19 February 2025
Wai 2500 Published Research Papers
In addition to Tribunal-commissioned research, the NZDF has completed significant research
projects that were not only necessary to assist with the concessions approved as part of the
Wai 2500 Military Veterans Kaupapa Inquiry, but also to provide additional information on
Māori military service including from the South African war, across both World Wars, and
through to operations in SE Asia, and more recently in Timor-Leste and Afghanistan.
The research reports offer an invaluable lens on the role, treatment and the mana of our
Māori soldiers, in service to and on behalf of the Crown and country.
Wai 2500 reports
The following reports have been filed with the Waitangi Tribunal and are available to view in
full and download at this link: nzdf.mil.nz/wai-2500-documents(external link)
- Māori recruitment policies and practices during the First World War and Māori recruitment into the Navy between 1923-1939. ~ Three papers by Steven Loveridge
- The Interim Army – New Zealand’s military force in the aftermath of the Second World War. ~ Andrew McDonald
- Ki runga whenua, iwi ke / On Foreign Soil: An overview of 28 (Maori) Battalion’s operations in contact with the enemy. ~ Andrew McDonald
- The Bicultural Journey of Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, the New Zealand Defence Force. ~ Anna Rogers
- Enlistment, training and employment of Māori service people between 1949-1975, with particular attention to deployments to South East Asia. ~ Steven Loveridge
- Māori chaplains in the New Zealand Maori (Pioneer) Battalion and 28 (Maori) Battalion. ~ Peter Lineham
- The repatriation of Māori servicemen people who served in various South East Asian campaigns, as well as later operations up to and including Afghanistan. ~ Samuel Day
- The impact of Antarctic operations on Māori servicemen, including the operating and decommissioning of the US nuclear reactor at McMurdo Station. ~ Rebecca Priestley
- The social, economic and health rehabilitation of Māori ex-servicepeople who served in Korea and Southeast Asian Campaigns and Operations. ~ Courtney Powell
The New Zealand Defence Force would like to thank the above authors for their time and
effort in helping tell important chapters in our collective story.
Further research reports are being compiled in order to inform the Kaupapa Inquiry and the
Crown Statement of Response. These will be added to the above list when available.
