Brave Soldiers of the Pioneer Battalion awaiting departure during World War I, (wearing pith helmets known as Sola Topi)
Wellington, 1914-1918
Seconded from the left is Rikihana Carkeek
"Rikihana (Bunny) Carkeek was a prominent Ngāti Raukawa leader from Ōtaki who served, first with the Native Contingent and then with the Māori Pioneer Battalion, during the First World War. He kept a detailed diary throughout the war which provides great insights into the experience of Māori soldiers. At Gallipoli his machine gun crew were almost all killed or wounded during the attack on Chunuk Bair. Carkeek survived both Gallipoli and the Western Front, and returned home an officer."
"The Main Body left Wellington in one great fleet early in the morning of 16 October 1914. Along the city’s hilltops, lines of hardy Wellingtonians stood and watched as the convoy formed up at the harbour entrance."
Reference Number: 1/2-011079-F
Taken by an unidentified photographer during World War I. (1914-1918).