Highly respected kaumātua and Waimārama historian Robert MacDonald passed away Saturday, June 5, aged 72. Photo / NZME
Highly respected kaumātua and Waimārama historian Robert MacDonald passed away Saturday, June 5, aged 72. Photo / NZME
The coastal Hawke's Bay settlement of Waimārama has lost a pillar of its community.
Hundreds travelled to Waimārama Marae over the long weekend to pay their respects to the kaumātua, historian and writer Robert Earnest Parson MacDonald.
The MacDonald whānau announced the passing on Saturday.
He was 72.
Hundreds of people attended the tangi for Robert MacDonald at the Waimārama Marae. Photo / Warren Buckland
His nephew,Jeremy Tātere MacLeod, said MacDonald was an instrumental leader within the Waimārama community and will be sorely missed.
Steeped in the traditions of tikanga Māori, MacDonald served as a historian and repository of tribal knowledge for the Waimārama community for decades, as well as for the wider Māori community.
Having spent his entire life in the beachside village, MacDonald went on to run Waimārama Māori Tours at the Hakikino Pā and as Waimārama Marae's chairman for 32 years.
The latest Waimarama Marae chairman and Hastings district councillor Bayden Barber said MacDonald was a principled man who held true to values that were passed down from his ancestors.
Tangi for kaumātua Robert MacDonald held at Waimārama Marae. Photo / Warren Buckland
"He was a great storyteller," he said.
Having grown up with his elders, MacDonald new all the stories of Waimārama and was full of legends and stories from their ancestors, Barber said.
"He took all that knowledge and he used it. He shared it here with the community and then further afar with his tourism business at Hakikino."
Barber said MacDonald was also a man who stood firm for what he believed in - whether it be the Craggy Range track on Te Mata Peak or the waterways drying up in Waimārama.
"There were many issues that he had views on, and at the end of the day were beneficial to our people," he said.
During the past few days, large groups have been travelling to the Waimārama Marae to share their condolences and memories with the MacDonald family.
MacDonald's whakapapa connects him to Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kuia and Ngāti Apa.
His tangihanga and main funeral service was held at 11am on Tuesday.
His nephew said he will be remembered as a funny man who knew how to tell a joke or two.
McLeod said he was a jovial character and a loving uncle to his many nieces and nephews.
"He was a pillar of support for various branches of his family," he said.
Barber added he was a man who was always around and there to help others.
"He was ahi kā - a person that keeps the home fires burning."
Robert MacDonald and Denise Prentice pictured at the ancient Māori Pā site of Hakikino. Photo / NZME
In 2014, MacDonald was one of six Kiwis selected for the Huia Publishers Te Papa Tupu Programme - an incubator programme that accepts writers to work on their manuscript for six months with the possibility of having their work published.
In 2013, he was also one of the 19 finalists for the Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers in the Best Short Story in English category.
Fellow writer, known for her children's books, and Waimarama resident Sophie Siers said his passing was a huge loss to the community.
"Robert was such a funny, kind, generous man who was so knowledgeable, as a friend said, we have lost a national treasure," she said.
"His work in establishing Hakikino is a legacy that will support generations to come."
