Terongo Tuakeo

Born 1896 - Died 6 Jul 1919

Service number: WWI 19327 AWMM
Also known as: Tuakeo Terongo AWMM
Armed force / branch: Army AWMM
Last rank: WW1 New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion AWMM
War: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

Terongo Tuakeo — Photographs of patients in the Receiving Room, 27th General Hospital, Cairo, [1]7 March 1917, 'Leaving for New Zealand'. Pictures (from left to right) 'Sister ___' (unidentified), 'Tuakeo' (Tuakeo Terongo 19327), 'Sister Monk' (unidentified), 'Self' (David Hunter Palmer 13/593), 'Jerry Spooner' (Gerard Edmund Spooner 11/1060), and 'Alan Blackie' (Allan Stewart Blackie 13/878). Image kindly provided by Stanley Palmer (October 2019). Image has no known copyright restrictions. No Known Copyright Restrictions

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Biographical information

Listed on the Cook Islands Roll of Honour Board, RSA Rarotonga, as 'Pte Terongo T'. Source: WW1 NZEF ANZAC Soldiers Research Project.

Manuka then transhipped to "Malwa" at Sydney for Suez.

From Cenotaph Stories, Tuakeo Terongo:

"In October 2019, Auckland War Memorial Museum staff visited the home of the well-known artist Stanley Palmer. Mr Palmer is the son of First World War veteran James Palmer and nephew of Corporal David Hunter Palmer, who died shortly after the war. Among Stanley's family photographs was one of Stanley’s uncle David, lying alongside other patients and nurses at the 27th General Hospital, Cairo in 1917. Next to David was a soldier from Atiu, Tuakeo Terongo, who died of tuberculosis just a year later. By sheer coincidence staff member Dan Millar had been researching Atiu soldiers and recognised his name on the back of the photograph.

The photograph of the group had been partially identified by David Palmer before his death. The inscription reading ‘March 7th 1917, Receiving Room 27th General Hospital, Cairo. Leaving for New Zealand. Sister _, Tuakeo, Sister Monk, Self, Jerry Spooner and Alan Blackie.’

Whilst partially identified, the task lay to Dan to find out exactly who the named soldiers were. Using Online Cenotaph and then confirming the details through the personnel file, Dan was able to identify the four soldiers.

Tuakeo was identified as Tuakeo Terongo, Terongo was born in Atiu, Cook Islands and embarked overseas in 1916 with the 2nd Rarotongan Contingent of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force at the age of 20. The contingent arrived in Moascar and shortly afterwards, Terongo became very ill and was admitted to the 27th General Hospital in 1917. It was here at the 27th General Hospital that this photo was taken.

Jerry Spooner was identified as Private Gerard Edmund Spooner. Private Spooner served with the Wellington Mounted Rifles, as part of the New Zealand and Australian Division at Gallipoli in 1915. In January 1917, he was reported as wounded in action and admitted to the 27th General Hospital, Abbassia, with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Alan Blackie, has been identified as Sergeant Allan Stuart Blackie, Blackie served with the Samoa Expeditionary Force, before joining the Auckland Mounted Rifles where he served during both the Gallipoli and Palestine campaigns. In 1917, during the Battle of Rafa, Blackie was injured and sent to the 27th General Hospital and return to New Zealand in 1917, however he was later seconded for special duty for a British mission investigating oil possibilities in the Baku area. Blackie also served during the Second World War with Army Headquarters.

David Hunter Palmer, served with the Auckland Mounted Rifles, at Gallipoli and was also wounded during the Battle of Rafa, where he received a gunshot wound to his head, Palmer returned to New Zealand on the Willochra in 1917.

It was in the receiving room of the 27th General Hospital, Abbassia that the group was photographed. A few days after the photograph was taken, Palmer, Blackie, Spooner and Terongo were invalided to New Zealand on board the HMNZT Willochra.

Sadly, Palmer and Terongo both died shortly after the end of the war, Palmer died in 1920 as a result of his wounds. Terongo died in 1919, as a result of illness contracted whilst on active service, however he did not have any official war grave.

Throughout 2019 Dan Millar had been assisting with the Cook Islands First World War project lead by Bobby Nicholas, Paula Paniani and Cate Walker. Utilising this research the Online Cenotaph team were able to update numerous records for soldiers from Atiu including Terongo's. As a result of this research, the team added six Cook Island soldiers to the New Zealand and Commonwealth War Graves Commission Roll of Honour, and were able to have new headstones erected to remember these soldiers; Nga Naeiti, Rangi Tiaure, Tima Mereto, Tearii Taria, Banaba Tipe and Tuakeo Terongo.

With a bit of investigating, Dan has been able to find all four of these soldiers in the photograph, and add these faces to Online Cenotaph. Working in collaboration with researchers we are able continually add information to the database, and make sure those who served for New Zealand are remembered." AWMM

Sources

External links: Military personnel file
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R22013845
Further Reference
Jonathan Milne and Anneke Brown. 'Forgotten WWI war dead honoured, 100 years on', 19 October 2019. Stuff.co.nz
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/116716348/forgotten-wwi-war-dead-honoured-100-years-on
Further Reference
Anneka Brown, 'An ‘emotional’ WWI honour for families', Cook Islands News, 29 October 2019
http://www.cookislandsnews.com/national/local/item/74701-an-emotional-wwi-honour-for-families
Further Reference
Dan Millar and Madison Pine. Tuakeo Terongo. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 8 January 2020.
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/tuakeo?lang=en-nz
Further Reference
Pine, Madison. Year in Review: Online Cenotaph 2019. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 11 December 2019
https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/features/2019-online-cenotaph
Further Reference
Cook Islands Online Cenotaph
https://www.cookislandsonlinecenotaph.com/
Further Reference
References: New Zealand Army Expeditionary Force. (1917). Nominal Rolls of New Zealand Expeditionary Force Volume II. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer.
44: 2
Soutar, M. (2019). Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E!: Maori In the First World War. New Zealand: David Bateman Ltd.
‘Finding Our Way Back to Atiu’, Parts 1 -4, Cook Islands Television News/Cook Islands WW1 NZEF ANZAC Soldiers Research Project, 2019
This record was partially compiled from information kindly provided by Bobby Nicholas, Paula Paniani and Cate Walker, Cook Islands Military History Research Project
Information kindly provided by family
Weddell, H. (2016). Soldiers from the Pacific : the story of Pacific Island soldiers in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War One. Wellington, New Zealand : Defence of New Zealand Study Group.
Pugsley, C. (1995). Te Hokowhitu a Tu : the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the first World War. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed.

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.

Terongo Tuakeo

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