{"id":632886,"date":"2026-10-16T23:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632886\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T23:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:24:12","slug":"century-after-maori-soldiers-served-in-france-cities-sign-sister-city-pact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632886\/","title":{"rendered":"Century after M\u0101ori soldiers served in France, cities sign sister-city pact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rotorua and Arras have become sister cities more than a century after M\u0101ori soldiers and New Zealand tunnellers served beneath the French city.<\/p>\n

By Mathew Nash, Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

The agreement was signed at Te Puia on Friday during a visit by Arras Mayor Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Leturque and French Ambassador Fran\u00e7ois Decoster.<\/p>\n

It comes as work continues on a Waka Maumahara commissioned by Arras for installation at the Wellington Quarry memorial site. The site is where members of the M\u0101ori Pioneer Battalion and the New Zealand Tunnelling Company served before the Battle of Arras<\/a> in 1917.<\/p>\n

The cities\u2019 connection dates to December 1916, when 43 M\u0101ori Pioneer Battalion members were sent to help<\/a> New Zealand tunnellers beneath Arras.<\/p>\n

Together, they expanded a network of underground chalk caverns<\/a> and tunnels that allowed Allied troops to assemble undetected before the battle.<\/p>\n

Many caverns were named after New Zealand towns and cities, including Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Blenheim. The tunnels were rediscovered in the 1990s after being sealed following World War II.<\/p>\n

Today, the preserved Wellington Quarry memorial has become an important place of remembrance for descendants of the New Zealand soldiers who served there.<\/p>\n

\"Rotorua<\/p>\n

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell watches the waka being carved at the New Zealand M\u0101ori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia, Rotorua. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

The latest project linking the communities is the Waka Maumahara being carved at Te Puia. Some carvers involved have whakapapa links to M\u0101ori soldiers who served in Arras more than a century ago.<\/p>\n

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said the agreement recognised the sacrifice of those men and the relationship that had grown from their service.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really special to be here as Mayor of Rotorua because it was the first M\u0101ori mayor of Rotorua, Harry Dansey, who not only served this community of Rotorua but also served in the tunnels in Arras.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tapsell said the soldiers who travelled to France had helped secure peace that later generations continued to enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir sacrifice will never be forgotten. We will remember them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the partnership ensured future generations benefited from international relationships built through peace rather than conflict.<\/p>\n

For Leturque, the signing marked another step in a relationship that has developed through descendants, historians and community leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understood that now we are part of your family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Arras<\/p>\n

Arras Mayor Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Leturque with New Zealand M\u0101ori Arts and Crafts Institute student Tiaan Greig. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

The Arras Mayor said the waka would help preserve the stories of those who served.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt belongs to us now to preserve their memory and to be sure that their story is told to future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decoster said the partnership transformed a wartime connection into a living relationship between communities on opposite sides of the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn April 1917, during the Battle of Arras, New Zealanders fought, dug and gave their lives for a country that was not their own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tunnellers who worked beneath the city left behind them the names of their hometowns carved into the chalk. That bond, forged in sacrifice, is the very foundation of what we celebrate today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The waka\u2019s installation is planned for April next year as part of commemorations marking the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Arras.<\/p>\n

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rotorua and Arras have become sister cities more than a century after M\u0101ori soldiers and New Zealand tunnellers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4432,111,43,139,69,1756],"class_list":["post-632886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-maori-issues","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tauranga-bay-of-plenty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}