Tangihanga and tributes for Anaru Rangiheuea tangihanga held at Rotorua’s Te Pākira marae Whakarewarewa.
Highly respected Te Arawa leader Anaru Rangiheuea has died.
He died on Wednesday aged 88 surrounded by his whānau and his tangihanga started today at Rotorua’s Te Pākira marae at Whakarewarewa and will go until Sunday.
Rangiheuea was the husband of the late June Kaihau, a father to 10 children and he had numerous grandchildren.
His whānau described him as “compassionate” and “kind”.
Born in Te Teko on August 5,1935, he was educated at Rangatahi Native and High School and Wesley College. Rangiheuea was raised in a whāngai family (adoption) and was number nine of 15 children.
Highly-respected Te Arawa Tangata iwi leader Anaru Rangiheuea died on Wednesday surrounded by his whānau. Photo / Stephen Parker
Rangiheuea led the charge to save Whakarewarewa’s geyser field, winning the infamous 1987 “Bore Wars” that saw all bores within 1.5km of the area closed.
His wife June died in 2000, soon after Rangiheuea was acknowledged in the 1999 New Year’s Honours with the Order of New Zealand Merit for his services to the community.
He was also a Rotorua District Council Te Arawa Standing Committee member for many years until 2005.
Rangiheuea’s third-eldest child and second daughter, Rea Rangiheuea, said her father was a strong conversationalist and was attentive when speaking to people.
“Time felt like it could stand still when you were with Dad,” she told the Rotorua Daily Post.
Rea said what her father was “really good at was being in the moment with the person”.
“Dad was the sort of person that was truly interested in you.”
Rea said her dad had compassion “not just for his own children” but for “his iwi people, his community, Māori and Pākehā and respective cultures”.
“One of Dad’s most enduring qualities [was] his compassion and kindness.”
The tangihanga for kaumātua Anaru Rangiheuea at Te Pākira marae, Whakarewarewa. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rangiheuea’s eldest daughter and second child, Tanya Rangiheuea, described her father as “kind”.
“He was very kind. I think the tributes that have been coming through the Te Arawa Tangata [social media] post pretty well sum him up.”
She said her favourite memory of her father was “going out fishing”.
Rangiheuea’s last remaining sibling, Hemana Eruera Manuera, said: “He was a beautiful man. He was lovely. He was very popular with the people that he served.”
Labour list MP and son-in-law of Rangiheuea Willie Jackson at the tangihanga. Photo / Andrew Warner
Labour list MP and son-in-law of Rangiheuea Willie Jackson said: “I always thought he was very special with the way he conducted himself.
“He was a real peacemaker in many ways. His real skill was bringing people together.
“Everyone sort of gravitated towards him. He was a person who could get on with anyone, anytime.”
He said despite Rangiheuea being a “Labour Party supporter”, he was an “original member” of Mana Māori Motuhake - the first independent Māori political party formed in 1980.
“He believed in kaupapa Māori but he also believed in working within the system. He was a person who could work with mayors and councillors to get change for Māori.”
Jackson said Rangiheuea had a “high range of skills for a person who came from a manual blue-collar background”.
“He was a truck driver and set his own business up but as he got older, he was thrust into leadership positions”.
Former Labour MP and Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick at the tangihanga for Anaru Rangiheuea. Photo / Andrew Warner
Former Labour MP and Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said Rangiheuea was a “gentle and humble man” who always “gave and shared his wisdom”.
Chadwick said she first met Rangiheuea in 1996 when he worked at the Rotorua council and said he was an “incredible man”.
Anaru Rangiheuea’s tangihanga service times:
Manuhiri whakaeke: Friday, January 12 at Te Pakira Marae Whakarewarewa - 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm.
Manuhiri whakaeke: Saturday, January 13 at Te Pakira Marae Whakarewarewa - 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm.
Nehu final service: Sunday, January 14 - 11am at Te Pakira Marae followed by burial at Te Anga Tokiniho. Address: 12 Spencer Road Lake Tarawera. Hakari after burial will be held at Te Rau Aroha Whakarewarewa.
Michaela Pointon is an NZME reporter based in the Bay of Plenty and was formerly a feature writer.
