This thesis analyses New Zealand's employment of Māori, Fijian and Tongan soldiers during the Second World War. Thousands of these troops were enlisted and their conditions of service and employment reflected New Zealand and British assessments about their martial utility. Military and government archives, oral histories, unit studies and official histories are evaluated to determine how their service evolved throughout the war. Indigenous leaders assisted in mobilising their peoples but argued

more »

... that wartime service should translate into greater political, social and economic rights. Pre-war Māori and Fijians were marginalised within their societies and were not seen as a significant recruiting base for the defence forces. Tonga, while independent, relied on