Rotorua and Arras have become sister cities more than a century after Māori soldiers and New Zealand tunnellers served beneath the French city.
The agreement was signed at Te Puia on Friday during a visit by Arras Mayor Frédéric Leturque and French Ambassador François Decoster.
It comes as work continues on a Waka Maumahara commissioned by Arras for installation at the Wellington Quarry memorial site. The site is where members of the Māori Pioneer Battalion and the New Zealand Tunnelling Company served before the Battle of Arras in 1917.
The cities’ connection dates to December 1916, when 43 Māori Pioneer Battalion members were sent to help New Zealand tunnellers beneath Arras.
Together, they expanded a network of underground chalk caverns and tunnels that allowed Allied troops to assemble undetected before the battle.
Many caverns were named after New Zealand towns and cities, including Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Blenheim. The tunnels were rediscovered in the 1990s after being sealed following World War II.
Today, the preserved Wellington Quarry memorial has become an important place of remembrance for descendants of the New Zealand soldiers who served there.
The latest project linking the communities is the Waka Maumahara being carved at Te Puia. Some carvers involved have whakapapa links to Māori soldiers who served in Arras more than a century ago.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said the agreement recognised the sacrifice of those men and the relationship that had grown from their service.
“It’s really special to be here as Mayor of Rotorua because it was the first Māori mayor of Rotorua, Harry Dansey, who not only served this community of Rotorua but also served in the tunnels in Arras.”
Tapsell said the soldiers who travelled to France had helped secure peace that later generations continued to enjoy.
“Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. We will remember them.”
She said the partnership ensured future generations benefited from international relationships built through peace rather than conflict.
For Leturque, the signing marked another step in a relationship that has developed through descendants, historians and community leaders.
“We understood that now we are part of your family.”
The Arras Mayor said the waka would help preserve the stories of those who served.
“It belongs to us now to preserve their memory and to be sure that their story is told to future generations.”
Decoster said the partnership transformed a wartime connection into a living relationship between communities on opposite sides of the world.
“In April 1917, during the Battle of Arras, New Zealanders fought, dug and gave their lives for a country that was not their own,” he said.
“The tunnellers who worked beneath the city left behind them the names of their hometowns carved into the chalk. That bond, forged in sacrifice, is the very foundation of what we celebrate today.”
The waka’s installation is planned for April next year as part of commemorations marking the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Arras.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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