The tangihanga for Te Arawa rangatira Sir Toby Curtis began at Tapuaekura Marae in Rotoiti today.
Sir Nopera Tamihana Curtis (Toby) died on Wednesday at home in Rotoiti, aged 82. His tangihanga will continue into the weekend.
Taa Toby arrived at Tapuaekura Marae at 10.15am as rain fell heavily and the wind blew strong.
Te Wharekura o Ngati Rongomai performed the haka pohiri as he was brought to the wharenui.
Their voices were strong and united as the whānau walked with their loved one. A large crowd followed behind the coffin with elders and immediate whānau entering the small wharenui.
A chilling apakura cried out to the crowd, expressing great lament.
With bad weather forecast over the next few days, marquees had been set up to keep ope (delegations) and manuhiri dry. The wind battered against the canvas and creaked as Rapata Wiri gave his whaikōrero.
All formal proceedings were conducted in te reo Māori - fitting for a man who dedicated so much of his life to advocating for the language.
Throughout the day, delegations including Ngāti Whakaue and police took turns to be welcomed to the wharenui to give their whaikōrero.
In the busy wharekai, whānau were expecting to prepare and serve 4000 plates of food a day across five rolling sessions.
Joeli Curtis said the kai was "bringing everyone together".
Dignitaries and guests were able to give interviews in English outside the formal proceedings.
Speaking to NZME before the formal proceedings began, former Māori Party co-leader and Te Arawa Lakes trustee Te Ururoa Flavell said there were people coming from across the motu to say goodbye, including some big delegations.
"I'm pretty confident there will be very big crowds."
Sir Toby was a person who engaged at the highest level with prime ministers, ministerial departments, mayors and iwi from across the country, he said.
"It was pretty clear that whenever Sir Toby went into any room, everybody knew that he was representing Te Arawa.
"That was pretty much our leverage. He was able to cut through a lot of bureaucracy that often is needed to get to the highest level to get an outcome."
He was an advocate in particular for education, retention of the Māori language and the lakes and environment, Flavell said.
"His contribution has been huge."
For him personally, the death of Taa Toby was another from the same generation of leaders.
"It does mean we need to look again to our own leadership … one thing he wanted to talk about was the united front of Te Arawa."
Deputy police commissioner Wally Haumaha told the Rotorua Daily Post Taa Toby was "a brilliant man".
"Sir Toby and I go back a long way, he was actually the coach of my first XV at boarding school - St Peters Maori Boys' College as it was known back in the day.
"He was a brilliant man and a real role model for all of us at that time.
"That relationship has continued from that time, 1969, right through to 2022 where he was a member, an integral member, of the [Police] Commissioner's National Maori Focus Forum.
"Toby's contribution to policing here in the Waiariki, in Te Arawa and across the country was significant.
"We can't ever forget the contribution that this brilliant leader, our kaumātua has made."
Haumaha said in "the usual Toby fashion" the kaumātua left instructions for him last week, before he died.
"His korero at that time was around Māori leadership, looking after our people, thinking about intergenerational issues for our tamariki and just providing protection and safety for our community."
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu principal Angus Douglas said Taa Toby knew his father so he got to know him growing up, and later in education circles as an advocate for education and te reo Māori.
"He was incredibly supportive and vociferous about ensuring our Māori children were given ample opportunity in order for them to be successful."
He said Taa Toby was "everywhere".
"He was a vanguard for kaupapa Māori.
"When he had something in his mind and he was pursuing that, he would give his all to ensure that he would give us a good outcome."
Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick recalled how, even as Taa Toby marked the return of governance of Rotorua's lakes to Te Arawa in a co-governance arrangement, he was already looking to the next step for Rotorua's lakes: pūtea - money - to clean them up.
"It doesn't matter what challenges our community was facing, Taa Toby believed in te reo and he believed in a cultural education and those two things are huge legacies for us."
Tributes have flowed from all over the motu, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, National Party leader Christopher Luxon and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster among those to honour Taa Toby's many contributions.
Sir Toby was knighted in 2014 for his services to Māori education, and those who worked closely with him have shared that he made preparations for his work to continue in that and other areas, after his death.
Yesterday, three Rotorua leaders who worked alongside him shared their memories and tributes with Rotorua Daily Post photographer Andrew Warner.
Watch the interviews with Karen Vercoe and Geoff Rolleston from Te Arawa Lakes Trust, and Ngāti Whakaue leader Monty Morrison here:
In today's Rotorua Daily Post, mayor Steve Chadwick wrote that Taa Toby was the best kind of friend, while former journalist Jill Nicholas wrote of a man who transcended cliches.
Those who wish to pay their respects have been asked to make contact with organisers and choose a time and day so that the flow of visitors can be managed, a statement from the Curtis whānau said.
No Pākehā (English) will be allowed to be spoken during formal proceedings, but a space will be made for non-reo Māori speaking dignitaries to share their thoughts to camera elsewhere.
Image 1 of 16: Sir Toby Curtis at the site of the new office development in 2016.
Guests will not be permitted to record at the tangihanga, which will be livestreamed from 9.50am to the end of the last group each day via the Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Te Arawa FM and Aukaha News Facebook pages.
There is only one access point to Tapuaekura Marae, which sits on the southern shore of Lake Rotoiti.
This is via Curtis Rd, Rotoiti. Curtis Rd will be closed for the duration of the tangihanga. Shuttle buses will transport manuhiri to and from the carpark to the marae.
Those attending in person are asked to consider adopting Covid precautions such as wearing a facemask and using hand sanitiser.
Information about the tangihanga will be posted on the Te Arawa Lakes Trust website and Facebook page.
Whānau Curtis contacts:
Dennis Curtis 0212 816 016
Piki Thomas 027 244 8784
He is 'living proof' of what can be achieved through people donating their organs.
