Tangi begins with Taranaki tribute

The coffin of Sir Paul Reeves arrives at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for his tangi. Photo / Dean Purcell

In an ode to his Taranaki origins, the sound of drums greeted Sir Paul Reeves' hearse as his body arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in central Auckland yesterday.

Sir Paul, the first Maori Governor-General, died on Sunday after a battle with cancer.

His widow, Lady Beverley, and daughters Sarah, Bridget and Jane accompanied his body into the Khyber Pass Rd church with a delegation from his Te Atiawa tribe.

It was a slow, mournful rhythm which greeted the funeral cortege. Wearing greenery, which symbolises mourning, Ngamata Skipper kept beat on her instrument.

Usually, her efforts support poi action songs which commemorate the sacking of Parihaka and the exile of Taranaki people to Otago in the late 19th century. They're performed at the tangi of kuia and special tribal people. Sir Paul fits the bill, she said.

"The beat is very much a military beat to remind people of that time.

"We bring them for people who strive for the kaupapa of rangimarie [peace]. He's also a mokopuna of Taranaki."

Mourners from the province found it difficult to get to the tangi in time yesterday because of the weather down country, meaning there was nowhere near the 5000 expected for the first day of formalities.

Minutes after Sir Paul's body was taken inside Holy Sepulchre, sleet fell, leaving some mourners huddling inside a tent warmed with gas heaters before they were formally called in.

Others who paid their respects included Ngati Whatua iwi members such as Joe Hawke, Naida Glavish and Grant Hawke, former All Black Michael Jones, police chiefs and Auckland University of Technology staff, who came to farewell their chancellor.

The tangi runs until Thursday and will end in a state funeral for Sir Paul, also a former archbishop, at Holy Trinity Cathedral.

STATE FUNERAL
Thursday, 11am

* The service of farewell for the former Governor-General and archbishop will be held in the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Parnell Rd.

* On Thursday morning, Sir Paul's body will be taken from Tatai Hono Marae at Holy Sepulchre Church in Khyber Pass Rd to Holy Trinity.

* The cortege will travel through Auckland Domain.

* For the final segment, from the edge of the Domain along the few blocks to the cathedral forecourt, the hearse will be escorted by Defence Force personnel.