E kore rātou e kaumātuatia
Pēnei i a tātou kua mahue nei
E kore hoki rātou e ngoikore
Ahakoa pehea i ngā āhuatanga o te wā
I te hekenga atu o te rā
Tae noa ki te aranga mai i te ata
Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou
Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them
We will remember them.
Background
This is the fourth stanza from Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen. Referred to as the Ode of Remembrance, it was first published in The Times of London in September 1914 and has been incorporated into the ritual of remembrance in many countries.
The service and sacrifice of both male and female military personnel was acknowledged with a July 2015 revision to the Māori version of the Ode of Remembrance.
The Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association (RNZRSA) officially approved a change to the first line of the Ode of Remembrance in Māori, from “E kore rātou e koroheketia”, to “E kore rātou e kaumātuatia”.
RNZ - Māori Ode of Remembrance gets update (31 July 2015)
Related links
Updated on 15th September 2022