Extraordinary kapa haka performer shone out like beacon

Taini Morrison had an openness of spirit and willingness to help others. Photo / Supplied

Taini Morrison, kapa haka exponent. Died aged 51.

There were moments when the thrill of watching Taini Morrison front and centre with her kapa haka group Te Mataarae i o Rehu left her audience stunned.

One of the country's best exponents of the artform, the 51-year-old with the shock of blonde hair commanded attention in a way that no one else could.

Younger brother Temuera Morrison said the love of haka had always been with his sister, who died of a heart condition on June 8.

"I think she had all those womanly qualities, but she did do the haka like a male. She was quite fearless. When watching that Mataarae group not only did they give you the heebie-jeebies but there was Taini shining through like a beacon.

"I think she pushed the boundaries for all fair Maori too, because she was up on stage with that golden mane of hair, standing right in the middle and the whitest one there."

Te Arawa haka group's return this year to the national Te Matatini competition, after boycotting past festivals, was capped when the past champion won the title of Kaitataki Wahine Toa for best female leader.

Born the fourth eldest of eight children Taini was named Tiny as a baby because of her small stature. Spelling changes came later in life.

A niece to Sir Howard, her mother Hannah and father Laurie brought the family up in a two-bedroom state house in Rotorua.

Taini's exacting standards were evident at a young age, Temuera Morrison said.

"I remember sharing a bed - three down the bottom, two up the top. Taini always wanted to make the bed again at 3 o'clock because the blankets were a little bit crumpled up. She liked it tight, so you couldn't move when you slept."

And as a person she was fiercely protective of her family.

"She was always proud of the smallest achievements. She was our pou [anchor], she was the rope connecting us."

Friend Cairo Hunuhunu, who had performed with Taini since Te Mataarae's 1994 inception, said that while she was a force to be reckoned with onstage, off it there was an openness of spirit and willingness to help others.

"Always the main focus was to nurture the group, but especially the younger ones coming through. Anyone who was under 16 she had this big soft spot for."

The grandmother of three worked as a teacher at Rotorua Primary School where children knew her as Whaea Taini.

As well as her mokopuna Taini Morrison is survived by husband Daff Hare and children Miriama and Te Wharekotua.