Tairāwhiti iwi arrive at Tūrangawaewae to pay their respects to Kīngi Tūheitia

Thousands of people have been to Tūrangawaewae Marae since the doors were opened to all comers on Monday. Photo / RNZ

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The Tairāwhiti iwi contingent arrived at Tūrangawaewae Marae this morning and joined with the rest of te iwi Māori to pay respects to Kīngi Tūheitia.

Uri (descendants) of the four Tairāwhiti iwi — Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki — have all travelled overnight to Ngāruawāhia to represent the region at the tangi.

They are among the thousands who have been to Tūrangawaewae Marae since Kīngi Tūheitia’s untimely death.

Māori leaders from Tairāwhiti attending include Archbishop Don Tamihere, Willie Te Aho, Sir Derek Lardelli, Wayne Ngata, Victor Walker, Maui Tangohau and Charlotte Gibson.

Kīngi Tūheitia died on Friday aged 69, surrounded by his wife Makau Ariki and children Whatumoana, Korotangi and Ngawai Hono I Te Po.

Tūheitia had been in hospital recovering from heart surgery after celebrating the 18th anniversary of his coronation.

Kīngi Tūheitia with Sir Selwyn Parata at last year's Te Matatini Festival in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Ngāti Porou iwi leader Sir (Ta) Selwyn Parata and Tairāwhiti iwi expressed heartful sadness at the passing of the Māori monarch.

Parata said Ngāti Porou sent “aroha and sympathy” to the whānau of Kīngi Tūheitia.

Parata is a supporter and practitioner of Te Kotahitanga and followed in the footsteps of his elders and attended the annual koroneihana celebrations to acknowledge the role of Kīngitanga in being “the needle to weave Māoridom and iwi across the motu together”.

Parata said over the past 18 years, Kīngi Tūheitia established his own brand of leadership.

“He was quiet, humble and a staunch advocate for Kotahitanga, the unity of te ao Māori, and mana motuhake, the expressed right and authority of iwi and hapū over their taonga, their uri, whenua, moana and reo me ona tikanga.

“Like all iwi across the motu, he was clear that our tīpuna/ancestors who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi did not cede their sovereignty.”

Ngāti Porou and Kīngitanga have a connection through whakapapa. They connect from Porourangi down to Māhina-a-rangi, which was stated in the song composed by Henare Waitoa in 1962.

Māhina-a-rangi married Tainui chief Tūrongo, connecting Ngāti Porou to Tainui.

Matai O’Connor, Ngāti Porou, has been a journalist for five years and kaupapa Māori reporter at the Gisborne Herald for two years.