Peter Walker, 69, died while diving off Wainuiorangi Rd, Mahia, near where he spent his childhood and later built a family home.
The Hawke’s Bay father who died while diving near his home was a humble and caring man, says his daughter.
Peter Walker, 69, was found in the water off Wainuiorangi Rd on the Mahia Peninsula late on January 11. He was an experienced swimmer and diver, say his family.
His daughter Jody Walker told Hawke’s Bay Today the sea conditions on the day he died had been calm.
“We feel a sense of loss and emptiness because dad’s gone,” she said.
Jody described Walker as a “beautiful, quiet, humble, caring, kind man” who was well respected.
“There’s no one in my world who had that many skills and talents like him, I’m truly blessed to have been raised by a dad like him.”
Jody and her four siblings shared a great love for their father, who also had 10 mokopuna and six great-grandchildren, as well as nieces and nephews.
“He kept us safe, he cared for us, and he was always there for us, even as adults,” she said.
Walker was born at the Wairoa hospital on July 30, 1956. He attended Te Mahia School, then Wairoa College.
He grew up in what Jody described as a “shack hut”. It had a dirt floor, and cooking was done over a fire.
“Because they lived remotely, living off the land was an essential part of survival,” she said of her dad’s childhood.
“Gathering seafood, gathering fruit from the fruit trees and a massive vege garden.”
Walker’s job as a child had been to milk the cow every morning before breakfast.
“All the kids would walk up the Wainuiorangi Rd to catch the bus, and dad was always the last to leave the house, but he would most of the time be the first to reach the top where the bus stop was.”
Jody said her dad had been a hard-working man.
“Dad would say, ‘be a Walker, not a talker’. It’d crack us up.”
She said his work ethic of “head down - tail up” came from his childhood living in Taiwananga.
Walker’s sister Suzanne McGregor had gifted some land at Taiwananga to him.
“A gift my dad is truly grateful for. He would always come back to Taiwananga and slowly built his home and then built his kids and mokos a home to always come back to.”
Jody said Walker saw the beauty of the sea and the land, and had always wanted to return to the area to live.
Jody said that as a child it was easy for her father to gather seafood because there had been plenty of kaimoana.
“Diving and gathering seafood for dad became a natural to him.”
Her dad’s favourite seafood had been kina.
Back on land, Walker had played rugby for Paremata-Plimmerton in Porirua, where they lived when Jody was a child.
“When I was 16, we moved to Mahia for a year to look after Nanny Diana’s house,” she said.
“Dad was a whāngai by Diana Ehu and Paora Rangi Ehu, who lived in Taiwananga. Diana Ehu (nee Walker) was his aunt.”
Her father’s name was actually Reece Peter Walker, but he went by Peter.
“Nanny Diana couldn’t say Reece, so she called him Peter, and the name stuck his whole life.”
Jody said her family had later moved to Maraenui, where Walker reconnected with his Maraenui rugby club mates and his second family.
“Playing for the Maraenui rugby club was one of his biggest honours in his rugby career.”
Jody said that during his time with the club, he learned an appreciation for te reo Māori and tikanga Māori through rugby events, which included hosting other teams.
“He was so quiet, his rugby team, Maraenui Rugby Club, gave him the nickname ‘Hush’ ... as captain, you have to get up and say a speech, and dad could hardly be heard.”
Jody said their whānau legacy now was to continue with what he started at Taiwananga.
“Keep returning home, bring our kids back here to enjoy the peace, go fishing, diving and all the family holiday activities that come with that.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.