Abstract
On the sixth of October of the same year [1943], at Whakarua Park, Ruatoria, East Coast, a great Māori gathering was held at which the Governor-General of New Zealand presented the Victoria Cross to the parents of the late Lieutenant Ngarimu. The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister, Ministers of the Crown, Members of Parliament and of the Legislative Council, heads of the armed forces, and representatives of allied governments. The New Zealand Government did everything in its power to honour the occasion and to assist in transporting, accommodating and providing for the seven thousand Māori people who attended.