Dozens of family and friends of Gisborne brawl victim Kane Wiremu Te Paa gathered at Hauiti Marae, Tologa Bay, for his tangi today.
Senior gang leaders from Black Power and the Mongrel Mob were involved in talks to ensure peace during the lengthy final journey of Gisborne fight victim Kane Wiremu Te Paa.
Te Paa – a Black Power member – was one of two men who died after a mass brawl at a 21st birthday party in Gisborne over the weekend.
Up to 100 people were involved in the brawl including gate-crashers.
Te Paa will be buried at Anaura Bay on Friday. After a post-mortem was carried out in Palmerston North, his body had earlier been driven to Te Rawheoro Marae, Tolaga Bay on Wednesday. He was then moved to the nearby Hauiti Marae on Thursday afternoon.
That included discussions with senior gang liaisons relating to the travel of Te Paa’s body from Palmerston North up to the East Coast for his tangi.
“Getting the young fella back to Tolaga Bay, the routes which the funeral convoy went had been discussed with various parties to mitigate anything untoward happening,” O’Reilly told the Herald.
“Rather than going through the towns [the Mob has a presence in], they used SH50. Everyone was told to pull their bloody heads in ... whoever they were.
Dozens of family and friends of Gisborne brawl victim Kane Wiremu Te Paa have gathered at Hauiti Marae, Tolaga Bay, for his tangi. Photo / Neil Reid
“You get idiots, eh, and with social media they want to make some [statement] ... it depends what they have been on that morning. If people aren’t working, and they are into substances, you get some bizarre behaviours.”
SH50 is an alternative route from SH2 in Hawke’s Bay.
When asked if those talks involved leaders from both Black Power and the Mongrel Mob, O’Reilly said: “I think everybody ... Blacks, Mob and Tom, Dick and Harry. This is a tragedy, let families grieve. A young fella having his 21st birthday party and that s*** happens.
“When something like this happens, it doesn’t matter who you are. If you have any shade of humanity you just go, ‘Oh my God, this is just terrible’.”
Dozens of people gathered at the two Tolaga Bay marae on Thursday to start paying their respects to Te Paa.
Chrysler Stevens-Mark, left, and Kane Te Paa died when a 21st birthday for Stevens-Mark turned to tragedy last weekend. Photos / Supplied
That included patched Black Power members.
O’Reilly said the fight deaths were a “tragedy all round”.
He believed there was no appetite for any violent acts following the incident.
“There is no solution to bring, other than to let the law wend its way,” he said.
Kane Wiremu Te Paa is being farewelled at Hauiti Marae and will be buried at nearby Anaura Bay on Friday. Photo / Neil Reid
“I don’t think there is any appetite for [further incidents]. All parties have expressed [what a tragedy].
“I am certainly not aware of any logic for any utus or anything like that. People are just going, ‘Oh my God, what a terrible and tragic outcome’.”
O’Reilly didn’t travel to Tolaga Bay for the tangi.
“There is enough people involved and enough angst,” he said.
O’Reilly said as well as feeling for those impacted by the double killing, he had nothing but praise for the actions of the police in the days after the fight.
Lifetime Black Power member Denis O'Reilly has praised the role police have played in the aftermath of the Gisborne party deaths. Photo / NZME
“The way the cops have handled this has been pretty astute,” he said.
“I call it Kiwi policing. It’s smart. When you know your community and you know the volatility of people and know that you have some people who may be intoxicated on various substances and a bit unpredictable, and you can mitigate against all of those sorts of things.
“The police have been doing a bloody good job. All of the potentialities have been thought through, there has been good liaison.”
Police confirmed the identities of the two men killed during the 21st birthday celebration as Kane Wiremu Te Paa, 30, of Wainuiomata, and Chrysler Stevens-Mark, 21, of Gisborne.
A final post-mortem had concluded but police would not elaborate on the cause of death for both men who died from injuries sustained during the altercation.
A 25-year-old man is jointly charged with the 29-year-old who was taken into custody earlier this week.
Police investigate the scene of a mass brawl that left two dead and involved around 100 people in Gisborne. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Both arrested men were uninvited guests who arrived at the party shortly before the incident began, police said.
Police have said that while the brawl involved gang members it was not a conflict between rival gangs.
Officers have been brought in from outside of Gisborne amid concerns of further disorder.
“Further charges will be considered as the investigation into events on Lytton St, Gisborne on Saturday night progresses.
Gisborne's Lytton Rd was cordoned off for several days after the deadly brawl at a 21st birthday party. Photo / Gisborne Herald
“Police will continue to have a highly visible presence in Gisborne as reassurance patrols are carried out, and work continues to support Kane and Chrysler’s families as they plan their loved one’s final journeys.
“Police will offer support to the whānau as they plan the tangi, however this is a deeply personal process and for them alone to plan,” police said.
Other information can be provided via 105, either by phone or online at 105.police.govt.nz, clicking “Update Report” referencing file number 240324/0768.
Information can also be provided anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
