No one could accuse Maui and Susan of staging a shotgun wedding. They've been a twosome for gone a decade with most of that time spent living on Maui's native Rekohu (Chatham Islands to the rest of us) where he heads the thriving Hokotehi Moriori Trust.
Long-time friend, Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick, was their celebrant.
Together the newlyweds are a formidable team.
A barrister and indigenous peoples' advocate, Maui argues claims before the Waitangi Tribunal and the Niue Island Land Court "but 95 per cent of my mahi's (work) on Rekohu." Susan, who holds a masters degree in archaeology, quit as Te Papa's senior repatriation programme researcher to move to Rekohu with Maui.
Both are avid conservations, ecologists, dedicated to preserving social heritage and encouraging youth development.
Their wedding marquee's still in place when Our People's fortunate enough to talk to them. It's Susan's mum, Pat, who gave us the wheeze of their Tarawera presence - mums are good like that.
The story they share is a massive history lesson from Maui, highlighting our embarrassing lack of knowledge about Moriori and Rekohu.
It's a common fault Maui assures, the reason: we've been brainwashed into believing Moriori vanished with the 1933 death of his grandfather, Tame Horomana Rehe (Anglicised to Tommy Solomon).
Some unauthenticated sources claim he was the last pure-blooded Moriori, regardless the line lives on. Waitangi Tribunal records confirm there are at least 7000-8000 people of Moriori descent world wide, 800 are registered Hokotehi Moriori marae members.
If we could find words stronger than "passionate" or "fervent" we'd use them to describe Maui's enthusiasm for his people and the indignity their bloody history has inflicted on them.
It was, he recounts, the 1835 invasion of the islands by Ngati Mutunga and Ngati Tama that decimated Moriori.
Parallels lie with Nga Puhi's Hongi Hika-led raid on Mokoia that claimed so many Te Arawa lives in 1823, but Rekohu's casualty head count was greater.
As Maui outlines it his people were duped into befriending the invaders, nursing them back to health after they landed enfeebled by seasickness and near starvation.
"They were repaid by slaughtering, enslavement, cannibalism, it was genocide, Moriori were forbidden by their Maori invaders to marry among themselves, the New Zealand government turned a blind eye."
Rekohu took another hit when sealers and whalers introduced diseases that wiped out large slices of the remaining population, obliterating entire families.
"Rekohu's people still leave the island to further their education, find work. Since the closure of our maternity hospital most babies are born on 'the mainland'. It's an hour 40 minutes' flight away in good weather, to us that's a breach of human rights."
But it's Maui and Susan's mission to revitalise his homeland and they've made giant strides, or as they call it "a renaissance of Moriori by Moriori".
Under their stewardship the Hokotehi trust (Susan is Maui's right hand woman) has built a marae, a tourist lodge and is beginning to make progress claiming its share of Rekohu's lucrative fishing industry.
That's another boil Maui's attempting to lance. "Seventy to 80 per cent of the 200 mile zone's controlled by New Zealand companies and individuals, Moriori want a more equitable share." The archipelago's 10 islands are rich in mineral deposits, another resource Moriori are poised to explore and develop.
In Maui's view as its overlord historically New Zealand has not been generous to Rekohu "although I do acknowledge it has stepped up a bit in the last nine years in terms of infrastructure, but it smarts that our roads remain metalled while Niue's are paved, the Tokelaus have solar power thanks to New Zealand, we don't".
So much for Rekohu's history ancient and modern, what of the couple it's Our People's mission to profile?
As former city dwellers how have they, Susan in particular, adapted to such a remote lifestyle?
"Local people tend to be circumspect about newcomers, it took me about a year to settle in, enjoy the lifestyle, you learn to be resilient.
"Fortunately I'm not a shopaholic, we don't even have a supermarket, we grow or catch our own food, seafood's our principal diet.
"We've restored a house on family land by becoming multi-taskers. There are no plumbers, electricians, computer experts to call on, we've developed some quite good plastering, tiling, septic tank-cleaning skills.
"It can be frustrating, if the tractor breaks down parts have to be flown in, invariably the wrong ones arrive.
"Banks and insurance companies aren't interested in us, we're too far away.
"We can't grow some fruit and vegetables, when people visit and ask what to bring I say lettuce for a good salad.
"As a place it's somewhere you either love or hate, there's no half way, I love it."
Will it be their forever home?
Of course, however they retain a house at Titahi Bay and plans are afoot for a whare on Niue. "We're rock hoppers, when we travel it's to other islands, I'm a tropical person, that's something the Chathams isn't, locals tend to describe a day as a one jacket or two jacket day, a place on Nuie would give us somewhere to winter over but we've still got a lot of work to do home on Rekohu.
MAUI SOLOMON & SUSAN THORPE:
Born: Maui: Temuka. Susan: Taihape, both 1960
Education: Maui: Temuka Primary and High, Winnipeg, Canada, (Rotary scholar), law graduate Canterbury University. Susan: Malaysia, Waiouru, Australia, London. "I was an army kid". London University
Family: "A beautiful blended family of five, one moko in Brisbane. We can't decide if the kids were amused or bemused by our marriage."
Interests: Maui: Family, fishing, gardening, planting trees, walking, reading. "My Harley, I rode it here for our wedding, the roads are too rough for it on Rekohu."
Susan: Family, being outdoors, gardening, being on the water, reading "My tastes are Catholic." Writing "I did a wananga creative writing course last year."
On Rotorua and Rekohu: Maui: "They're on different planets but I love it here too." Susan: "Tarawera's been my parents' permanent home 60 years so it's very special to see our kids swimming where I swam."
On Rekohu's famed crayfish: Both: "Sure, Mainlanders envy us but to be honest you do get sick of them."
Personal philosophies: Maui: "If you give more in life than you take you've lived a good life." Susan: "Think of the sixth generation after you, leave the world a better place for them."
Chatham Islands - Rekohu
Location: 80km east of South Island
Total islands: 10 within 966sq km
Major islands: Chatham and Pitt
Population at 2013 census: 600
Rekohu's English translation: "Misty sun"
