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Cook Islands Online Cenotaph
Preserving Cook Islands Military History
Akara ki mua e akara katoa ki muri
To be able to look forward, you must be able to look back
Brought to you by
Final rank:
Private
First name/s
Akava
Last name
TAPAPA
Service number and Regiment/Unit/Corps
19239
New Zealand Māori (Pioneer) Battalion
Rarotongan Company
Also known as
Tapapa AKAVA
Date of birth
1895
Place of birth
Atiu, Cook Islands
Date of death
19/10/1918
Place of death
Egypt
Death registration number
NZ1918/54578
Headstone/grave location
Cairo War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt
Next of kin
Mrs Tapapa (mother), Areora, Atiu, Tapapa Ngamarama (father) Areora, Atiu
Archives New Zealand online service record
Additional information
Enlisted 1 July 1916 in Rarotonga. Disembarked Suez from SS Malwa 27 December 1916. Employed at the NZ Mounted Rifle Bde Training Regiment and Base Depot at Moascar until 7 April 1917 when he posted to the Rarotongan Company. Became ill 29 September 1918 and was evacuated from Palestine. Died of pneumonia at 27th General Hospital Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt 19 October 1918. Buried at Cairo War Memorial Cemetery with chaplain Padre La Villier officiating. Resident Commissioner commented that when the medals were received in 1921 they were "to be held in trust for Ngamatama (child of deceased)".
Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemoration:
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/113716/akava-tapapa/
"Son of Tapapa Ngamarama, of Areora, Atiu, Cook Islands"
Listed on the Atiu cenotaph as “TAPAPA AKAVA”
Images and documents (click on images to enlarge)
Image credits and references
Headstone image source: https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/akava-tapapa
Commemorative certificate courtesy of Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/113716/akava-tapapa/
Further links
N/A
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