A 'huge hole' for Ngati Hine to fill

MOURNERS GATHER: Members of Ngati Wai arriving at Otiria Marae last week to pay their final respects to Ngati Hine leader Erima Henare.

The death of the highly regarded leader, academic and champion of the Maori language, Erima Henare, had left a "huge hole" among his people, a Ngati Hine spokesman said last week.

Mr Henare attended a function at Parliament on Wednesday evening, and is believed to have died later that night in his sleep. He was 62.

He was the head of the Maori Language Commission, an advisor to the Maori King and a leading authority on the history, reo and tikanga of Te Tai Tokerau.

As the son of Sir James Henare, who rose from the rank of private to commanding officer of the Maori Battalion during World War II and was arguably Northland's most respected kaumatua of the 20th Century, Mr Henare was destined for great things.

Ngati Hine leader Pita Tipene said he had been with Mr Henare only hours earlier, when they attended new MP Ria Bond's maiden speech in Parliament on Wednesday evening. The NZ First MP entered Parliament after Winston Peters' victory in the recent Northland by-election. Although she previously lived in Invercargill she is of Ngati Hine descent. It was a shock to learn Mr Henare had died later that night.

"He has left a huge hole in Ngati Hine, Ngapuhi and the nation, because everyone respected him so much. All we can do is try to carry on his legacy and vision, and that of his Ngati Hine forebears," Mr Tipene said.

Another Ngati Hine leader, Waihoroi Shortland, said the greatest loss was what Mr Henare had yet to do.

"As much as Erima has done, both on the national stage and on the home front, I believe we were still to see what he could achieve, and that is the real loss for Ngati Hine. Leadership of his ilk is hard to replace. There were still many things he had to accomplish, and that potential has been snuffed out when it ought to have bloomed," he said.

That potential included Mr Henare's ability to make peace and bring factions together.

Mr Henare was one of the key expert witnesses in the Waitangi Tribunal's on-going Northland inquiry, a member of the Waitangi National Trust Board, Maori cultural adviser to Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, and executive director of Maori at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. His many other roles included membership of Creative New Zealand, the Northland District Health Board and the NorthTec Council. He served as chairman of Te Tai Tokerau PHO and chief executive of the Ngati Hine Health Trust. He is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren. One of his sons, Peeni Henare, was elected Labour MP for Tamaki Makaurau in 2014. Those who paid tribute to Mr Henare last week included NorthTec Council chairman Vern Dark. Deputy chairman and a great supporter of NorthTec, he had been appointed to the council in 2010, but had previously provided specialist advice on Mori educational issues. His knowledge and understanding of both the education sector and Mori issues had been invaluable, and his contribution to NorthTec immeasurable.

"Erima will be greatly missed by NorthTec, on both a personal and professional level. His untimely death leaves a gap in our lives. We will miss his good humour and personable manner, as well as his passion for raising the aspirations and achievement of Mori, especially here in Te Tai Tokerau," Mr Dark said.

"He totara waha nui te Wao nui Tane, kua hinga, haruru pai te whenua i t hingatanga. E te Rangatira Erima kua whakakkahungia koe ki te kkahu te mate, kua haere koe ki to haere e kore muri e hokia, k tae koe ki te waahi okioki, ki reira koe k moe mai ki roto nga ringa kaha o te Atua. The passing of Erima the Orator is likened to the noise of a falling totara tree in the great forest of Tane. When Erima spoke people listened. Today that voice is lost, but his footprints can still be seen in his work for the council of NorthTec, for his support of the CEO and its staff and the whole of NorthTec."

Following a service in Wellington, Mr Henare was flown to Auckland on Thursday evening, stopping at Te Puea Marae, in Mangere Bridge, at the invitation of Waikato-Tainui, before travelling to the family home at Kauri, north of Whangarei, and then to Otiria Marae (where his father Sir James Henare was farewelled in 1989).

An estimated 5000 people, including the Maori King, Tuheitia Paki, paid their respects to him there.

Mr Henare lay at Otiria until Sunday afternoon, when he was taken to Motatau Marae, south of Kawakawa. An initial service took place there yesterday morning, before he made his final journey to the nearby Takapuna Wahi Tapu for a service and burial.