In 2007, the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board established the prestigious Manakura Award for leadership to honour the legacy of the 28th (Māori) Battalion and celebrated Māori soldier, Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu VC.

The award is presented every three years and recognises individuals who display leadership in their fields of interest and the attributes of the 28th (Māori) Battalion – in particular, strength of character, ambition, courage and original thought.

Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Kahungunu

Year of Manakura Award: 2024

In 2024, Dr Monty Soutar was presented the Manakura Award for his exceptional contributions to education, Māori history, and the 28th (Māori) Battalion.

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Dr Soutar dedicated 15 years of his life to documenting the history of the 28th (Māori) Battalion in his award-winning book Nga Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship. The captivating book is hailed as New Zealand’s most definitive account of C Company's role in the Second World War.

He has previously worked as a teacher, soldier, university lecturer, museum director and senior historian, and in 2002 he was appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal. In 2015, he was also awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and historical research.

The Ngarimu Board presented Dr Soutar with the award in recognition of his outstanding leadership and commitment to his people, and for embodying the values the men of the 28th (Māori) Battalion lived by.

He says it was a true honour to receive the Manakura award and felt it was fitting to be presented it at C Company Memorial House given the focus of his earlier work.

“I hope we hold on to the story of the 28th (Māori) Battalion, and that we remember the reason they went off to fight the enemy overseas, which was to fight for the right to equality for Māori people in this country.”

Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pikiao, Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui

Year of Manakura Award: 2021

In 2021, Sir Wira Gardiner was presented the Manakura Award in recognition of his leadership, commitment and mahi over many years to build the knowledge of, and the number and capability of, researchers of the 28th (Māori) Battalion. The board recognised ‘Tā Wira’s lifetime of achievements in Ngarimu mahi show that he represented the values that members of the 28th (Māori) Battalion lived by’.

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It is a privilege and an honour to even be considered for such a prestigious award, as I am aware of the many deserving candidates the board must have considered.

I served on the Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board as a whānau representative, and witnessed first-hand the importance of the work of the board and the help it gave students. Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu and I shared a common whakapapa through Te Whānau-a-Apanui. His mother, Maraea, and my mother, Araiteuru, were first cousins.

The sacrifices of Ngarimu and his mates made our way of life possible. Tā Apirana Ngata wrote about the ‘price of citizenship’ which was published in time for the VC celebrations at Ruatoria on 23 October 1943.

Here the VC was awarded posthumously to his father Samuel Ngarimu and his mother Maraea. And while the scales of justice and equity are still being balanced, the work of the Ngarimu Board is contributing in no small measure to that process.

I accept the Manakura Award on behalf of those who made us who we are.

Tā Wira Gardiner, 2021