Tangi at Otamatea

Te Ao Hou, March 1963, Page 31

Tangi at Otamatea Three thousand people attended the tangi at Otamatea Marae which is at Tanoa, near Maungaturoto. This was one of the biggest gatherings of Maoris in Northland for some years. The service began with speeches of welcome by Messrs Henare Toka Paikea and Hone Heke Rankin. The Postmaster-General, Mr Kinsella, who represented the Government at the funeral, said all would miss Mr Paikea, his great sayings and his cheery face. ‘For twenty years he represented the people of the Northland—people who over the years have grown to a great people,’ Mr Kinsella said. The late Mr T. P. Paikea, M.P. ‘I know of no man,’ said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Nash, ‘who understood, so feelingly understood, the customs, the tradition and the actions of the Maori people. Mr Paikea was a man of natural gentleness with a love for all people.’ Mrs Iriaka Ratana, M.P., who spoke on behalf of all the Maori people in New Zealand, said she hoped Mr Paikea's successor ‘would be someone who can see into the future and take with him the best of the past, so we will build up to be a better people than we are. It is the only way I can express my sadness, knowing “Dobbie” so well.’ Sir Eruera Tirikatene praised Mr Paikea as a man of many qualities, a tireless worker for his people in spite of ill health. The ceremonial orations over, the cloak-draped casket was carried in procession behind massed brass bands to Kakaraea Maori cemetery, a short distance along the riverbank. Ratana bandsmen acted as pall bearers. After the service the mourners returned to the marae where a large hangi was opened. This consisted of two bullocks, four pigs and two sheep and about half a ton of potatoes. Subsequently there were discussions concerning the successor to Mr Paikea.