Ted Nepia, broadcaster and Maori Battalion veteran, presents a programme of musical items recorded by the 28th Māori Battalion during World War II.
He intersperses the musical recordings with recollections about the locations where they were recorded.
[The date of this programme is unknown but Nepia refers to 1941 as 'five years ago' so it was possibly recorded in 1946.]
‘E pari rā’ sung by the Rotorua Māori Choir.
Recordings from the September 1941 open air concert in the North African desert:
‘Haere tonu rā’ and ‘Ka mate’
‘Karu karu’
‘Kia kaha kia toa’
Two years later, from a 1943 concert:
‘Te ope tuatahi’
‘Whītiki whītiki’
The 'recording studio' was often either the YMCA hut or the Broadcasting Unit's headquarters, a mud hut:
‘Tapu te pō’ [Silent Night]
‘Au e Ihu’
In Italy, another concert was recorded:
‘Kua rongorongo ake ahau’
‘Hei konei rā e hine’ [Farewell, Farewell]
‘Pō atarau’ sung by the Rotorua Māori Choir