Man charged over Tauranga death

File photo / Martin Sykes

The man found dead on the doorstep of a Gate Pa house yesterday morning was a talented, emerging Maori artist.

Harry Faulkner's body was found at a house in Watling St about 7am. The street was cordoned off and a full police investigation launched.

Tauranga Police have arrested a 19-year-old Gate Pa male in relation to the 43-year-old artist's death. The teen has been charged with assault but Detective Sergeant Greg Turner said further charges may be laid. He was due to appear in Tauranga District Court today.

A post-mortem of Mr Faulkner's body was due to take place in Auckland this morning with police reviewing the investigation once this was complete.

Mr Faulkner has strong family links to Motiti Island. His cousin, Graham Hoete, who is the kaumatua of the small community, said he was gardening when a neighbour told him the news.

"I just dropped the tool on the ground. It actually was quite a bit of a shock to me," he said.

He said the family was due to gather on the island next weekend for Mr Faulkner's mother's 80th birthday celebration but he said it was unlikely to go ahead as she mourned the loss of her son.

Mr Hoete said his cousin had no family of his own.

He said Mr Faulkner, believed to live with another cousin at the Watling St house, was raised in Whakatane.

Creative Tauranga chief Tracey Rudduck said she had known Mr Faulkner for about five years and described him as a lovely, gentle man who was quietly spoken and modest about his pottery work.

"He was very talented. We were hoping to take some of his work to New York next year," she said.

She said Mr Faulkner's pottery had been on display in the Creative Tauranga gallery for the prime minister's visit and a piece was also owned by patron, Margaret Wilson.

Ms Rudduck herself had planned to commission a piece by Mr Faulkner.

She said his death had hit staff hard and they would find an appropriate way to remember him at the gallery in the new year.

Mr Faulkner had benefited greatly from being mentored through the Pathways for Arts and Cultural Employment programme.

She said his death was a big loss to the art scene, particularly for Maori art.

A neighbour of the Watling St house said it was a "noisy" home with people coming and going all the time. In the past it had been a bit of a party house, she said.

Another neighbour said she was in the bathroom sometime after 10pm when she heard a girl yelling.

Such ruckus in the street was not unusual though, she said.

The end of the street where the man lived was "normally quite quiet," a male resident said.

No one spoken to knew Mr Faulkner personally.

Watling St was still cordoned off after 1pm yesterday and, when the Bay of Plenty Times visited the neighbourhood, all was quiet.

Police tape remained pinned around the the brick house where Mr Faulkner's body was found, and that of a neighbour's house.

A female police officer stood guard outside the property while forensics worked quietly inside the cordon.

About 5pm police had cordoned off a house and garage on Cameron Rd, opposite Tauranga Hospital. It was not clear if this was related to the investigation into Mr Faulkner's death.

A police officer also guarded this scene, and at least two staff in blue boiler suits were seen to come out of the property.

- with Carly Udy and Ellen Irvine