Matt Maihi has been a familiar face at Orakei Marae for three decades. Photo / Brett Phibbs
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To know where you are headed, you must first know where you have come from - that is the message Matt Maihi has been teaching Maori youth for more than 30 years.
Mr Maihi, 60, has been managing events - including hosting overseas dignitaries and guiding school tours - and
looking after kaumatua at Orakei Marae on Bastion Pt since the 1970s.
He has worked voluntarily for many years and has always had a passion for encouraging Maori youth to learn about their ancestral background, history and heritage.
"For us, it's the preservation of our people, culture and history. It's surprising when schools come in - we end up teaching not just the kids, but the parents too," Mr Maihi says.
"We like to encourage our young people to look after our assets and to continue to educate them about our history, otherwise it will be lost."
Some of Mr Maihi's daily duties include transporting kaumatua to personal appointments and important hui around the country.
He is also known for teaching youngsters te reo, kapa haka and the history of Bastion Pt, where Ngati Whatua members protested against the Crown's attempt to take away their land in 1976.
Ngati Whatua occupied the land for 506 days.
More than 200 people were arrested when on May 25, 1978, a large police and Army force evicted them for trespassing on Crown land.
"Our people have been here since the dark ages," Mr Maihi said.
"A lot of youth don't know all this [history] and they should - not just Maori, but Pakeha, Polynesians, all of us."
Marama Wieldraaijer, who nominated Mr Maihi as an unsung hero, says she did so after years of being annoyed at the lack of recognition he has had for his work for Orakei Marae.
"He's one of the hardest-working people here - he's always flitting around the marae doing something," she said.
"Nothing is ever too much trouble for him - takes us lot to hui all around the country, gets a tea-towel and dries the dishes, peels the potatoes, he'll do it.
"All that work and he never got paid for it for years - until very recently - and it used to always get up my nose."
A pure want to better his people is what keeps him going, Mr Maihi says.
"That was always my desire - to find our feet. And now, we're slowly finding our way."
