Last updated 15:47, June 24 2018
TOM LEE/STUFF
Family of Koro Wētere were welcomed onto Tūrangawaewae marae in Ngāruawāhia on Sunday morning, after flying to New Zealand from Perth.
Family of Koro Wētere were welcomed onto Tūrangawaewae marae in Ngāruawāhia on Sunday morning, after flying to New Zealand from Perth.
A great-grandson of Koro Wētere clutched a framed photograph of the late Māori leader as he led whānau towards his casket.
Wētere, lying in state at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia, died on Saturday at Te Kūiti Hospital surrounded by members of his family.
Grieving kūia, dressed in black, sat next to the korowai covered coffin under a marquee at the foot of the wharenui, Pare Waikato.
The former Māori affairs Minister and Labour MP died in his daughter's arms at Te Kūiti Hospital, after an ongoing battle with prostate cancer.
Above hang photos of Kiingitanga leaders from Kingi Potatau te Wherowhero to Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
The kūia will remain with Wētere's body, which arrived at the marae late Saturday afternoon, until he is interred. He will not spend a moment alone.
The body of Koro Wētere - lying in state at Tūrangawaewae marae in Ngāruawāhia - won't be left alone until he is buried.
As the morning mist cleared, some of Wētere's family - who had just arrived from Perth - were welcomed onto the marae with a whakatau.
Wētere, a former Māori Affairs Minister and Labour MP died in his daughter's arms after an ongoing battle with prostate cancer.
Born in Te Kūiti in 1935, Wētere was of Ngāti Maniapoto descent. He worked as a farmer in the King Country and served as an Āpotoro in the Rātana Church before moving into the public service.
Condolences flooded in from leaders around the country, including Jacinda Ardern, Helen Clark, the Māori King Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero te Tuawhitu and Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters.
In a statement on Sunday, Tuheitia said Wētere had been key in strengthening the Kiingitanga's relationship with the Government and making te reo and official language of New Zealand.
Wētere entered parliament in 1969 with the largest majority of any candidate. He later served as a minister under David Lange's Labour government.
He introduced the Treaty of Waitangi Amendment Act, which extended the Waitangi Tribunal's powers to investigate claims dating back to 1840.
Kiingitanga spokesman Rahui Papa said representatives from each major political party are expected to arrive on Monday.
Papa was devastated by Wētere's death.
"That institutional knowledge that has passed away with him ... it's just really devastating," Papa said at Tūrangawaewae Marae on Sunday.
"We've already got a serious number of kaumātua that have already passed."
"He was one that was tutored and nurtured by the old people ... And he in turn became a mentor and a nurturer of the next generation of leaders. Myself included."
Wētere is survived by his wife, two daughters, three sons, 16 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Moko Templeton, spokeswoman for Tūrangawaewae Marae said it was an honour to farewell Wētere there.
"Everything we have here today, we can thank him for," Templeton said.