Cook Island Company Badge 1916

This is a metal badge made for troops of the Cook Islands Company of the New Zealand army in the First World War. It is modelled after the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion Badge and features the face of a Maori warrior wearing a solid necklace that joins the tips of two ferns. Crossed over in the centre is an axe and a pickaxe. "NZ" (an abbreviation of New Zealand) appears below the warrior’s necklace and below that is a banner inscribed with the words "COOK.IS.COY".

Significance

New Zealand recruited men from its colonies and the wider Pacific to fight in both world wars – a fact that has often gone unacknowledged in late 20th century histories of New Zealand. In the First World War, men from the Cook Islands and Niue enlisted in the New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion. They were joined by small numbers of recruits from Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati and Tuvalu).

The Cook Islands contribution to New Zealand’s forces included approximately 500 men over the course of the war. They were deployed over five contingents, and the first 47 volunteers made up the 1st Cook Island Contingent.After the New Zealand Native Contingent suffered great losses at Gallipoli in July 1915, it was disestablished and the remaining survivors redistributed into the 2nd and 3rd Maori Contingents. In February 1916, a new battalion combining them all was created. The newly formed New Zealand Pioneer Battalion combined several ethnicities, including the 45 men of the 1st Cook Islands Contingent and 140 men from Niue.

The New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion

The New Zealand (Maori) Pioneer Battalion was an infantry unit used predominantly as the labour force for the New Zealand Division. The harsh weather conditions and exposure to foreign disease meant that many of the soldiers, particularly the Niueans, fell ill. Those who were well enough underwent infantry training, wagon loading, trench digging and rifle handling in the wait for their transfer to the Western Front in France.

In May 1916, the Pioneers joined other New Zealand soldiers deployed to the Western Front. In extremely cold conditions they were tasked with facilitating communication and digging trenches while under enemy artillery fire. At the Western Front, the Cook Island contingent were digging trenches when they took casualties at the Battle of Somme. Of the 47 Cook Islanders sent from New Zealand, only 10 men fell to illness and injury in France. While the Niueans were withdrawn from service due to their ailments, the Cook Islanders continued in their contribution to the New Zealand Division. They displayed great prowess, speed and stamina during their time stationed in Europe, and especially noted to be vigilant sentries. By January 1918 the 1st Contingent left to join the 2nd Cook Island Contingent (111 men) in Palestine.

Design and motifs

The axe and pickaxe that appears on the Cook Islands Company badge symbolizes the men’s primary work as a labour force. The inclusion of the Maori warrior’s face was to retain the Maori identity of the 3rd Maori contingent, despite its mixed ethnic makeup. According to military historian Shaun Aumua, there is no evidence to show these badges were actually worn by the contingent members during the First World War. Photographic evidence shows the Cook Island Home Guard wearing them during Second World War, and it appears they were later sold as surplus in the 1960s.

Acquisition History

This badge was purchased by Te Papa in 2020.

References

Aumua, Shaun (2014) Maori Unit Insignia 1915-18. The Volunteers. 40 (2):31-40

Māhina-Tuai, Kolokesa (2012) "FIA (Forgotten in Action): Pacific Islanders in the New Zealand Armed Forces" in Sean Mallon, Kolokesa Māhina-Tuai and Damon Salesa (eds) Tangata O Le Moana: New Zealand and the People of the Pacific. Wellington: Te Papa Press 139-159.