Pattinson Wetere tells his family rescue story to Emergency Minister Mark Mitchell (right) and others during a visit to Mōkau Marae on Tuesday. Photo / Susan Botting
Pattinson Wetere tells his family rescue story to Emergency Minister Mark Mitchell (right) and others during a visit to Mōkau Marae on Tuesday. Photo / Susan Botting
Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell has praised Mōkau grandfather Pattinson Wetere for saving his family from near-certain drowning during the weekend’s destructive weather bomb northeast of Whangārei.
Mitchell was told how Wetere rescued his partner, grandson and granddaughter as the Mōkau awa rose without warning in the early‑morning darkness onSunday.
The minister visited Mōkau Marae, the central refuge of the small coastal community about 45km from Whangarei, on Tuesday.
He travelled through weather-hit settlements along the coast to hear firsthand about the effects of the storm.
Wetere, 63, woke to find his cabin being swept downstream by raging floodwaters. His first instinct was to rescue his 3-year-old granddaughter, Charleigh Pretty, who was asleep in a nearby cabin with Wetere’s partner, Krystal Wetere.
Charleigh’s mother, Rachel, and other family members were among 200 attending a first‑birthday celebration at the marae for Te Aio Houghton‑Simeon. About 100 of them were sleeping there as the storm struck.
Wetere raced through the darkness, picked up Charleigh and rushed her through floodwaters to the marae, where partygoers were still asleep, unaware of events in the valley below.
He burst into the wharenui shouting “Flood!” and “Emergency!” and calling Rachel’s name so she could take her child before he ran back down the hill to rescue more of his family.
Meanwhile, Krystal and his grandson, Dayton Koia, were by now clinging to the boundary fence beside the surging awa.
Wetere said she pleaded, “Don’t leave me,” as he inched towards them.
He told her that wasn’t going to happen and that, if she went, he would be going with her.
The three formed a chain and moved slowly along the fence line before climbing uphill to the marae, which is about six metres above the river.
“I’m still in shock now,” Wetere said two days later. “I keep thinking about how we’re still alive and how we could have died.”
Brothers Pattinson Wetere (left) and Simon Simeon both escaped with their lives from raging floodwaters and are taking refuge at the Mōkau Marae civil defence centre. Photo / Susan Botting
Mitchell said Wetere’s actions showed the strength and resilience of the community, which rallied to protect one another during the storm.
The Mōkau had risen with unprecedented speed, transforming a calm Sunday morning into a life‑threatening emergency.
Wetere’s brother and neighbour Simon Simeon, 60, also faced peril as the awa surged around his cabin. He woke about 4.30am to the sound of timber stacked outside – ready for a house he planned to build – banging against the walls. When he stepped out of bed, he found his cabin floor submerged in calf‑deep water.
He tried to open his cabin door but couldn’t; the pressure of the floodwaters was too strong. Forced to escape through a window into chest‑high water, he found his motorbike almost completely submerged. He unchained his dogs, and one ran to higher ground, but his puppy drowned. The timber and corrugated iron for his future home were swept out to sea.
“I’ve never seen the awa like that before,” Simeon said. “Not as high as it was, suddenly and unforecast.”
He trekked 45 minutes through steep hills to reach safety at the marae, a journey that normally took five minutes via a shallow stream crossing.
Mōkau Marae provided a central focus for the community during the weekend weather bomb, including grateful flood refugees and visitors (from left) Lavinia Karapu, Dane Karapu, Simon Simeon, Pattinson Wetere, Taunaha Brown and Clive Stone. Photo / Susan Botting
Mōkau Marae has become a central hub for community response during extreme weather events.
Taunaha Brown, who has played a key emergency support role at the marae, said offering manaakitanga to those in need was part of its identity.
Although many of the weekend’s guests had since left as roads reopened, local families continued to visit for support, including hot showers and clothes washing facilities.
Mōkau Marae civil defence co-ordinator Clive Stone said marae were vital community hubs during emergencies because they were well-equipped to shelter and support people.
His marae has developed detailed emergency plans, installed Starlink connectivity, solar power with battery backup, and established a phone‑tree communications network. It can sleep up to 100 people and feed large numbers in its kitchen.
Stone said the flooding was the most severe weather event the area had experienced since Cyclone Bola in 1988.
Across the northeast coast of Whangārei, several marae activated as community‑led Civil Defence centres for evacuation and support, including Tuparehuia (Bland Bay), Ōtetao o Reti (Punaruku), Ōakura, Mōkau, Murray family marae Ohawini, Ngaiotonga and Whananaki.
About 200 people sought support across these marae during the storm, and additional marae opened yesterday.
Northland Civil Defence deputy chair Kelly Stratford said the Government and councils should ensure marae received adequate support to continue their essential roles during emergencies.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
