2021 Western Architecture Awards Winner
Te Rau Aroha Māori Battalion Hall (1964)
The Māori Battalion Hall, Te Rau O Te Aroha, was erected in Palmerston North on Cuba Street as a national memorial to the men of the 28th Māori Battalion who lost their lives in the Second World War. Largely funded by local Māori under the Raukawa Tribal Executive, it was designed by John Scott, architect of Te Arawa from Haumoana, Hawke’s Bay. During a period obsessed with the social and political issues separating Māori and Pākehā, Scott envisaged fusion, rather than division. Te Rau o te Aroha incorporates elements of both te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā, with 14 carved panels on the façade by Kelly Kereama. Inside, 639 names of those who did not return are inscribed on 14 brass plates. The concrete construction, both inside and out, was left unplastered, with the marks of the boxing left to symbolise the strength of the Māori people.
