Paitangi proudly wears a ta moko on her chin, and is not shy of talking to visitors who breach the local protocols, by say, hanging towels on a local tree that is tapu.
I'm guessing there aren't a lot of brown people in Cromwell, and if there are, at some point this woman's husband has stated "one of my best friends is a (insert appropriate brown person)".
Now, in the interests of accuracy and fairness I have just researched that Maori make up 8.4 per cent of the population in Cromwell, and "Pacific Peoples" 3.1 per cent. There are about 4600 people who live there.
Cromwell's "Middle Eastern, Latin American, African" sector is .2 per cent, or nine people. Like most of the Cromwell population, they are probably all related.
Perhaps this is how they roll in Cromwell. It's acceptable to head out for the day or evening and when you feel the need, drop your pants and widdle on the beach. (Land-locked Cromwell has no beaches, but there is a river or two, where many people have panned for gold.)
It's also the Fruit Bowl of the South, but do we really need Cromwellians squeezing their lemons on our beaches?
Perhaps this confused visitor misheard the beach's name and thought it was Pee Beach.
Yep, "go back from where you came from" is just plain ignorant.
And ironic, given Paitangi could have been forgiven for telling her visitors just that.
When they do go home, perhaps their horizons will have been broadened. Having left their mark on Tii Beach, has Northland left its positive mark on them?
Hopefully, they went to Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Museum, although their attitude suggests they may not have been in Waitangi to soak up culture, despite being perfectly happy for Tii Beach to soak up their urine.
We should at least admire their gumption for leaving Cromwell and travelling to the other end of the country. It's just a shame they made such an arse of themselves.
As for Paitangi from Waitangi, give her a medal.
And a big stick so she can leave her mark on the nono of the next person who pees on Tii Beach.
