Atareta Maxwell - a leading figure in Rotorua kapa haka - has died after a short illness.
The wife of Rotorua deputy mayor Trevor Maxwell and sister of Sir Howard Morrison died yesterday afternoon in Waikato Hospital following a heart operation on Friday.
A mother to son
Inia and daughter Kahurangi, Mrs Maxwell's death has been described as devastating not only to their immediate family but also to Rotorua.
Along with Mr Maxwell, she led top kapa haka group Ngati Rangiwewehi for several years, taking it to the top of national competitions.
Mrs Maxwell's leadership skills have twice been acknowledged as the best in the country through winning the award for kaitataki wahine (best female leader) at the Traditional Maori Performing Arts Festival.
Mrs Maxwell was also more recently the tutor of the Western Heights High School kapa haka group, which is the current national secondary school champion.
The soprano singer was known for stealing shows with her signature song, Hine E Hine, and her skills as a singer were often called upon to judge singing competitions, such as the Maori Song section of the Lockwood Aria in Rotorua.
Through Ngati Rangiwewehi, Mr and Mrs Maxwell have taken Maori culture to the world on several occasions, including performing at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland and in 2005 opening the New Zealand Toi Maori exhibition in San Francisco.
Close friend and former Rotorua mayor Grahame Hall said the Rotorua community had lost an extraordinary person.
"She has been so wonderful to so many people, especially young people.
"She has been such a wonderful mother to not only Inia and Kahurangi but also to other children as well ... she is going to be missed nationally and internationally because she has shared Maori culture with the rest of the world."
Mrs Maxwell's body was to be brought home to Rotorua today. It is expected her tangi will be held at Tamatekapua Meeting House near her home at Ohinemutu.
