Taina Sinoti with his wife Mel and children Exekiel and Billie-Melanie.
Taina Sinoti with his wife Mel and children Exekiel and Billie-Melanie.
Tributes flowed at Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club on Wednesday night for the three club members who lost their lives off Māhia in a fishing tragedy.
“We debated whether or not to hold our weekly club night but in the end we decided it was a good way to pay tribute to the three guys, and for our members to talk about them,” club president Roger Faber said.
“We had a minute’s silence for them and really the whole night was about them - remembrances, stories about the three of them and so on.
“They were all very popular members of our club.”
Many members of the men’s whānau were in the clubrooms for the evening.
“Our members are fully supportive of the families and there has been huge amounts of support provided by our members and by local businesses.”
There had also been “huge support” shown by other fishing clubs around the country, with fundraising under way for the families, Faber said.
Givealittle pages have been set up.
The Gisborne-Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club has a page up and, as of yesterday afternoon, it had raised more than $63,600 from more than 800 donors, which will be divided up equally between three families.
Each of the families also have their own Givealittle pages.
“This tragedy has prompted many of us to look at our own boat safety,” Faber said.
“From carrying out safety briefings prior to going out fishing to checking lifejackets and flares on our boats, radio communications, everything that we need to stay safe on the water.”
Damien Macpherson with his wife Vivienne and their children Madison and Harvey. Macpherson was described as "a proud Ngātapa man" and an "outstanding" referee.
The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union paid tribute to referee and former player Macpherson.
“It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the tragic passing of Damien Macpherson, a magnificent servant and rangatira within our rugby community,” a social media post said.
“Poverty Bay Rugby sends out our heartfelt condolences to Viv, Madison, Harvey, Brad, Karl, Mandy, John and the entire Macpherson whānau at this sad time.
“We acknowledge the incredible service that Damien gave to the game, more recently as a referee but also in the playing space.
“As a player, Damien was a proud Ngatapa man who had come through Gisborne Boys High and the First XV. He also represented the Weka of Poverty Bay in 2008 and was Poverty Bay’s Cap #1315.
“As a referee, Damien was outstanding.
“Amongst his many achievements were six consecutive Lee Brothers Shield finals, eight first-class games and selection for the NZ National referee squad in 2018 and 2019.
“Above all else and most importantly, Damo was a friend, a true community man and his values will live on in all the lives he touched.
