Anzac 2025 On Whakaata Māori & Māori+

Whakaata Māori again brings Aotearoa together in remembrance and reflection this Anzac Day honouring our servicemen and women and their whānau, beginning with the Dawn Service from Auckland War Memorial Museum at 5.45AM on Friday 25 April.

This year we acknowledge ‘A Company’ – ‘the Gum Diggers’ – of the 28th Māori Battalion with several programmes featuring stories from Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Tokerau, including the premiere of a powerful documentary, Ngā Kai Keri Kāpia.

NGĀ KAI KERI KĀPIA follows the niece and grandnephew of Private Taurere from Te Kao who served in A Company and was killed at Monte Cassino, Italy. With only a photo and medals the family sets out to discover his story. We also travel with a group of young Māori from the Leadership Academy in Whangārei, who were the same age as the soldiers of the Māori Battalion when they embarked on an adventure from which many would not return.

TE RAU AROHA – A BROTHERS’ JOURNEY follows Peter and John Urlich, as they reconnect with their father through the taonga of Te Rau Aroha Museum at Waitangi.

KIA MATE A URUROA tells the inspirational story of one of Aotearoa’s most outstanding war heroes, Hokianga-born Harding Waipuke Leaf (Ngāpuhi, Te Hikutū). He was awarded the Military Cross for bravery in WWI then, at the age of 49, signed up again for WW2 and was a senior officer in 28 Māori Battalion serving with distinction in the battles of Greece and Crete before being killed in action.

TE KAI WHAKAAHUA: SHOOTER OF WAR follows 28 Māori Battalion (A Company) officer Major Wally Wordley (Ngāpuhi), who not only carried a gun, but a camera too. Against regulations, he took hundreds of snaps of his comrades throughout the war and wrote secret diaries of daily life and death in the desert.

At 2.30PM we cross live to Turkey for the service from ANZAC COVE in Gallipoli.

Other programming highlights include the premiere of Richard Curtis’ short film RAPIDO telling the story of a young Māori boy's fascination with war comics coming closer to home than he could ever imagine.

COMING UP ON ANZAC DAY:

5.45AM: ANZAC 2025 DAWN SERVICE – live from Auckland War Memorial Museum

7.30AM: PREMIERE: TE WHAKAWHITINGA – Hine recounts the story of pāpā, and his eagerness to join the army shortly after the end of World War II.

7.45AM: TE RAU AROHA – A BROTHERS’ JOURNEY – Follows Peter and John Urlich, as they reconnect with their father through the taonga of Te Rau Aroha Museum at Waitangi.

8.15AM: STEPHEN FRY: WILLEM AND FRIEDA – DEFYING THE NAZIS: Stephen Fry investigates the inspiring and moving story of a gay man and a lesbian who led anti-Nazi resistance in Holland.

9.30AM: PREMIERE: NGĀ KAI KERI KĀPIA – Two powerful storylines are intertwined, delving into the untold tales of the Māori Battalion. What began as a simple visit to a war cemetery in Belgium uncovers a hidden family history.

10.00AM: TE KAWAU KI TAI: MĀHUHU O TE RANGI – Part one of a six part series looking back on the planning and building of Māhuhu o te Rangi (Aotearoa’s largest waka tauā), its voyages on the Waitematā, and its place within the iwi.

10.15AM: OHMS! PROTEST! A CELEBRATION OF RESISTANCE – Robert Reid and his mates set up OHMS, Organisation to Halt Military Service. They began a series of creative disruptive activities all over Aotearoa to overthrow Compulsory Military Training.

10.50AM: PARADISE SOLDIERS – Reveals the sacrifices, the personal stories, and celebrates the contribution of Cook Island soldiers to the New Zealand armed forces from World War I through Vietnam and to present day.

11.45AM: TE KAWAU KI TAI: THE BUILD – We explore the build itself from the first sketch on the rākau to the final chisel strike. It will be based in Whangārei, where master carver and waka builder Heemi Eruera will work his magic.

12.00PM: TAMA TŪ – Six Māori Battalion soldiers camped in Italian ruins tell jokes waiting for night to fall. A tohu brings them back to reality, and they gather to say a karakia before returning to the fray.

12.20PM: TE KAWAU KI TAI: NGĀ KAIHOE – As important as the waka, are the kaihoe who will man it. We follow them as they prepare for this momentous occasion, starting with land training, involving learning haka, ngeri, and technique.

12.30PM: WAR PAINT – 1864. A British soldier lays wounded, dying, in the New Zealand bush after an assault on a Pā during the Waikato Campaign.

12.45PM: TE KAI WHAKAAHUA: SHOOTER OF WAR – follows 28 Maori Battalion (A Company) Major Wally Wordley (Ngāpuhi), who not only carried a gun, but a camera too. Against regulations, he took hundreds of snaps of his comrades throughout the war and wrote secret diaries of daily life and death in the desert.

1.45PM: TE KAWAU KI TAI: NGĀ WĀHINE – Wāhine play a critical role in whānau, hapū, and iwi as whare tāngata (procreators) and whare mātauranga (repositories of knowledge) - but what role do they have in waka taua?

2.00PM: NGĀ KAI KERI KĀPIA – Two powerful storylines are intertwined, delving into the untold tales of the Māori Battalion. What began as a simple visit to a war cemetery in Belgium uncovers a hidden family history.

2.30PM: LIVE: ANZAC DAY GALLIPOLI SERVICE – From Anzac Cove, Turkey.

3.30PM: TE RAU AROHA: A BROTHERS’ JOURNEY – Follows Peter and John Urlich, as they reconnect with their father through the taonga of Te Rau Aroha Museum at Waitangi.

4.00PM: KIA MATE Ā URUROA – the inspirational story of one of Aotearoa’s most outstanding war heroes, Hokianga-born Harding Waipuke Leaf (Ngāpuhi, Te Hikutū).

5.00PM: LAST MAN STANDING – The emotional journey of the last man standing, Sir Robert Gillies, to fulfil his wish that his mokopuna walk in the footsteps of the 28th Māori battalion eighty years on.

5.30PM: KORO’S MEDALS – When Billy loses his grandfather's precious war medal, getting it back is the least of his worries.

5.45PM: TE KAWAU KI TAI: THE FINAL STAGES – We join Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei in the final stage of their preparations for the launch that will bring all the elements of the waka journey together.

6.00PM: TE WHAKAWHITINGA – Hine recounts the story of her father, Pāpā, and his eagerness to join the army shortly after the end of World War II.

6.15PM: PREMIERE: CHURCHILL: BRITAIN’S SECRET APARTHEID – When Winston Churchill needed the help of the US Army to defeat Hitler, he made a controversial decision to allow America to bring its segregated Army to the UK.

7.15PM: PREMIERE: RAPIDO – A young Māori boy's fascination with war comics comes closer to home than he could ever imagine.

7.30PM: Premiere: THE KEEPER – The remarkable true story of Bert Trautmann, a German prisoner of war who becomes a legendary goalkeeper for Manchester City and finds love amidst the aftermath of World War II.

9.30PM: TE KAWAU KI TAI: TE WHAKAREWATANGA – History will be made as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei launch their new waka tauā on the Waitematā.

9.45PM; TAONGA: TREASURES OF OUR PAST – Retells precious Māori stories of romance, betrayal, politics and war. Profiles Te Rangitopeora - a fearsome warrior who fought in battle beside her uncle, the mighty Te Rauparaha.

10.20PM: TE RONGO TOA ANZAC SPECIAL – The memories of our Tūpuna remain in the voices of the descendants today. An anthology of Ngā Waiata Pakanga tell the stories about our soldiers and the sacrifices they made for our country.

© Scoop Media