Obituaries — Sir Robert “Bom” Gillies KNZM.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to move a motion without notice acknowledging the passing of

SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action? There appears to be none.

Sir Robert Gillies KNZM, affectionately known to all and sundry as “Bom”, the last surviving member of the 28th Māori Battalion, and extend its sincere condolences to his whānau and the wider community.

Hon CHRIS PENK: I move, That this House pay tribute to

Tā Robert was born in 1925, and, falsifying his age in order to be able to enlist, he sailed as a reinforcement for the 28th Māori Battalion in July 1943. Although wounded in action during the battle of Orsogna in 1943, he continued serving throughout the Italian campaign. Over the last two decades, Sir Robert, expressing great humility as he did so, took on the mantle of being one of the few surviving members of the 28th Māori Battalion and, in due course, its final surviving member. A generation has passed.

In July 1923, he opened the claimant hearings for the Waitangi Tribunal’s consideration of the Māori Military Veterans Kaupapa Inquiry. He talked of the loss of his mates in a generation of Māori leaders and the difficulties and, indeed, discrimination that many of them faced when they returned home. He was appointed as a knight not only by the Italian Republic but, of course, of New Zealand in 2022. Tā Bom wanted it to be known that these awards were not for himself but for all those who served in the battalion.

The mana of the man was well remembered at his tangi, which has been conducted in recent days, and was very much in evidence on Sunday when various Government Ministers were honoured to be able to attend that. I was pleased to do so alongside the Hon Erica Stanford; the Hon Judith Collins, of course, in her capacity as Minister of Defence; along with Tama Potaka, who spoke movingly on behalf of the Government, as did the Hon Shane Jones. It was an honour for all of us to be able to attend, and I know that other members of this House across the political aisle have also had that opportunity.

To Sir Robert’s whānau, then, we offer our sincere condolences and our appreciation of a life lived in the service of his family, his brothers in arms, and his community. We will remember them; we will remember him. We say to Tā Bom: rest in peace, thank you for your service, lest we forget.