Kohatu Hari Hemara Wahanui
Born 9 Jun 1892 - Died 12 Jun 1976
- Service number
- WWI 16/481 AWMM
- Also known as
- Kohatu H. Whanonga AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Last rank
- WW1
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Kohatu Hari Hemara AWMM
- Surname
- Wahanui AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- Kohatu H. Whanonga AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 16/481 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- Iwi Māori, Māori AWMM
- Ngāti Maniapoto, Māori AWMM
- Tainui, Waka o Ngā Iwi, Ngā Iwi, Māori AWMM
- Religion
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints AWMM
- Latter-day Saint, MormonPublic - Bronwyn-Ann - Other Relative - 3 March 2015 - Church Record
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 9 Jun 1892 AWMM
- Date of birth
- —
- Place of birth
- Pio Pio, King Country, NZPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 7 April 2024 - https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KW6X-6CB/kohatu-hari-hemara-wahanui-1890-1976
- Birth notes
- Son of Hari Hemara WAHANUI & Matehuirua Perahurihuripoto Te Kohika MURAAHIPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 7 April 2024 - https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KW6X-6CB/kohatu-hari-hemara-wahanui-1890-1976
- Address before enlistment
- WW1 Kings' College, Auckland, New Zealand AWMM
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW1 Hari Hemara (father), Otorohanga, New Zealand AWMM
- Relationship status
- Pre 14 Feb 1915 AWMM Single/WWI AWMM
- 12 Apr 1917 AWMM Married/WWI AWMM
Te Tarehu Rewi Tana AWMM - 17 Mar 1922 AWMM Married AWMM
Kaara Te Huia AWMM - 1936 AWMM Married AWMM
Whakatamanawa Kohatu Hemara (Marriage record), also known as Wheti Tanirau Tarati; Whakatamanawa Pareaute; Whakatamanawa Tanirau Hemara; Whakatamanawa Tanirau Taratu; Whakatamanawa Tanirau Wahanui AWMM - 1933 Kohatu WAHANUI married Whakatāmanawa Pareaute Tanirau TARATUPublic - Lorraine Mona - Researcher - 7 April 2024 - https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KW6X-6CB/kohatu-hari-hemara-wahanui-1890-1976
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
- Campaign
- 1914-1916 AWMM Egypt AWMM
- 1915-1916 AWMM Gallipoli AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Army AWMM
- Service number
- WWI 16/481 AWMM
- Military service
- —
- Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- —
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
- 1914-1915 Star AWMM
- Victory Medal AWMM
- British War Medal (1914-1920) AWMM
Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- WW1 15 Oct 1914 AWMM
Age 22 AWMM
Farmer/Civilian AWMM - Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW1 14 Feb 1915-26 Mar 1915 AWMM
HMNZT 20 AWMM Vessel was Warrimoo AWMM Private AWMM A Company AWMM 1st Maori Contingent AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Wounds Diseases Etc., WWI AWMM
Gun-shot wound in August 1915 AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- WW1 25 Jul 1916 AWMM
- Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Kohatu Wahanui (16/481) and his brother Thomas Wahanui (16/488) both enlisted.
Attended Wesley College in Three Kings, Auckland.
Tuheka Hetet wrote from the front in August 1915 describing a night attack involving the Māori Contingent. He records that Kohatu Hari Hemara Wahanui was wounded in the left arm while engaged in the capture of a Turkish gun, alongside his relative Thomas Wahanui, who was also wounded. The attack secured ground through close bayonet fighting but came at significant cost, with many men wounded and the strength of the contingent considerably reduced. Hetet’s account reflects the intensity of the engagement and the involvement of Ngāti Maniapoto men within the wider New Zealand forces.
Source: “Letter from the Front,” King Country Chronicle, 27 October 1915.
An obituary published in April 1919 records the death of his father, Hari Hemara Wahanui, a respected Ngāti Maniapoto leader and descendant of Wahanui. He played a key role in encouraging enlistment for the Māori Contingent, with his sons Kohatu and Thomas among the first to volunteer, both later wounded in service. His death was marked by significant gatherings at Te Kūiti, reflecting his standing within the community.
Source: “A Tribal Loss: Death of a Prominent Chief,” King Country Chronicle, 10 April 1919. AWMM - Kohatu Hari Hemara Wahanui 16/481 Passed away at the homestead, Gallaghers road, rd3 Ngahape
May 1976 aged 86yrs Hence Born 9th June 1890Public - George TeHuia Raureti - 20 April 2018 - I am Number 8 son of 13 Siblings born 29th October 1950
- Kohatu Wahanui (16/481) and his brother Thomas Wahanui (16/488) both enlisted.
About death
- Death
- 12 Jun 1976 AWMM
- Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- —
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Te Awamutu Cemtery AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
- —
Memorial
- Memorial name
- WWI Roll of Honour, Ngāti Maniapoto's Memorial Flag Pole, Te Tokanganui-a-Noho, Te Kūiti AWMM
Related Serviceperson
Sources
- External links
- Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R22021083
Further Reference - Denise Irvine, 'Waikato Maori at the front', www.stuff.co.nz, 22 April 2015
https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/67959573/waikato-maori-at-the-front
Further Reference - Schmidt, Herman John (1910-1919). Wesley College cadets. Full length group portrait of thirty young cadets from the Wesley College, arranged in five rows, all wearing cadet uniform, two men seated in the centre, one with a moustache, both wearing dark coloured, three piece suits, light coloured shirts and ties, a trophy or cup in the front. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 31-WP0749
https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/341651
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 - LETTER FROM THE FRONT. King Country Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 817, 27 October 1915, Page 5
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19151027.2.17
Further Reference - A TRIBAL LOSS. King Country Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 1197, 10 April 1919, Page 5
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19190410.2.56
Further Reference
- Military personnel file
- References
- Roa, T., Paki, M., & Pūrekireki Marae. (2015). Maiea te tupua : whānau accounts of Waikato-Maniapoto World War One veterans and one conscriptee : commemorating 100 years of World War One. Pirongia : Pūrekireki Marae.
- New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1914-1919). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Volume I. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
Vol1: 748 - 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. 3: Includes portrait - Soutar, M. (2019). Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Maori In the First World War. New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd.
- McClintock, K., Turner, K., Searancke, M., Manawaiti, S., Meredith, P. (2024). Ngāti Maniapoto Ope Taua 1914 – 1918.
- 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.
- Auckland MuseumPublic - Hazel - Child - 24 May 2015 - Personal File Auckland War Memorial Museum
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