Niwa Kawha served with 1 and 4 Detachments, 1st Ranger Squadron,

New Zealand Special Air Service The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, was formed on 7 July 1955 and is the Special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It traces its origins to ...

(NZSAS), during the

Borneo Confrontation Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east ...

. Kawha was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and received the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

for his service. Kawha was formerly of Opotiki and joined the Regular Force of the New Zealand Army in 1958. He served with the 2nd New Zealand Regiment in Malaya, and was promoted to Corporal. After contracting a severe illness he returned to New Zealand to convalesce and, in 1962 after recovering, he voluntarily relinquished his rank to join the NZSAS. Kawha was subsequently promoted to Corporal again while serving with the NZSAS. During his first tour of Borneo, Kawha was lead scout of a patrol commanded by Lieutenant Eru Manuera which was inserted on 16 May 1965 to conduct a surprise attack on a camp at Mangaku. After initiating an ambush, the patrol was aggressively followed up by Indonesian forces. During the withdrawal Kawha, threw a grenade which bounced off a tree towards the patrol, fortuitously it failed to explode. For his role in the patrol, Kawha was mentioned in dispatches. In the

1966 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

, he was awarded the British Empire Medal (Military Division). During his service with 4 Detachment in Borneo, Kawha (by then a Staff Sergeant) served as a Patrol Commander. A patrol he led, had the last sighting of any enemy by the NZSAS during the Confrontation, and the patrol was in the process of following up, when the peace accord was signed, and the patrol was withdrawn and returned to Base. He subsequently served with the NZSAS in a Territorial capacity, and also served with the

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

in the

Armed Offenders Squad The Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) are specialist part-time units of the New Zealand Police based around the country available to respond to high risk incidents using specialist tactics and equipment. The AOS was established when front-line poli ...

and Anti-Terrorist Squad. In 1968, Kawha played three

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

matches for the

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

representative team. On 20 August 2009, Kawha (then of Tauranga), along with four others or their next-of-kin, were formally presented with their Mention in Dispatches by the Chief of Army Major General Lou Gardiner at the 6 Hauraki Battalion Group Headquarters in Tauranga, after it was discovered that a number of awards of the Mention in Dispatches had not formally been presented.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawha, Niwa New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand recipients of the British Empire Medal Wanganui rugby union players New Zealand police officers New Zealand rugby union players