WATCH: Dr Moana Jackson brought onto Hawke's Bay marae for tangi

This story includes a tribute to Moana Jackson in te reo from Ngāti Kahungunu

Luminary lawyer Moana Jackson's legacy of changing how a nation thinks about colonisation and people's rights may never have been had it not been for an ill-fated season in rugby.

Hundreds of mourners arrived at Matahiwi Marae ahead of a two-hour powhiri as Jackson was brought home from Te Waimana, where he died on the northern fringes of Te Urewera on Thursday.

Fred Jackson, of Hastings, said his brother possibly had other ideas about his future at the time he started at Victoria University close to 60 years ago.

"I think he would have loved to have been a rugby player," he said.

Rugby was in the blood. Jackson's father Everard was an All Blacks prop in the 1930s.

The former Hastings Boys' High School prefect and First XV loosie's first season with capital city club Wellington were barely half-gone when Jackson broke a shoulder and collarbone.

Thus it was time to turn more seriously to the ethic instilled by parents Everard and Janey as they raised their five sons and a daughter in Willowpark Rd, Hastings - namely, to get a good education.

Much of what followed in his life was covered after Jackson was carried through the waharoa onto the marae off Lawn Rd, near Clive, karanga ringing out in the slight breeze under an overcast sky. The casket was laid at the front of the wharenui Te Matau-a-Maui, where Jackson will rest before the final service and burial beside his mother and eldest brother Syd on Sunday.

The manuhuri were welcomed on behalf of the marae by Eruera Timu, and by Jeremy Tatere MacLeod on behalf of Ngati Kahungunu, before Bayden Barber responded first on behalf of the visitors, with former race relations commissioner Meng Foon among those who also spoke.

Dr Moana Jackson turned down honours from the Queen, but was regarded as a knight by his iwi. Photo / File

On the fringes of the paepae were flags and banners representing some of the causes he embraced, with the united tribes flag (New Zealand's first) and those of Tino Rangatiratanga, and Kotahitanga, with the words "Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou", meaning "struggle without end" and famously spoken by Tawhiao as he brought to an end the Waikato wars of the late 19th century.

Speaking with Hawke's Bay Today afterwards, rohe Government Māori MP Meka Whaitiri (Ikaroa-Rāwhiti) reiterated the messages from the kōrero, saying Jackson's legacy had been "the pathway" he had in a quietly-spoken but passionate way set for understanding the impacts of colonisation and the restoration of indigenous rights.

"It was a pathway for many of us as leaders," she said.

She said Jackson didn't have to "yell and scream", nor put people down, but had advocated in a way that compelled people to listen.

"He embraced all people, to a better way, which was not an easy thing to do,"

She stressed what he had selflessly done for Ngāti Kahungunu, including the waters and fisheries issues, and more recently chairing the ministerially-appointed board to help save Te Aute and Hukarere colleges, both of which were represented at the pōwhiri by students and staff.

Mourners await the arrival of Dr Moana Jackson at Matahiwi Marae at Clive, between Napier and Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

Up to 200 were already at Matahiwi as Dr Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (Moana) Jackson was brought-on by an entourage of up to 100 immediately after arriving from Waimana about 10.15am on Friday - a morning journey of over four hours.

Jackson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou and Rongomaiwahine) is revered within Māoridom as an expert and leader who helped whānau, hapū and iwi make decisions about Ngāti Kahungunu development.

"He was an expert in Te Tiriti, indigenous rights, tikanga, law and history and used his skills as an educator, motivator, facilitator and advocate to help all people understand colonisation and the impact it has had on Aotearoa,'' an iwi statement said.

"His report, 'He Whaipaanga Hou' published in 1988, was well ahead of its time, providing solutions to help shape the criminal justice system so that it works fairly not just for Māori, but for all New Zealanders.

"Moana played a leading role in helping to shape the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At one stage, he led the working group that was tasked with putting the draft together.

"He was in constant demand as a keynote speaker at conferences, Waitangi Tribunal and court hearings for his expertise in international human rights, tino rangatiratanga and social justice."

HE MAIMAI AROHA NĀ NGĀTI KAHUNGUNU KI A DR. MOANA JACKSON
Moana e! Nei koe e uhia nei ki ngā kupu whakaatua a te motu. Waiho mā ngā iwi koe e whakanui, heoi anō tā Kahungunu he whakamārama i ō mahi huhua me te whakamahuki ake i te āhua o tō takotoranga ki tō marae.

He uri a Dr. Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (Moana) Jackson nō Ngāti Kahungunu, nō Ngāti Porou me Rongomaiwahine. Kua nui tāna whakatauira ake i tēnei mea, i te rangatira, i roto i tōna ao mā tana āwhina i ngā whānau, i ngā hapū, i ngā iwi me ā rātau whakatau e pā ana ki tō rātau whanaketanga.

He mātanga ki ngā āhuatanga o te Tiriti, ki ngā tika o te tangata whenua, ki ngā tikanga ki te whenua me ngā hītori. Whakamahia ai e ia ōna pūkenga mātauranga hai akiaki, hai whakahaere, hai wawao anō hoki i ngā tāngata katoa kia mārama ai rātau ki te tāmitanga me tōna pānga ki a Aotearoa nei.

I whakaputaina rā tāna pūrongo, He Whaipaanga Hou, i te tau 1988 me te aha he tōmua. He urupare te pūrongo rā i āwhina ai i te whakairotanga o te ture e tōkeke ai, kaua anake ki te Māori, engari ki a Aotearoa whānui. He hua nā tana tū hai Kaitohu mō He Kaiwhakamārama i Ngā Ture me ngā rau uiui i te hunga e mōhio ana ki te pūnaha ture me tōna pānga ki ngā whānau. Nō nā tata nei i te arotaketia e ia taua whakaputanga rā.

Nā āna tuhinga i te wā o te panonitanga ā-ture ki Te Kōpaki Pūtea a te Kāwanatanga me te Takutaimoana, i mārama ai te iwi ki tā te Kāwanatanga here i te Māori. Nā te māramatanga rā i taea ai e Aotearoa te porotēhi me te kukume mai i te aronga o te ao ki ngā mahi tāmi o nāianei a te Kāwanatanga.

Nō te tau 2016, he mea ārahi e Moana te tīma nā rātau a Matike Mai Aotearoa i whakaputa. He mahere panoni i ngā whakahaere Kāwanatanga. Ā mohoa nei, he puka tūāpapa tēnei mā te hunga whai i te tohu i Aotearoa nei, ā, he mina nui kai te whakaputanga nei e tōkeke ai te āpōpō ki te Māori, otirā, ki a Aotearoa whānui.

He nui te wāhi ki a Moana i roto i te whakairotanga o te United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He wā tōna i arahina e ia te rōpū mahi nā rātau te pīkaunga nui kia tuhia te tuhinga hukihuki. He rite tonu te tonoa ōna hai kaikōrero matua ki ngā hui, ki ngā whakawātanga a te Taraipiunara o Waitangi me ērā kōti anō hoki i runga i tōna mōhio ki ngā tika tangata o te ao, ki te tino rangatiratanga me te tika ā-pāpori.

He tangata māhaki, he tangata hūmārie anō hoki a Moana. Kua whakanau atu ia i ngā whakahōnoretanga ōkawa tūmatanui. I kapohia tōna hūmārie i tētahi kōrero mōna i roto i tētahi whakaputanga "He pai ki a Moana te kōrero pūrākau ki āna mokopuna, mā āna mokopuna anō hoki, ā, e mina ana a ia kia pakeke mai rātau i tētahi whenua e noho tūāpapa ana te Tiriti ki te whakaute i ngā hononga tōrangapū. Ka whai mai ko ētahi atu pūrākau anō".
Imagining Decolonisation (2020).