The Government is not going to stump up $3.3 million to buy Charles Upham's Victoria Cross and bar.

Defence Minister Phil Goff says that would be unfair to the 19 other families who have gifted or lent VCs to museums.

Mr Upham's family has reportedly been offered more than a million dollars by a private buyer but Mr Goff says, while the decision is up to the family, it would be a shame if the medals were lost to public access.

He does not believe Charles Upham would have approved of their sale. Captain Upham always insisted the credit was not his alone, but shared with the men he led.

At the end of the war Captain Upham was offered 10,000 pounds by the Canterbury province. He turned it down, even though it would have helped him buy a farm.

In a letter to the mayor of Christchurch at the time Captain Upham says: "Under no circumstances could I consent to any material gain for myself for my services."

The combat soldier was awarded the Victoria Cross for nine days of sustained and conspicuous heroism, skill and leadership in Crete in May, 1941. The bar, or second Victoria Cross, was awarded for battle actions in North Africa in June, 1942.