MEDIA RELEASE
Saturday 24 September 2011

The MANA Movement today paid its deepest respects to Whatumoana Paki who passed away yesterday.

Leader Hone Harawira says MANA members from throughout the country will remember the father of King Tuheitia and husband of the late Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu, with great fondness.

Mr Harawira says that while Whatumoana was born in Tainui and spent most of his life at Waahi Marae in Huntly, he was part of a strong genealogical link between Tainui and the people of the north.

"He is a direct descendant of Te Ikanui, one of the prominent chiefs of Te Aupouri, and many people from Te Aupouri will be travelling to his tangi to pay their respects."

Mr Harawira says that Whatumoana and his family provided great support to many of the people from the north who had moved to the Waikato to work in the Huntly mines.

He said they remembered Whatumoana as a quiet, humble and unassuming man who, although being married to the Maori Queen, preferred to remain in the background.

"Even when he came back to Te Kao he was the same" said Mr Harawira. "The perfect gentleman, ever supportive of the queen, and of his son, when he became king."

Mr Harawira will travel with the people of Te Aupouri to attend the tangi and to pass on his sympathies to King Tuheitia, his whanau, and all the people of Tainui during what will be a period of great sadness for them and the rest of New Zealand.

© Scoop Media