In 1942, at the request of Sir Āpirana Ngata, the war cabinet authorised the formation of a Māori territorial battalion.

[3] The 2nd Māori Battalion became part of the 12th Infantry Brigade of the 1st Division[4] and had its camp setup at the Remuera Estate, near Ōhaeawai in Northland.

[1] The 2nd Māori provided training for reinforcements to the 28th Battalion and constructed and manned coastal defences in Northland.

[3] In June 1943 the war in the pacific was looking favourable for the Allies and a general stand-down was ordered in New Zealand.

[5] The 2nd Māori Battalion's camp was dismantled in August and by the end of the year most of the personnel had been transferred to other units or demobilized.