Wikitoria (Wiki) Te Huruhuru Whatu (Katene) (Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Tū) made history in 1941 when she embarked aboard the HS Maunganui to serve with the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), Medical Division. She was the first Māori Red Cross WAAC to go overseas, and her exceptional legacy of service continued long after the war. 

In collaboration with Wikitoria’s whanau, and drawing on letters, diaries, and family memories, we share her story in honour of International Women’s Day 2026. 

Early life and training

Wiki was born on 3 February 1912 in Wellington to parents Te Oti Kerei (George) Katene and Te Arohi Maraea Poaneki Te Momo (Rose).  The eldest of 14 siblings, she spent her early years in Pukerua Bay before the family moved to Porirua.¹ She attended Porirua School, then Wellington Technical College, now Wellington High School, where she learned piano and played hockey with girls from Takapuwahia. 

Upon graduation, Wiki remained at home to help her mother and younger siblings. She later worked at Schneideman and Sons Ltd in Wellington, where she learned commercial sewing techniques. Her sister Tiripa recalled that Wiki had a passion for clothing and fashion, remembering, “She loved dressing up and was very particular about how she wore her clothes; whatever she wore she wore it well.”

Nursing and rongoā 

At 22, her friend Hilda Hasse encouraged her to pursue nursing through basic training at Wellington Hospital. Although this was Wiki’s first formal training, she had been immersed in rongoa Māori, the traditional Māori healing system, all her life.² As a child in Taupō, she learned about Māori healing and medicines from her kuia, using roots and leaves to treat family illnesses when no doctor was available. 

Even after qualifying as a nurse, Wiki continued to practise rongoa. When her sister Tilly was hospitalised for four to five years with compound fractures in both legs, Wiki brought her home. She bathed her in Mamaku fern and applied poultices to draw out infection, which resulted in a marked improvement in Tilly’s condition.³

World War II

When World War II began, Wiki was still caring for Tilly, but she was later called to service by the Minister of Māori Affairs.⁴ She sailed aboard the hospital ship HS Manganui and arrived in Egypt on 25 January 1942, shortly before her 30th birthday.⁵ During her service, Wiki was primarily based in the Middle East, though she also spent time in Italy, France, and Belgium.⁶

She had previously nursed leprosy patients in the Pacific Islands, yet the injuries she encountered in wartime were unlike anything she had seen before. Wiki was first stationed with the 2nd General Hospital near Cairo, where large pits had been dug into the desert to shelter nurses' tents from sandstorms and enemy aircraft. Nights were cold, days were long, and shifts were unstructured. As she recalled, “when there were people to care for and nurse you worked”^.7

Wiki became widely respected among New Zealand personnel, particularly members of the 28 Māori Battalion. She spent precious off-duty hours visiting Māori servicemen in hospital. When she received food parcels from home, she organised picnics for Māori Battalion patients, stretching a single fruit cake to feed many injured men. 

In 1943 she was mentioned in despatches in recognition of her service and became known as the “Pride of the Maori Battalion”.⁸

Her niece Keriata (Leavitt) later recalled listening to Wiki’s war stories and seeing “the sparkle in her eyes as she relayed those years of service. I could see how much she loved those servicemen she nursed and felt her pain for those who lost their lives.”

Loss and resilience

Wiki and George had struggled to keep in contact due to the difficulties of wartime communication, but they had been able to see each other in July 1942 when Wiki was posted to the 2nd New Zealand General Hospital in Egypt. The two were able to reconnect, taking the portrait on the left, before their paths separated again when the 28th Māori Battalion left for Italy. 

George’s death deeply affected Wiki. Her whanau recalled that she “learned quickly to develop the willpower to not break down when witnessing the many sufferings, the knowledge that many had given their lives for the peace in the world and that many would be left in some grave in the battle zone of foreign shores,” including her brother and other men from the 28th Māori Battalion such as Wi Tekouha Hau, Haupiri Tipiwai, and John Arthur Elkington.

Post-war life

Wiki returned to New Zealand, just as she had left, aboard the HS Maunganui, though undoubtedly changed by her wartime experiences. Reflecting later, she said: “in spite of all the hardships of war... I enjoyed everything... with the attitude that ‘There’s a job for me to do’ and I simply set out to do it.”

In April 1945 she began work at the Wellington Rehabilitation Centre, supporting returned servicemen to find employment and re-adjust to civilian life. Her empathic and gentle nature made an impact on many soldiers who were struggling with the psychological and physical effects of war. 

She was later invited to accompany the Returned and Services’ Association on a tour of many of the places she had served during the war including visits to Europe and Africa. She was well looked after by the servicemen who she travelled with, and they recounted her kindness and talent as a nurse.

After her tour, Wiki was appointed as a Welfare Officer by Māori Affairs in Auckland. There she met Douglas Hekenui Orson Whatu and fell in love. They married on the 18th of January 1947 in Takapūwāhia, in a ceremony attended by more than 1,000 guests, including Prime Minister Walter Nash.

Their daughter Mereana was stillborn on 25 February 1954, but the couple later raised Douglas’s nephew Tai after his parents died. At 16, Tai joined the Army and later served in Vietnam. Wiki and Douglas were married for 35 years until Douglas’s death in 1977. He was buried alongside their daughter in the Takapūwāhia urupā. 

Throughout her life, Wiki remained active in her church, iwi, and veteran communities. She served as patron of the 28th Māori Battalion group and Women’s division of Porirua’s RSA, and was a member of the Ngāti Toa Māori Women’s Welfare League. 

In 1992, aged 80, she was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for her services to New Zealand in World War II and to her community. This award was presented by Governor-General Dame Catherine Tiszard at Government House in Wellington.

Legacy

Wiki died in Porirua on the 20^th August 2006, age 94, beloved by her family and the community she served.

In 2007, the Wikitoria Te Huruhuru Katene Whatu Nursing Scholarship was established to support second-and third-year Māori nursing students. One recipient, Sha Panapa, described her, “I could see a woman in my mind’s eye huddled in the sand next to injured and dying soldiers, enduring the harshness of the desert and army life with the grace, stoicism and humor that Māori have no matter where we end up. In my mind she is the greatest nurse I have ever heard of and that includes Florence Nightingale, my own Māori Florence perhaps”.  

Inspired by Wiki’s legacy, Sha proposed that a new building at Whitireia New Zealand Porirua campus to be named, Te Whare o Wikitoria Te Huruhuru Katene Whatu or Wikitoria Katene for short. The building opened in 2008, officiated by Prime Minister Helen Clark alongside representatives of Ngāti Toa and the Katene whānau.

Wiki’s niece, Moana Vinyard (Leavitt), reflected:

“Wikitoria will always be remembered and honoured as a true queen of her people and by the students of future generations she will be recognised as a women who sought opportunities to learn and to grow no matter what her personal circumstances and then who further sought to take that learning and use it to heal the broken in body and spirit. If to lead is to serve, Wiki’s capacity to serve her iwi, her church, her whanau and her country established her as a valued leader of all the generations to come, particularly Māori women who might feel that the obstacles to their learning and training are overwhelming and that they have nothing to give. Wiki’s life teaches us all that there are no obstacles too large, no challenge too overwhelming. Her quiet dignity, her aroha and her spiritual devotion will draw to this building those who wish, like her to train in the healing arts and provide skillful, compassionate treatment to the sick and to the needy.”

Ngā mihi nunui

This blog could not have been completed without the support of Keriata, Wiremu, Callum, and Marama, who were generous with their knowledge and time. You have our thanks.

Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou