Arapeta Awatere
| Arapeta Awatere | |
|---|---|
| Born |
25 April 1910 Tuparoa, Gisborne District |
| Died | 6 March 1976 (aged 65) |
| Allegiance |
 New Zealand |
| Service/branch | New Zealand Military Forces |
| Years of service | 1928–c.1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Commands held | Māori Battalion (1944–45) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order Military Cross |
Arapeta Marukitepua Pitapitanuiarangi Awatere DSO, MC (25 April 1910 – 6 March 1976) was a New Zealand interpreter, military leader, maori welfare officer, local politician, and convicted murderer. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngati Hine (Northland), Ngati Porou and Te Whanau-a-Hinetapora iwi. He was born in Tuparoa, East Coast, on 25 April 1910. He served as a colonel in the Māori battalion during the Second World War and is father to the disgraced former MP Donna Awatere Huata.[1]
In 1969 he stabbed to death his girlfriend's new lover, which he unsuccessfully tried to blame on diabetes induced psychosis, and was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison, where he died unexpectedly seven years later.
References
- ↑ Awatere, Hinemoa Ruataupare. "Arapeta Marukitepua Pitapitanuiarangi Awatere". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved December 2011.
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