Parents’ tribute to son
On March 27, nine-year-old Tu¯ whakararo Waerea Hohaia died in freak accident at his wha¯ nau homestead at Pungarehu, in South Taranaki.
His death, which has been referred to the coroner, happened while Tu¯ whakararo was playing on a rope swing and he became entangled.
With the current Covid-19 lockdown conditions, wha¯ nau and friends did not get the chance to be with him or support his wha¯ nau.
The wha¯nau was left to literally bury their beloved son and mokopuna, on their own. The tikanga (conventions) of tangihanga (customary funeral processes) were upended, leaving those not in the immediate wha¯ nau bubble distraught and unable to pay their respects properly and honour Tu¯ whakararo, as he deserved.
Here, Tu¯ whakararo’s parents, Charissa Waerea and Tihikura Hohaia, pay a heart-breaking tribute to their son:
You are Tu¯ whakararo Te Ka¯ whakitanga o Te Miringa Waerea Hohaia, born on September 1, 2010, at the homestead at Te Ikaroa, on Coast Road, at Pungarehu.
You are Taranaki tu¯ turu, Nga¯ ti Awa ki Manukorihi, Nga¯ ti Rongomaiwahine and Nga¯ti Kahungunu. You are one of a wha¯ nau of eight children.
You are greatly loved by us, and all of your siblings.
When we think of you, we see your curly long hair, your bright eyes and your long eyelashes. We hear you speaking Ma¯ ori and playing with your siblings, who love you dearly.
You were always on the go, swimming, surfing, playing rugby league and jujitsu. You were a true champion. We thought you would be an All Black one day.
You were kind, warm, cheeky, handsome, intelligent and fearless. You would often mihi with a hongi, a hand shake, or knuckles. You were loved by so many.
Covid-19 took away the ability for us to have a proper tangihanga with our wider wha¯ nau and friends. It was so hard, not being able to hongi, hariru¯ (greet) or hug others of our wha¯ nau. So we had a virtual tangihanga.
On the last night, we held a poroporoaki (farewell) using Zoom video conferencing. Almost 60 wha¯nau and friends logged in, paying tribute and saying goodbye. Even though we were on our own in our bubble, our wha¯nau and friends were there with us. It is something we will cherish.
We are indebted to the emergency services on that day, including Dan Whiston, Constable Brad Huntley, the Rahotu Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
We are also humbled by the thousands of people across Aotearoa who sent messages of love and condolence, shared stories and generously gave koha and gifts to support our wha¯ nau.
We especially want to mihi to Te Ko¯ pae Piripono, Rahotu Primary School, Ha¯ wera Primary School, Tsunami Co45t Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Coastal Boxing Club, Parihaka Papaka¯ inga Wha¯ nau and Te Paepae o Te Raukura.
Te¯nei te mihi aroha nui ki a koutou katoa.
This tragic accident has devastated us. Tu¯ whakararo, you are greatly loved. You will be missed dearly. We have nothing to say about the accident. Our wha¯nau is grief stricken. Ka mutu i ko¯ nei (We will finish here). Our hearts are broken.
Muri aroha ana ma¯ ua ki a koe ta¯ ma¯ ua tama, kua riro atu ra¯. Haere atu ki Hawaiki nui, ki Hawaiki roa, ki Hawaiki pa¯ mamao.