Kiwi Campbell death: Tributes flow after shock death of Gisborne waka ama great

Kiwi Campbell after winning the master women's W1 500m final at the 2024 waka ama sprint nationals on Lake Karapiro in January. The photo appeared on the back page of the Gisborne Herald, headined "Golden Kiwi". Waka ama great Campbell died in Gisborne at the weekend. Photo / Garrick Cameron

Gisborne city rivers were near empty yesterday in a mark of respect to a fallen great of the sport of waka ama.

World and national championship-winning coach and paddler Kiwi Campbell died in Gisborne at the weekend. She was 43, the mother of two boys, wife of Bruce Campbell, and daughter of Irene and the late Rex Takao.

A service was held at Te Poho-o-Rawiri Marae on Monday for the Horouta Waka Hoe club stalwart, who coached many to national and international success.

Campbell was carried into the marae under a tribute of raised paddles, and speakers included Sir Selwyn Parata and Horouta club chairman Walton Walker.

Horouta asked paddlers to keep off Tairāwhiti waters until further notice as a mark of respect and that was clearly acknowledged with little to no activity on the city rivers yesterday.

Campbell started her waka ama (outrigger canoe) career with New Zealand’s first waka ama club, Mareikura, under the influence of a pioneer of the sport, Matahi Brightwell.

When Horouta Waka Hoe was formed, she quickly became an influential asset to the new club. Her willingness to help young paddlers was noted early – she coached teams from 2001 – and the club’s administrators dug deep to provide the resources she needed to develop talent.

Campbell’s teams prospered through a combination of commitment and hard work, but they also benefited from a modern approach to sports science and nutrition, and meticulous attention to detail where technique was concerned.

A watershed moment for the Campbell coaching method was the gold-medal-winning performance at the 2012 world sprint championships in Calgary, Canada. There, Campbell’s Kaiarahi Toa open women’s team won the V6 500m sprint and were first to finish the 1500m turns race, only to lose it on a disqualification – a common occurrence in turns events.

Kaiarahi Toa continued to be a dominant force in women’s national and international paddling. Through her coaching across the age groups, Campbell spotted emerging talent and promoted paddlers to senior level when their performance warranted it.

Consequently, the Horouta club’s elite women’s crew regenerated continuously, seamlessly.

Campbell was known to have the knack of putting together teams in which those with strong personalities were moulded into a cohesive force. She gathered around her a strong team of helpers – Florrie Brooking was a trusted manager who could also handle a mean paddle.

The year 2016 was another standout in Campbell’s coaching career. She coached the New Zealand elite women’s team who won gold in every race at the IVF World Sprint Championships on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. In doing so, she helped New Zealand to the top of the medal tally for the first time.

Women’s competitive feats were instrumental in Horouta Waka Hoe Club winning the national sprint champs points trophy for 12 of the 13 times it has been contested. The part played by Campbell and the coaches she influenced continues to be significant.

As a paddler, she won consecutive Premier Women’s W1 500m national titles in 2013 and 2014 and the master women’s W1 crown in 2021 and 2024 – Bruce is the reigning master men’s champ.

Campbell was a two-time winner of Coach of the Year at the Māori Sports Awards and was a finalist in the same category at the Halberg Awards.

In 2020 she was inducted into the Waka Ama New Zealand virtual Hall of Fame.

She had recently joined the board of Waka Ama NZ, who announced her death on social media on Saturday night, saying the sport was “devastated” at the news.

The sport of waka ama in Tairāwhiti, throughout Aotearoa and internationally is in mourning at the passing of legendary coach and competitor Kiwi Campbell. Photo / Horouta Facebook page

“Kiwi has impacted thousands of people in our sport and her community in Tairāwhiti,” it said.

“Her dedication and commitment to our rangatahi was awe-inspiring. She held them close to her heart and worked tirelessly to expand their horizons throughout Aotearoa, Te Moananui a Kiwa and beyond, and offer them opportunities they otherwise may not have had.

“Kiwi will leave a legacy for all those she paddled with, coached, mentored and befriended. We have all been enriched by her presence in our waka ama whānau.”

Horouta club chairman Walton Walker said Campbell’s passing was “an absolute shock”.

“I’m struggling to find the words to describe our loss, and our feelings for Kiwi.

“She leaves a big void for all of us in so many different ways.”

Walker said it was not just waka ama feeling the loss, but all the other things she was involved with, such as work with youth centred around environmental learning, and with the netball fraternity.

“Kiwi led by example,” he said. “‘Pick yourself up and follow me’ was her example, and if you couldn’t keep up she would come alongside you and help you keep up.

“She had the Midas touch. Everything she touched turned to gold – literally, in terms of her waka ama success.”

A classic example of Kiwi Campbell's tenacity and commitment as she flies through the air in the 2014 Gisborne Premier Grade netball final between her YMP team and Whāngārā Old Girls. Photo / Paul Rickard

Brooking said Kiwi was their “queen”.

“Strong, staunch, smart, hearty, mentally tough and most of all, loyal.”

Of her netball involvement as a stalwart of YMP and member of the club’s Premier Grade team, Brooking said: “On the court you were quick, witty and could fly if anyone was in your way. There was no well in hell they were getting that ball.”

A fellow Wellington Girls’ College old girl wrote of the impact Campbell had during their playing days, which culminated in national secondary schools’ title-winning glory.

“One of the most beautiful and inspirational people I have ever met. You’re definitely one in a million.”

Kiwi Campbell (bottom row second from left) and her YMP teammates celebrate their 2015 Premier Grade netball grand final victory in the YMCA. The team, co-coached by Campbell's mother Irene Takao (far right), had a 100% win record that season. Photo / Paul Rickard

Tributes have continued to flow on social media, along with sympathies to her husband, sons Mairangi and Maia – all of them champion paddlers – and mother Irene.

Black Ferns Sevens player and former champion waka paddler with Horouta, Kelsey Teneti, said: “Kiwi was one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. She gave me the mindset of a fighter and a champion.”

The cause of her death has been put in the hands of the coroner.

A post on behalf of her family said her death was “sudden and untimely”.

Following Monday’s service, she was returned home to spend time with immediate family and was to be taken to her home marae, Waimako, at Tuai on Tuesday morning.

Her funeral service is at 11am on Thursday, folllowed by burial at Orangitirohia urupā.