Casketeers help mumwith headstone
The family of Eramiha Pairama will finally be able to mark his grave with a headstone thanks to the stars of the reality TV show The Casketeers.
Stuff reported last weekend that Selina Eruera had not been able to afford a headstone for her son who was killed in an accident in 2013 because she had not received a cent of the reparation she was owed for his death.
This comes after a judge ordered Puketi Logging to pay the family $75,000, but the company’s owners, Lawrence and Yvonne Harper, placed it in liquidation soon after.
However, the stars of The Casketeers and many other Kiwis have come forward to offer their assistance with more than $17,000 already raised for the family.
Francis Tipene, of Tipene Funerals, who along with his wife Kaiora and staff have become national celebrities through the hit TVNZ show The Casketeers, said when he read the story it made him angry.
‘‘We felt sorry for her. We thought, what can we do? We’re in a position to awhi [support] and help people, and we’ve got some headstones that are spare.
‘‘I thought I wanted to offer her one if she was open to it – nothing fancy or flash but it will do the job and memorialise his life with a photo and everything on it.
‘‘I didn’t want to come across, ‘just because Mr Tipene’s on the TV he’s doing this’ – no, we genuinely do care, and by helping someone else I feel uplifted and happy.’’
Eruera said she had accepted Tipene’s offer and was grateful.
To her, the headstone would be a symbol of the generosity she had been shown by many New Zealanders.
‘‘It’s been an emotional few days for me – I’m struggling with the concept that people I don’t even know are coming to awhi me.’’
She was a big fan of Tipene’s TV show. ‘‘I like how he speaks to [the deceased] it’s quite neat.’’
She is hoping the headstone can include a poppy, to symbolise workplace death, and a yellow ribbon, in support of families of the Pike River mine victims.
The CTU set up a donations page, which as of Friday had raised more than $12,000 to help Eruera and her family. The E Tu union has raised an additional $5000.
CTU Secretary Sam Huggard said that the money would not make up for the loss of Eramiha or the $75,000 of unpaid reparation, but he hoped it was a ‘‘step towards justice’’.
The Harpers have continued to work in the forestry industry through another company.