 In 2000 , iwi Te Arawa lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal for Haane Manahi to have his award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal upgraded to a Victoria Cross . In December 2005 the Waitangi Tribunal released their findings supporting the claim , but in October 2006 the New Zealand Minister of Defence announced that the award could not be made as King George VI had ruled in 1949 that no further awards from the Second World War ought to be made . Instead , it was decided that Manahi would be recognised by the presentation of an altar cloth , a personal letter from Queen Elizabeth II acknowledging his gallantry and a sword . The award was presented to Manahi 's son by The Duke of York on 17 March 2007 at a ceremony in Rotorua . 
