This is my book review about a book call Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū

Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū

This book means to me about Maori people sining up to fight in war to defend our country. It talks about when and what happened on that day of war against other countries. They sent over eight thousand people on a troop ship over sea. People outside of the ship were shouting out to them good luck or farewell.  A war cry went out: “E te iwi, whītiki! Whiti! Whiti e!” (“O people, prepare yourselves for battle! Spring up! Spring up!”) In those days, most Maori lived in rural villages near their marae. So the four Maori members of parliament helped to spread this war cry. Even though many Maori wanted to join up, only a few did. This quickly changed when the government said it would include a special group of soldiers called the Maori Contingent. The Maori Contingent became known as Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū. In February 1915, after training in Auckland, the soldiers were fare welled. their whānau kept on saying“Haere e tama ma,” Then, in July 1915, the men were sent to Gallipoli. The British high command was uncomfortable with the idea of native people fighting alongside Europeans. So at first, the Māori soldiers were kept busy digging trenches and building supply depots. But these men had joined the army to fight - but then when heaps of people died, it was then their chance to fight.