KEY POINTS:
A tapu has been lifted from a lane in Auckland's main business district where a good samaritan was fatally stabbed.
Father-of-three Austin Hemmings, 44, was attacked when he went to the aid of a woman being assaulted in Mills Lane behind Queen St on September 25.
He died on the spot from a stab wound to the chest.
In a moving ceremony before relatives, friends and emergency workers this afternoon, a tapu was lifted and the area was blessed.
Police said the Ngati Whatua ceremony meant the area was spiritually cleansed.
Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said the ceremony integrated traditional and modern concepts and was presided over by Ngati Whatua kaumatua Takutai Wikiriwhi and the Reverend Charmaine Braatvedt of the Holy Trinity Church.
A 45-year-old sickness beneficiary, who has been charged with Mr Hemmings' murder, is due back in court later this month.
- NZPA