Rangi Royal

Te Rangiātaahua Kiniwē Royal OBE MC (23 August 1896–8 July 1965) was a notable New Zealand tribal leader, land officer, Māori welfare officer, soldier, and sportsman.

Biography

Of Māori descent, Royal identified with the Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Tamaterā iwi. He was born the seventh of ten children in Muhunoa, Manawatū, New Zealand, in 1896. In 1912, he became the country’s first Māori scoutmaster.

While living in Rotorua, Royal enlisted in 1917 and achieved the rank of lieutenant before being discharged in May 1919. He was involved in various sports and was married in August 1921.

He reenlisted in 1939 and finished training with the rank of captain within the newly formed Maori battalion before seeing service in Greece, Crete, and Libya. He led several rearguard actions during the chaotic defence of Greece.

During the Battle of Crete, leading two companies of the Māori Battalion, he overran the advance of I Battalion, 141st Gebirgsjäger Regiment allowing the 5th New Zealand Brigade to escape. Once everyone was safe, he led a retreat 24 miles (39 km), with only two men to be killed, and eight wounded, all of who later recovered. He was awarded the Military Cross for service in Crete.

He was wounded in Libya, earning him a bar for the MC. He later returned to help with training in NZ, and was discharged in 1944 having achieved the rank of major and worked in Maori welfare until he retired in 1956. In the 1964 New Year Honours, Royal was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the Māori people.

He was survived by his wife, Irihapeti (Elizabeth) Te Puhi-o-Rākaiora Taiaroa (known as Puhi), “three daughters and two sons. Both sons served overseas, one in the Air Force, the other in the last reinforcement to the Maori Battalion.”

Further reading

• Saunders, Hilary St. George (1959) [1949]. The Green Beret: The Commandos at War. Four Square Books. London: Landsborough Publications. OCLC 503725176.