On Sunday, 5 June in London, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and its taua, or warrior party, provided a uniquely New Zealand contribution to the British jubilee pageant when they took part in a parade of 2,000 military personnel near Buckingham Palace. The 40-strong NZDF group, led by six Māori warriors bearing traditional weapons and playing the role of runner scouts, raised, I'm told, a roar from the watching crowd.