Shock at death of health proponent

Dr Bruce Gregory, a man with a strong understanding of both the eastern and western worlds who dedicated his life to Maori health and the sovereignty of his hapu, has died.

Dr Gregory, chairman of Te Hau Ora o Te Hiku o Te Ika and former Labour MP, was born in 1937 and passed away in Kaitaia on Thursday morning.

Anahera Herbert-Graves, chief executive of Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngati Kahu and a dear friend of Dr Gregory, said his death came as shock and that he would be dearly missed.

"You would see him at every Te Paparahi o Te Raki (Northland Maori Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal inquiries) hui and at the markets every Saturday. He was a very gentle man," she said.

Ms Herbert-Graves met Dr Gregory when she was a young trainee nurse in Kaitaia and he had returned as a qualified doctor. She said Dr Gregory dedicated his life to Maori health.

"He was a very handsome man and a man who was very deep. He had great knowledge of both the western and eastern hemisphere. He knew what he learnt classically but also had a strong understanding of Maori tikanga."

She said in the 1970s Dr Gregory - who was of Te Rarawa, Ngati Te Ao, Te Uri o Hina and Tahaawai descent - turned a few heads by introducing traditional Maori healing, known as Rongoa, to his practice.

"That raised the eyebrows of the orthodoxy. Bruce was a man both ahead of his time but he would have also been very comfortable in an earlier more courtly time."

Ms Herbert-Graves said Dr Gregory also had a huge impact on the Wai 262 fauna and flora claim. She said she was approached by the late Del Wihongi who asked her to find others who could give traditional evidence from Te Rarawa at the first hearing - one of the first people who came to mind was Dr Gregory.

"Bruce's contribution to that was amazing - he gave such a masterful discourse," he said.

On Thursday night Dr Gregory lay at the whare at Kaitaia Hospital - appropriate as the Te Hau Ora o Te Hiku o Te Ika was based at the hospital but also because he built the whare. As of yesterday Dr Gregory was lying at Te Rarawa Marae in Pukepoto- which he built with his brothers.