Among the speakers was Taa Toby's daughter Dr Elana Taipapaki Curtis, who spoke of how as children they would be brought back to the marae while being raised in Auckland.
"We wouldn't be who we are today if we didn't have the exposure to the love he had for his people."
She spoke of the last few days in hospital, and how it was the most vulnerable her father had been.
"I said, dad I think we need to take you home, I think you're dying."
She said his health went down rapidly.
Taa Toby Curtis died last week, age 82. Photo / File
"We got him home, and then the bloody bugger perked right up."
The whānau could see physically, he was declining, but mentally was "coming alive".
"Every time one of you walked through the door, spoke to him and looked him in the eye. He just became alive."
She said her father was in absolute bliss on his deathbed, having everyone around him.
Taa Toby Curtis was a stalwart in the Te Arawa community, hundreds gathered to say farewell. Photo / Mead Norton
"He said on a number of occasions 'this is wonderful'."
Taa Toby's son, Piripi Curtis, gave the first speech and outlined his father's beginnings being the youngest of 15 in a family that lived off of the land.
"If you talk to anyone, his uncles or brothers or sisters ... they would have told you he was spoilt. In the context of the time.
"They had to live by the environment. There were days he would come from school and they wouldn't be sure if they would eat."
Piripi Curtis speaking at the funeral of Taa Toby. Photo / Mead Norton
But what money the whānau had was put into his education, he said.
"He has fought and struggled to bring back our mana Māori motuhake."
Piripi noted the work Taa Toby had done in recognising the impact of colonisation on Māori.
"Ngati Rongomai is on a journey because of his example.
"How deeply colonisation impacted until today."
Taa Toby's mokopuna Dennis Curtis spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post before the service and said the last few days had been an amazing celebration of Taa Toby's life.
November would have marked 38 years of working with him, she said.
She spoke of his beginnings in broadcasting and work on getting the 1989 Broadcasting Act passed, as well as many other influences he had in politics and improving education for Māori.
Te Arawa Lakes Trust chief executive Karen Vercoe said she was privileged to speak about the last five years she had worked with Taa Toby.
She wanted to share how much the trust staff loved him.
"He would come in the office ... he would sit there and for me it was watching leadership in action."
There were times he led robust negotiations, but he did so in a way that maintained relationships, she said.
Deputy police commissioner Wally Haumaha spoke of Taa Toby's involvement in the Commissioner's Māori Focus Forum and the sentiment he had expressed about "the need to look after each another, to care for each other, never be afraid to speak up, never be afraid to challenge".
His message was that there was still much to do, he said.
People gather to pay their respects to the Te Arawa leader. Photo / Mead Norton
He was excited when Taa Toby agreed to be a member of the forum.
"He was acutely aware that equity and fairness and justice were key factors in the advancement of all of our people, and in particular of Māori."
High rates of Māori offending and victimisation were things Taa Toby despaired about, he said.
"But he was not one to get lost in that sea of despair ... he was always hopeful he could turn that boat around."
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said she was humbled to be speaking. She spoke of his hugely strategic mind and his contribution to Rotorua.
"We became very dear friends."
She said both he and her husband John were deep intellectuals and would "chew the fat" often. Chadwick noted his determination for co-governance, Māori education and his work around wai health.
Taa Toby "called out cowards" who did not understand the need for equity, she said.
