Teen lifeguard Hamish Rieger has been farewelled by close to 1000 friends and family members at a requiem mass held at St Thomas More Catholic Church.
Lining the entrance to the church was a sea of yellow and red, a guard of honour to farewell the 17-year-old who was swept to sea on Saturday.
Hamish's charm, cheekiness and giving nature were remembered at the mass in a church jam-packed with people. The church's foyer and outside entrance had to be used so all who loved Hamish could be there at his goodbye.
There was not a dry eye in sight as Hamish's Mount Maunganui College school friends and fellow lifeguards broke out into a passionate haka before his casket was carried away on the back of an IRB towed by a ute.