Willie Apiata - a Maori Hero (Biography)

Every whanau, group, tribe, race, and nation needs heroes.  Heroes give us someone to look up to. Heroes inspire us and provide a model and a standard for people to aspire to.

They represent what is best in us:  the qualities of courage, determination, perseverance and humility.  And yes, talent and intelligence too.

The first qualities listed are a necessity, but the latter two are not.  The most ordinary person is capable of being a hero!

- Our task was to select and research a Maori hero and write sort of like a biography about them. We had to be thorough with our information. The Maori hero that I chose was Willie Apiata. 

                         Willie Apiata - a Maori Hero

Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata, VC is a former corporal in the New Zealand Special Air Service, who became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. 

He was born on the 28th of June 1972 in a town in the North Islands, Mangakino. Apiata was the youngest of four children with three older sisters. His father is Maori and his mother is Pakeha. They separated and his youth was spent at Waiama Northland, before moving to Te Kaha in Eastland when he was seven. He attended Te Whanau-a-Apanui Area School in Te Kaha and left at the age of 15. 

He enlisted in the New Zealand Army on October 6 1989 in the Territorial Force Hauraki Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. He unsuccessfully attempted to join the Special Air Service in 1996. On his return he became a full time soldier, joining the Special Air Service for training in November 2001. 

On July 18th 2012, Apiata left full-time military service to teach adventure skills to  young people at the High Wire Charitable Trust but did not resign from the military. 

In 2004 having become a Lance Corporal, Apiata was stationed in Afghanistan as part of a New Zealand SAS patrol. It was here that he performed the act of bravery that led to his VC decoration. 

The New Zealand troops had put up a defensive formation for the night when they were attacked by a group of around 20 enemy fighters. Grenades destroyed one of the troop''s vehicles and immobilised another. This was then followed by sustained fire from machine guns and further grenade attacks. 

One of the grenade hits blew Apiata off the bonnet of the vehicle on which he was stationed. Two other soldiers in or near the vehicle were wounded by shrapnel - one of them, who can only be identified as ''Corporal D'', was in a serious condition. 

''Corporal D'' had life-threatening injuries, and the other two soldiers began to apply first aid. Apiata took control of the situation, as' ''D'' was rapidly deteriorating. However, he was in a very exposed position and the enemy fire was becoming increasingly intense. 

''D'' was suffering from arterial bleeding and Apiata came to the conclusion that he needed urgent medical attention or he would die. So, rather than abandoning his fellow soldier to save himself, Apiata decided to carry ' ''D'' to a safer position where he could get proper medical attention.

Apiata carried ' ''D'' 70 meters through exposed ground and enemy fire - and miraculously neither man was hit. Apiata then returned to resume the fight.

On the 2nd of July 2007, Corporal Willie Apiata was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery. The official ceremony to award the medal took place at Government House, Wellington. NZ Governor General Anand Satyanand presided over the ceremony, and Prime Minister Helen Clark and Apiata’s fellow army colleagues were in attendance.

A separate homecoming ceremony was held in Apiata''s home town of Te Kaha. At that ceremony Corporal Apiata said he was still trying to deal with the enormity of having received such a prestigious honour.

Willie Apiata then donated his medal in April 2008 to the NZSAS Trust so that “the medal is protected for future generations”.