Up to 5000 people - including the Maori King, Tuheitia Paki - are expected to pay their respects to Ngati Hine elder Erima Henare at Otiria Marae today.
Mr Henare, who was 62, died suddenly in Wellington on Wednesday night. Tribal leaders say his passing leaves "a huge hole" not just in Ngati Hine but also in Ngapuhi and the rest of the nation.
After a service in Wellington Mr Henare's body was flown to Auckland on Thursday evening where he stopped at Te Puea Marae in Mangere Bridge, at the invitation of Waikato-Tainui, before travelling to the family home in Kauri, north of Whangarei, and then to Otiria Marae near Moerewa, arriving about 2am yesterday.
Otiria Marae is where his father Sir James Henare was farewelled in 1989.
Discussions about Mr Henare's final resting place began about 4am and were resolved by 7am, before the first of thousands of manuhiri arrived.