MINI BIO

Bill (Willy) Henry Apiata’s father is a Maori New Zealander and his mother a Pakeha New Zealander. Bill has three sisters and is the third youngest in the family.
Early years of this life were in Northland before moving to Te Kaha in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. At Te Kaha he attended the Whanau-a-Apanui Area School.
At 16, his mother sent Bill to live with relatives in Auckland; he is close to this family.
Bill has a four year old son with his partner of seven years. Though separated from his partner Bill is a devoted father who spends every weekend he can with his son.
Bill affiliates to the Nga Puhi iwi (tribe) through his father, but as he has spent so much time in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, he feels very strong affiliation to Whanau-a-Apanui, which is also the iwi of his partner.
Bill enlisted in the NZ Army as a Territorial Force (TF), soldier in the Tauranga based Hauraki Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. 
Bill first became aware of the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) when, he acted as enemy party for a NZSAS training exercise.
1996 while still in the TF he attempted NZSAS selection but was not successful.
Jul 2000 - Apr 2001 he served in East Timor as a member of New Zealand's 3rd  Battalion Group as part of the United Nations operations there.
Returning to NZ, Apr 2001, he became a full time soldier, transferring to the regular force of the New Zealand Army.
Nov 2001 he attempted and passed NZSAS selection. 
Since joining the Army, Corporal Apiata has set himself a high standard and consistently managed to achieve it. He is regarded as a role model by his peers, and has won awards or received above average results on every military training course he has attended.

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LONDON GAZETTE

No. 3

4917

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In total disregard of his own safety, Lance Corporal Apiata stood up and lifted his comrade bodily. He then carried him across the seventy metres of broken, rocky and fire swept ground, fully exposed in the glare of battle to heavy enemy fire and into the face of returning fire from the main Troop position. That neither he nor his colleague were hit is scarcely possible. Having delivered his wounded companion to relative shelter with the remainder of the patrol, Lance Corporal Apiata re-armed himself and rejoined the fight in counter-attack.