Kua moe Te Tāwera?
I went to Moana’s tangi on Saturday. It was at Matahiwi marae, not far from Hastings. I was part of an ope of a hundred or more predominantly Māori judges, lawyers and law students from throughout the country.
It was a predictably large tangi, skilfully led by Moana’s hapū — Ngāti Hāwea, Ngāti Hori and Ngāti Kautere — and the wider iwi, his beloved Ngāti Kahungunu, the source of most of the stories he drew on when he taught.
Tūhoe had brought him down from Waimana the day before. They had been joined by Ngāti Porou on the way down. Tainui had gone on before us — it took them two hours to convey the condolences of the king. In our pōwhiri, which followed immediately after, we were joined by Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, and a police contingent (not on duty) led by Deputy Commissioner Wally Haumaha. We took two and a half hours to complete our tributes — in karanga, haka, whaikōrero and waiata.
Link to article: Justice Joe Williams: Kua moe Te Tāwera? - E-Tangata
