August 31, 2024

Kiingi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII will be sadly missed.

He was a man of great vision and wisdom for his people. It culminated in him issuing an unprecedented royal proclamation triggering the gathering the of 10,000 people at Tūrangawaewae for Hui-aa-motu in January .

He called the people to unity over the anti-Māori policies and anti-Māori stance of the coalition government. We all heard his call and went to tautoko – all proud to be Māori.

He always had a special relationship with us here at Te Kōhao Health and with Kirikiriroa Marae where we are based, just like his mother before him, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.

He was a beloved patron of Kirikiriroa Marae, alongside his wife, Makau Ariki Te Atawhai who is our cherished patron here at Te Kōhao Health. Both celebrated our journey over the years with us.

We've always felt very closely connected with them and with the Kiingitanga itself, because it has always been a symbol of unity throughout the country, and he completely exemplified that.

In his words and deeds, he focused on not only on uniting his people at home, but also whānau in the Pacific, particularly those of royal bloodlines, through bringing them to Tūrangawaewae.

He visited them over there too as a reminder that we were all sovereign nations, so our roots remain strong.

Kiingi Tūhietia also had a very, very close connection with King Charles who visited Tūrangawaewae on a number of occasions just like his mother, Queen Elizabeth II who came to Aotearoa and offered an apology in person to the people of Waikato-Tainui in 1995.

Her signing a formal apology for the actions taken in the wars of the 1860s and their legacy led to the Crown signing a Deed of Settlement with Waikato-Tainui that year.

In recent times for me personally was receiving the gift of the name, ‘Taakiri Tuu’ for our wellness and diagnostic centre that he officially opened its doors in April.

He opened the whare sharing our vision of mana motuhake, as he did with a number of our other buildings at Te Kōhao Health.

‘Taakiri Tuu’ was also the name that was given to Hui-aa-Motu, his call for unison across the motu which we will continue to reflect on as part of his legacy in the coming days especially.

So, for us this is a great loss. My heart and our prayers go out to his whānau and Makau Ariki Te Atawhai.

Haere e te Kiingi Tuheita ki ou matua tipuna i raro i nga parirau o te Matua nui i te rangi.

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