THE TANGI for the late poet Hone Tuwhare got under way at the Te Kotahitanga Marae in Kaikohe soon after his body arrived last night.
Tuwhare, one of New Zealand's greatest poets, was born in Kaikohe in 1922.
The much-loved "people's poet" died in Dunedin last Wednesday, aged 85.
After lying in state
in Dunedin, his body was flown to Auckland yesterday and then driven to Kaikohe.
Marae chairman Raumati Para said the funeral date would be made public, probably today.
He said arrangements were under way to host the masses expected at Tuwhare's tangi.
"When he'll be buried will be decided by the kuia and the kaumatua. Whatever's decided will be advertised through the media but I don't know when a decision will be out," Mr Para said.
Tuwhare was born in 1922 of Ngapuhi, Te Uri o Hau and Pakeha heritage.
After his mother died of tuberculosis when he was 7, his father took the children with him on an itinerant search for work during the Great Depression. The family settled in Auckland where Hone, then 9, first learned to speak English.
Throughout his life, Hone Tuwhare was given New Zealand's most prestigious literary awards and honours. He received an honorary doctorate, two Montana Book Awards, an Arts Foundation Icon Award, the inaugural Prime Minister's Literary Award in 2003, and several university fellowships.
Tuwhare first appeared in print in the late 1950s as a radical new voice in New Zealand poetry, unafraid to tackle political, economic, class and race relations issues.
He is survived by three sons and grandchildren. Tuwhare's marriage ended in the 1970s.
His tangi is expected to attract a who's who of New Zealand literature, art and politics.
