Northland Roll of Honour

Northern Advocate, 16 March 1944, Page 6

Northland Roll of Honour

Born September 20, 1921, at Rawene, Pte. Hotere was educated at Te Karae and Mitimiti schools until, in 1936, he wen a scholarship which took him to St. Peter’s College, Northcote, for a year. For the next two years'he helped his father on the farm, but enlisted in 1940 for overseas. However, he did not leave the Dominion until July of last year, being killed in Italy on December 23. He was a keen footballer, playing a fine game at fullback. He gained high praise for his intrepid action in a fatal accident which occurred while he was serving with the Territorial Force. An army truck, with several soldiers, was returning from a dance at Kohukohu when it went over a bank in the Mangamuka Gorge, falling into the river. Asleep at the time, Pte. Hotere was> last to get out of the truck, which had fallen into dbout 12ft. of water, and got ashore half dead, considerably knocked about. However, when he heard a cry for help from the river, he made a plucky attempt to rescue his companion, but was too exhausted from the effects of a gash on the head plus immersion in the water. He managed to get ashore a second time with great difficulty, but his companion was drowned.