MAORI TROOPS

Grey River Argus, 22 May 1941, Page 6

MAORI TROOPS

NUMBERS MISSING After Greek Campaign NEWS FROM PRIME minister. [Per Press Association] HASTINGS, May 22. According to advice received by the Acting Prime Minister from R -; Hon. P. Fraser, a’ few of the Maori soldiers who took part m the^9 ree ; campaign have been return d t There are others in Crete, and a number of the troops have so far not been accounted for. Mr. Nash had a telephone conversation to-night with the Bishop of Aotearoa. , . , Mr. Nash said that he had received a cabled message from Mr. rraser concerning the Maori troops in the Middle East. The way in which the evacuation, had been carried out, he stated, made it difficult to learn how many of the New Zealanders had fared. Mr. Fraser said that the Maori units had been scattered, and that it might be some time before they were united. The deaths of two Maori soldiers have so far been reported to Bishop Bennett, but this could not be taken as an indication that the Maori casualties were light. Mr. Fraser stated that the Maoris had seen fierce lighting and heavy fighting in the vicinity of Mount Olympus, and some losses must be expected.

Maoris in Crete

WITH N.Z. CAVALRYMEN.

LATE ARRIVALS FROM GREECE

(Received May 22, 12.30 a.m.). I CAIRO, May 21. It is believed that the lasj British soldier;? to leave Greece were a small party of New Zealand cavalrymen ; and Maoris. They reached Crete in a leaky rowing-boat, shortly before the German parachutists attacked.

They originally were cut off near the Corinth Canal. They sneaked about the mountains and the olive groves for days, eluding the Germans. Villagers fed them, and provided them with civilian clothes. Then they found an 18ft rowingboat on a beach, and voyaged one hundred and forty miles to Crete with one pair of oars.

Canteen for Maoris

NATIVE CHILDREN’S RESPONSE.

TO APPEAL OF DEPARTMENT.

WELLINGTON, May 22

An appeal was made by the Education Department towards the end of last year for the pupils of native schools to buy and equip a mobile canteen for the Maori Battalion serving overseas. It has met with a splendid response. The Minister of Education, in an interview to-night, said that just over nine hundred pounds had been raised for this purpose, representing an average of Is 8d a head of the school population. Mr. Mason said the keenness of the children to contribute their pennies, never too plentiful, toward this fund, had been fully exemplified by numerous letters. One school in the North Auckland district, with a roll of a little more than sixty pupils, had sent a contribution of seventy pounds to the fund and, in quite a number of cases more than 5s a head was realised. The Government fully appreciated the warm hearted response that had been made by the children, which was a very fitting demonstration of loyalty of the Maori race. The Minister added: “It demonstrates in no uncertain manner the keenness of the children to give every assistance to their older brothers, and in many cases their fathers, who are so gallantly upholding the fighting traditions of their race in the Middle East.