finally brought back home in 1953 and were laid to rest in an impressive ceremony at Ōkoki near Urenui on 8 August 1954. Margaret, his wife, survived him; her ashes were eventually laid with those of her husbandPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 18 June 2024 - https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henry
- Te Ao Hou
- Memorial name
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- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
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Related objects
Sources
- External links
- Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz
Sources Used - Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R21889475
Further Reference - Obituary: Roydhouse, G. (1951). Te Rangihiroa. Journal of the Polynesian Society 60(4) p. 243-254
http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_60_1951/Volume_60%2C_No._4/Te_Rangihiroa%2C_by_G._S._Roydhouse%2C_p_243-254/p1
Further Reference - Puke Ariki profile page
http://pukeariki.com/Learning-Research/Taranaki-Research-Centre/Taranaki-Stories/Taranaki-Story/id/337/title/te-rangi-h%C4%ABroa-the-life-of-sir-peter-buck
Further Reference - Renes, Jason. Reflections from Māhia. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 15 September 2020.
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/reflections/renes
Further Reference - New Zealand Institute. Roll of Honour Showing Members of The Institute Who Were on Active Service During The War. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 53, 1921, Unnumbered Page
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/TPRSNZ1921-53.2.6
Further Reference - Cowan, J. (1926). The Maoris in the Great War. Auckland, N.Z.: Maori Regimental Committee by Whitcombe & Tombs.
https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20201108000000/https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-CowMaor.html
Further Reference - Sir Peter Buck, Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26595, 4 December 1951, Page 6
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19511204.2.36
Further Reference
- Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.
- References
- McDonald, W. (2013). Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War, 1914-1918. (3rd ed.). Hamilton, N.Z.: Richard Stowers.
- Military Personnel file
- Honours and awards of the 2nd NZEF: the Military Medal (1966). Wellington, N.Z.: Army Headquarters.
- Polaschek, A. (1983). The Complete New Zealand Distinguished Conduct Medal. Christchurch, N.Z.: Medals Research.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Vol1: 90 - Auckland Returned Services Association, Onehunga Branch. Papers relating to World Wars I and II. 1916 - 1918, 1933 - 1944. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 2004/89.
- Auckland War Memorial Museum, Pictorial Collections: NZ Herald Collection.
Sir Peter Buck's Memorial, Urenui, Taranaki. 1954 - Auckland War Memorial Museum, Pictorial Collections: Official H Series [World War 1 photographs]
- Journal of the Polynesian Society
- Beattie, P.J. & Pomeroy, M. (2013-2020). Onward : portraits of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (vols 1-5). Auckland, New Zealand: Fair Dinkum Publications
Vol. 4: Includes portrait - Soutar, M. (2019). Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Maori In the First World War. New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd.
- Pat Clarkson Medical Practitioner Research Project (January 2014 - March 2022). This project identified Medical Practioners who served in WWI.
- New Zealand. Army. 1st Maori Contingent. Scroll of the 1st New Zealand Maori Contingent, 1915. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS-624.
- Cowan, J. (1926). The Maoris in the Great War. Auckland, N.Z.: Maori Regimental Committee by Whitcombe & Tombs.
- Pugsley, C. (1995). Te Hokowhitu a Tu : the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the first World War. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed.
- Waite, F. (1919). The New Zealanders at Gallipoli. Auckland, N.Z.: Printed and published under Authority of the New Zealand Government by Whitcombe & Tombs.
- Carbery, A.R.D. (1924). The New Zealand Medical Service in the Great War, 1914-1918 : based on official documents. Auckland: Whitcombe & Tombs.
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