When the dates of enlistment of the Papanui men in the New Zealand Army are examined, it is clear that by the end of 1916, 83% of these men had enlisted in the Army. Figures in Paul Baker's book King and Country Call suggest that about 60% of those men who served in the New Zealand army had enlisted and been sent by this time. Even allowing for the fact that not all of the Papanui men who had enlisted by January 1917 had been sent, it does appear that there was a greater willingness among the Papanui men to serve in the war.
The reasons for this greater willingness might be harder to prove. Certainly there was an initial enthusiasm at the outbreak of the war – 25 men volunteered between 11 August and 31 December 1914. However, such levels of willingness were sustained – 23% of the Papanui cohort volunteered in 1915 and 33% in 1916. Although a bill for conscription was introduced in May 1916 and eventually passed in August 1916, conscription was not first imposed until November 1916. Even then, conscription was applied only when volunteers did not meet the numbers required to reinforce the New Zealand Division in a systematic manner. Thus it can be presumed that the great majority of the Papanui men went rather than were sent.