NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

The Te Mata Peak takeover: 'It is Rongokako, our ancestor,' Mongrel Mob says

Doug Laing
By Doug Laing
Multimedia Journalist·Hawkes Bay Today·
9 May, 2019 05:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Te Mata Peak was swarmed by a large crowd of Mongrel Mob members from a number of different chapters. Photo / Facebook

Te Mata Peak was swarmed by a large crowd of Mongrel Mob members from a number of different chapters. Photo / Facebook

A gang ceremony that throttled sunny Saturday afternoon vehicle access to iconic Hawke's Bay lookout Te Mata Peak was bigger than expected, a veteran leader says.

Hastings Mongrel Mob leader Rex Timu says the ceremonies have been held at "Rongokako" for more than 20 years, but usually at night, when few, if any, other members of the public are around.

Timu said he was also concerned about the numbers as they arrived on Saturday.

Te Mata Peak was swarmed by a large crowd of Mongrel Mob members from a number of different chapters. Photo / Facebook
Te Mata Peak was swarmed by a large crowd of Mongrel Mob members from a number of different chapters. Photo / Facebook

He said the timing of the ceremony was chosen because there were members who had to get to work later in the day.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That and what Timu said was a greater involvement of family swelled the numbers of vehicles, to the stage where congestion on the road became a problem and a danger, as it does often during the summer cruise ship season.

"A lot of the vehicles were not the guys — it was families, wives, uncles ..."

He says he's usually advised police as much as a month in advance. "That's why they were there on Saturday," he says. "Because we told them."

The Te Mata Peak road. Photo / Warren Buckland
The Te Mata Peak road. Photo / Warren Buckland

Timu also says he had never been told of any "process" that had to be gone through to stage the events, but is happy to meet with parties to discuss how they can take place.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He was surprised he had not been invited to a meeting at which council, police and Te Mata Park board representatives were to discuss the issue today.

"The thing is, to us it is not just a public place, it is Rongokako, our ancestor," he says.

Discover more

New Zealand

Tourists 'shocked' and locals fuming at Mongrel Mob antics

07 May 02:32 AM
New Zealand

Police scramble to prepare for Te Mata Peak gang patchings

08 May 04:48 AM
Opinion

Hawkesby: How dare police allow the Mongrel Mob to take over Te Mata Peak

08 May 06:24 PM
Travel

5 gorgeous international destinations where gangs run wild

08 May 09:27 PM

Reflecting on a space culturally and spiritual significant to Māori: "We don't see it as (just) a public place. We go there to pay our respects, we open with karakia, and pay our respects to our ancestors, and our elders and members and others who have passed before us."

Mongrel Mob ceremonies on the Peak are usually held later in the day, and have fewer numbers attend. Photo / Supplied
Mongrel Mob ceremonies on the Peak are usually held later in the day, and have fewer numbers attend. Photo / Supplied

"There were no crimes being committed," he says. "The police were stopping the guys at the bottom by the carpark, but as far as I know no one was charged with any offence at the park or on the day."

Timu struggled to find an answer as to why membership numbers and following appeared to be growing.

"Maybe they like what we are doing."

He says many people can't get over old images of gangs, but among his crews the focus is on "employment, get back into education, and the family side ... those sorts of things".

"About 80 per cent, I reckon, have jobs," he says.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"People think we're all into crime, but if all our members were criminals then we'd be all in jail and they's need 10 times as many prisons for everybody."

"I've been in this change-thing for years," he says, conceding "it's not easy" when part of the problem is detractors who don't give people a second chance.

"It is hard for some of the boys to get a job, but I can tell you they're real hard workers when they do," he says.

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst met with the Te Mata Park Trust board and police on Thursday to discuss Saturday's incident

Hazlehurst said the aim was to allow members of the public to get up to the park and feel safe.

She said police informed council on Saturday there was going to be a Mongrel Mob event at the top of the peak, but no one was aware of the numbers of people who would be arriving.

She said Thursday's meeting was positive, and the next step was meeting with gang leaders to discuss options, which would be happening in the next couple of days.

Te Mata Park Trust chairman Mike Devonshire said they were looking at a collective approach.

"Our fundamental concern is one of public safety.

"The park is a private park but there purely for the benefit for all of Hawke's Bay."

He said they had gotten feedback from people on the peak on Saturday that they had found the experience intimidating.

He said there had been Mongrel Mob gathering over a number of years, but of concern for the community is that there have been two this year, both without a lot of warning.

He said the discussion with the Mongrel Mob would be full and frank.

Both Devonshire and Hazlehurst said it would be difficult to ban mob events from happening on the Peak.

"It is a public space, it is a public road, it is about how we manage all groups that access the peak," Hazlehurst said.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from New Zealand

Auckland

New Zealander killed by shark in Australia was not wearing shark deterrent device he owned

12 Jul 10:05 PM
Auckland

Deadly volcanic eruption clouds could travel 15km across Auckland - research

12 Jul 10:00 PM
New Zealand

Nelson-Tasman state of emergency, HIV diagnoses in babies | NZ Herald News Update, Sunday 13 July

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealander killed by shark in Australia was not wearing shark deterrent device he owned

New Zealander killed by shark in Australia was not wearing shark deterrent device he owned

12 Jul 10:05 PM

Steven Payne, 37, died after the great white shark attack in Western Australia in March.

Deadly volcanic eruption clouds could travel 15km across Auckland - research

Deadly volcanic eruption clouds could travel 15km across Auckland - research

12 Jul 10:00 PM
Nelson-Tasman state of emergency, HIV diagnoses in babies | NZ Herald News Update, Sunday 13 July

Nelson-Tasman state of emergency, HIV diagnoses in babies | NZ Herald News Update, Sunday 13 July

Morning quiz: What does the term 'A5' signify in Wagyu beef grading?

Morning quiz: What does the term 'A5' signify in Wagyu beef grading?

12 Jul 08:40 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP