The new 28th Maori Battalion C Company House was officially opened this morning in a spectacular and moving four-hour ceremony in Gisborne.
Between 3000 and 4000 people gathered for the opening of C Company House in Gisborne. Photo: RNZ
The memorial house will host a permanent collection commemorating the company's service in WWII.
It will include heirlooms gifted by the veterans' families and will also house artefacts from all the wars that New Zealand has fought in since the Boer War in 1899.
Between 3000 and 4000 people surrounded the new building - adjacent to the Tairawhiti Museum in Kelvin Park - for today's celebration, which included waiata, haka and spontaneous singing of the Maori Battalion's song.
The day opened with a parade from Gisborne's Te Poho-o-Rawiri Marae, led by 60 young men dressed in exact replica WWI uniforms and carrying Lee Enfield rifles.
The 28th Maori Battalion waiting to move to the front lines from Gambettola, Italy on 19 October 1944. Photo: AAP / Alexander Turnbull Library / George Frederick Kaye
The young men - whose kit was provided by Sir Peter Jackson at a cost of $100,000 - symbolised the first 60 Tairawhiti Maori who served in WWI.
They were accompanied by hundreds of whanau carrying photos of men who served in the voluntary rifle unit.
The ceremony also included the launch of the Maori language version of Dr Monty Soutar's book on C Company - Nga Tamatoa.
The new memorial house was created as a result of fundraising and donations from family members and corporations.