Ngati Tuwharetoa has lost one of its leading lights.
Kaumatua Nick Wall QSM died yesterday at his home in Waitahanui, near Taupo, after a period of ill health.
The 66-year-old acted as a spokesperson for the tribe on a wide-ranging number of issues including forestry, farming, geothermal and conservation and was oneof the longest current serving members on the Tuwharetoa Trust Board.
He was a force behind the establishment of a papakainga at Waitahanui a decade ago to provide housing for local Maori.
Mr Wall was awarded a Queens Service Medal for services to the community in the early 1990s and was a key figure on a multitude of other Maori trusts.
At the time of his death he was chairman of the Opepe Farm Trust and Tauhara Middle 15
Trust, and a member of the East Taupo Lands Trust and the Lake Taupo Forest Trust.
Mayor Joan Williamson said Mr Wall played a huge part in the Taupo community interacting on a range of important issues between Maori and non-Maori and his negotiating skills would be sorely missed.
Taupo conservator Paul Green said Mr Wall was a highly-respected kaumatua who had a great sense of humour and had worked closely with the Department of Conservation on fishery and conservation issues.
"He was very inclusive of people even if the issues involved a lot of tension," said Mr Green.
Mr Wall lay in state on the Waipahihi Marae in Taupo overnight. His body was taken to the Waitahanui Marae this morning for a tangi.
A funeral service will be held at the marae on Tuesday April 3 at 11am.
He is survived by his wife Brenda, son Ngahere and daughters Aroha and Ngatoru.
