UNITED IN DEATH.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 87, 13 April 1927, Page 9

UNITED IN DEATH.

MAORI AND PAKEHA. MEMORIAL AT RANGIRIRI. rX V EII.IX (; (EREM oX V. For many years (hi- old soldiers' graves in Auckland and tlie Waikato were sadly neglected. 1 nit recently peopl,have liecn awakened t<> their duty towards the memory of the men who lie below. The latest graves to l>e rescued from oblivion are those in the cemetery at Rangiriri, where in ISO.T a strong force ot British troops attacked an almost impregnable pa. l'akeha and Mr ri were, buried side by side, in the old cemetery of the caily settlers. The main road from Auckland to the Waikato runs through the ground, and for a long while the rounded heaps were all that marked the sacred spot. Xow a low wall lias been erected round the cemetery, and a line arched gateway has Iwe n Imilt at the entrance. On this archway there is a tablet, and this afternoon it. is being unveiled by the Hon. K. K. Bollard, Minister of Internal Affairs, at a ceremony which has been arranged for the occasion. A feature of the gatheiTng will be the presence of a number of old Maori war veterans who attend specially for the occasion, many of them from long distances. The inscription on the memorial tablet is: MAORI WAR AND KAKI.Y SKTTLKitS' I'KMET I;KV. BATTLE OF RANGIRIRI. "On the 20th of November. l < sl',.t. ftcnerul Cameron. wiili a for f Soil. attacked the Maori F.ntrenehllients <>|| the crest of the hill to the north of thi> burial ground. The Maoris, in a strong redoubt. repulsed ihe naval anil military storming parties, but surrendered nex; morning. Casualties were t'.i killed and wounded. The Maori losses were about .">n killed and IS. - ? taken prisoners. This cemetery contains the graves of -10 of the British forces."