LUCAS, Joseph
Born 14 May 1892; died 8 December 1918; buried 10 December 1918; age 26
Service Number: 16/276
New Zealand declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914. Joseph LUCAS enlisted for the 1st Maori Contingent on 28 September. At the time, he was living at Buller Bridge, Westport, with his mother, brothers and sisters.
A machinist by trade, he was born on 14 May 1892 at Buller, son of Charles Lucas (Taare Ruka Hohepa) and Whikitoria GARRICK and had nine brothers and sisters. Charles was born around 1828 in Taranaki; died 1898 in Westport was buried in Orowaiti Old Cemetery. Whikitoria was born around 1841; died in 1924 in Westport and was buried in Orowaiti Middle Cemetery.
When Joseph signed up for military service he was posted to the Maori Contingent, which had been set up against some resistance to the idea of "native troops" who, it was thought, might turn their weapons against European forces. The compromise arrived at was that the Contingent would be a garrison force, and used for "Pioneer" work, i.e. as labourers, and that they would not be used as fighting troops.
An article about the First Maori Contingent appears NZ History is available on the website https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/maori-in-first-world-war/native-contingent
After completing training at Avondale racecourse in Auckland, the first Maori Contingent sailed for Egypt from Wellington aboard the Warrimoo on 14 February 1915. After further training in Egypt they were sent to Gallipoli, landing at Anzac Cove on 3 July 1915. By this time, attitudes to "native" troops had changed, particularly as casualties mounted and there was a shortage of men fit enough for the ongoing campaign on Gallipoli. Accordingly the Contingent, Joseph amongst them, joined the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, who were deployed as infantry on the peninsula. Joseph was shot in his left shoulder on 8 August and was transferred to a hospital ship before being sent to Cairo for recovery. He was not long after sent home on the hospital ship Willochra, arriving back in New Zealand in October 1915.
Born 14 May 1892; died 8 December 1918; buried 10 December 1918; age 26
Service Number: 16/276
New Zealand declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914. Joseph LUCAS enlisted for the 1st Maori Contingent on 28 September. At the time, he was living at Buller Bridge, Westport, with his mother, brothers and sisters.
A machinist by trade, he was born on 14 May 1892 at Buller, son of Charles Lucas (Taare Ruka Hohepa) and Whikitoria GARRICK and had nine brothers and sisters. Charles was born around 1828 in Taranaki; died 1898 in Westport was buried in Orowaiti Old Cemetery. Whikitoria was born around 1841; died in 1924 in Westport and was buried in Orowaiti Middle Cemetery.
When Joseph signed up for military service he was posted to the Maori Contingent, which had been set up against some resistance to the idea of "native troops" who, it was thought, might turn their weapons against European forces. The compromise arrived at was that the Contingent would be a garrison force, and used for "Pioneer" work, i.e. as labourers, and that they would not be used as fighting troops.
An article about the First Maori Contingent appears NZ History is available on the website https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/maori-in-first-world-war/native-contingent
After completing training at Avondale racecourse in Auckland, the first Maori Contingent sailed for Egypt from Wellington aboard the Warrimoo on 14 February 1915. After further training in Egypt they were sent to Gallipoli, landing at Anzac Cove on 3 July 1915. By this time, attitudes to "native" troops had changed, particularly as casualties mounted and there was a shortage of men fit enough for the ongoing campaign on Gallipoli. Accordingly the Contingent, Joseph amongst them, joined the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, who were deployed as infantry on the peninsula. Joseph was shot in his left shoulder on 8 August and was transferred to a hospital ship before being sent to Cairo for recovery. He was not long after sent home on the hospital ship Willochra, arriving back in New Zealand in October 1915.
S S Willochra
Photographer: Allan C Green, State Library Collection, Victoria
Photographer: Allan C Green, State Library Collection, Victoria
Newspapers reported in August that Private Joseph Lucas, of the Maori Contingent, from Westport, had been wounded in the shoulder. In September they said he had been wounded on the Gallipoli Peninsula but was now convalescent.
Photo published in Auckland Weekly News 1915
He returned to duty in New Zealand on 24 February 1916 but was discharged on 16 May on account of his wounds. He was then living in Wellington at the Returned Soldiers’ Hostel in Newtown and worked as a driver for ABC Motor Garage, Lambton Quay and later as a public works motor driver.
The hostel, the former Langham Hotel, was opened by Prime Minister William Massey on 26 April 1916. It had been established after a meeting in February which led to fund raising events to support it. The first patient and guest was admitted on 24 February; five weeks later 11 were resident. In September 1918 a new hostel was set up at 44 Wellington Terrace (later The Terrace) and Joseph moved there.
On 19 September 1917 he attested again for the military but his records show that he did not go back into active service.
The worst of the influenza epidemic had passed by December 1918, but Joseph was one of those who remained ill, and died at the hostel on 8 December. The Dominion reported on 13 December that all of the returned men and the staff of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Hostel were ill, and on the same day the Evening Post reported that Joseph's was the only death at the hostel, as a result of a long-standing weakness brought about by his previous wounds. The newspaper said he was one of the first men to find a home in the old Newtown Hostel, and was loved by all who knew him.
He was buried in the Soldiers Section, Karori Cemetery on 10 December. No death notice was published but the Funeral Card advised that his funeral was to leave from the Soldiers’ Hostel, 44 the Terrace.
The Dominion reported his death on 11 December 1918:
Soldiers Deaths
I6/27G Joseph Lucas, of the Maori Contingent died at the Returned Soldiers Hostel, the Terrace, Wellington, on November 9, the cause of death being pleurisy and pneumonia. Deceased was 26 years of age and single, and was a discharged soldier. His next-of-kin is his mother, Mrs. Whikitoria Lucas, Westport.
An In Memoriam notice appeared in the Evening Post on 8 December 1919:
LUCAS—In loving memory of Corporal Joseph Lucas, who died at the Returned Soldiers' Hostel, Wellington, on the 8th December, 1918.
Oh, Joseph dear,
we miss you here
From the home you loved so well;
We pray that God has found you rest,
With the angels of the blest.
Inserted by his loving mother, sisters, and brothers.
The hostel, the former Langham Hotel, was opened by Prime Minister William Massey on 26 April 1916. It had been established after a meeting in February which led to fund raising events to support it. The first patient and guest was admitted on 24 February; five weeks later 11 were resident. In September 1918 a new hostel was set up at 44 Wellington Terrace (later The Terrace) and Joseph moved there.
On 19 September 1917 he attested again for the military but his records show that he did not go back into active service.
The worst of the influenza epidemic had passed by December 1918, but Joseph was one of those who remained ill, and died at the hostel on 8 December. The Dominion reported on 13 December that all of the returned men and the staff of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Hostel were ill, and on the same day the Evening Post reported that Joseph's was the only death at the hostel, as a result of a long-standing weakness brought about by his previous wounds. The newspaper said he was one of the first men to find a home in the old Newtown Hostel, and was loved by all who knew him.
He was buried in the Soldiers Section, Karori Cemetery on 10 December. No death notice was published but the Funeral Card advised that his funeral was to leave from the Soldiers’ Hostel, 44 the Terrace.
The Dominion reported his death on 11 December 1918:
Soldiers Deaths
I6/27G Joseph Lucas, of the Maori Contingent died at the Returned Soldiers Hostel, the Terrace, Wellington, on November 9, the cause of death being pleurisy and pneumonia. Deceased was 26 years of age and single, and was a discharged soldier. His next-of-kin is his mother, Mrs. Whikitoria Lucas, Westport.
An In Memoriam notice appeared in the Evening Post on 8 December 1919:
LUCAS—In loving memory of Corporal Joseph Lucas, who died at the Returned Soldiers' Hostel, Wellington, on the 8th December, 1918.
Oh, Joseph dear,
we miss you here
From the home you loved so well;
We pray that God has found you rest,
With the angels of the blest.
Inserted by his loving mother, sisters, and brothers.
Researched and written by Beverley Hamlin
Grave Information:
Section: Soldiers
Plot: 13 D
Sources:
1. “Maori Continent at Gallipoli” URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/maori-in-first-world-war/native-contingent (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 15-Mar-2016
2. Newspapers – www.paperspast.natlib.gov.nz
3. Karori Cemetery – www.wellington.govt.nz > Services>Community & Culture >Cemeteries
4. Family information - www.myheritage.com & www.geni.com
Grave Information:
Section: Soldiers
Plot: 13 D
Sources:
1. “Maori Continent at Gallipoli” URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/maori-in-first-world-war/native-contingent (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 15-Mar-2016
2. Newspapers – www.paperspast.natlib.gov.nz
3. Karori Cemetery – www.wellington.govt.nz > Services>Community & Culture >Cemeteries
4. Family information - www.myheritage.com & www.geni.com