Te Arawa's mightiest totara has fallen.
Sir Nopera Tamihana Curtis (Toby) died at his Lake Rotoiti home on Wednesday, aged 82, surrounded by whānau.
Tributes for the straight-shooting respected kaumātua and leader have come from around New Zealand, highlighting his contributions to education, Māori and to Rotorua.
Sir Toby, or Taa Toby, retired from his role as Te Arawa Lakes Trust chairman in April, saying he had ticked many of the boxes he wanted to achieve.
Details of his tangihanga have yet to be released but many predict it will be a significant event.
Piki Thomas is on the organising team and said Sir Toby's death was a tragedy for Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rongomai and Te Arawa whānau.
He said Sir Toby had been unwell for a while, but it was still devastating to lose "a very special man" who "enabled access into the halls of power".
He said Sir Toby challenged the status quo for the betterment of Māori.
Speaking to media in Auckland on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was saddened to hear about Taa Toby's passing.
"He was a huge advocate for his people and a huge believer in the power of the education system when we get it right."
She said many people would have seen the impact he had across the country, over many years of hard work.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said Taa Toby's death will be widely felt.
"He was a great leader and a dear friend and I was privileged to have had the opportunity to spend time with him at his home during the past few weeks.''
She said he was a deep intellectual, witty and influential, someone who didn't suffer fools and who was a strong advocate for young people and for Rotorua.
"He was also a man with a deep love for his whānau, his whenua, his people and our country.''
She said he provided her support when she was an MP and wise counsel in her role as mayor.
She said he was a strong supporter of the new partnership between the Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Arawa adopted in 2015, and saw it as enabling meaningful participation by mana whenua in decisions for the benefit of the Rotorua district.
"Taa Toby was a man who believed it was important to make a difference – and he did."
Te Tatau o Te Arawa chairman, Te Taru White said the passing of a leader always led to feelings of great sadness but White knew Sir Toby was at peace now.
He said Sir Toby had passed on instructions for the next few years.
White said Sir Toby's priorities were always around advancing the cause of his people, and his work gave young people a brighter future.
"I would argue that his dying wish was for our people to become strong, to become more united for the common cause."
"I would like to think that our leaders will continue his legacy."
Ngāti Whakaue leader Monty Morrison said working alongside Taa Toby had been a privilege and honour.
"There are plenty of memories."
Taa Toby was an advocate for ensuring Māori, especially young Māori, received the educational opportunities they needed to thrive.
"Taa Toby was not only staunch for Te Arawa but staunch for the Rotorua community ... wherever he went, Rotorua was his home."
Morrison said that in the past few years he had taken on some roles from and alongside Taa Toby at both a local and national level.
He said the pair also discussed Te Arawa work that would need to continue.
"He has obviously given a lot of thought to that ... education was always at the forefront of his mind, that is where he would like his work to be continued. But there are other areas as well."
He expected there would be many people at the tangi and said he would be listening to the tributes.
"And the humour, they always come with a bit of humour and ribbing and a bit of 'remember when'."
Those were things to look forward to, he said.
"That is as it should be when you are celebrating the life of someone who made a contribution right across the whole spectrum."
Te Arawa Lakes Trust chief executive Karen Vercoe said Taa Toby was an incredible leader who was passionate about the lakes and the young people of Rotorua.
"It's hard to put in words the mana of a person who has achieved so much."
Vercoe said his achievements included his work in academia on the impacts of colonialism.
"We will miss him."
The trust acknowledged the work he had done for both the tribe and for Māori, she said.
Geoff Rolleston took on the role as interim chairman of Te Arawa Lakes Trust after Taa Toby stepped down in April.
Rolleston said the kaumātua had acted as a tutor to him since, and had told him to prepare two years before.
"He said to me, 'I'm getting a bit longer in the tooth. Start preparing young fella'."
Rolleston was confirmed as the permanent chairman in June. He said he had big boots to fill in the role.
He said Taa Toby was an "old-school gentleman" with a command of language, in both Te Reo and English.
"He reminded me of a stately kaumātua. But with the wit and intelligence not a lot possess."
Rotorua MP Todd McClay said he viewed Sir Toby as a close friend.
"We would talk often about Rotorua issues and politics."
Image 1 of 16: Sir Toby Curtis at the site of the new office development in 2016.
"I am so desperately sorry that he has passed. My thoughts and love are with his family."
McClay said Sir Toby's death was a great loss to the community.
"But I would say he has contributed more than almost anybody I know and has left Rotorua a much better place."
Waiariki-based Labour List MP Tamati Coffey referred the Rotorua Daily Post to his tribute in honour of Sir Toby on a social media page.
"[Tā Toby] was a great orator and educationalist and leader," Coffey's post said.
"He was always firm with me that Māori children inevitably do better in education when instructed in their mother tongue. Not long after that I set about enrolling my little boy in Māori medium education and setting him on a journey of discovery.
"Thank you e Tā for your advice, your calls, and your leadership."
National Party leader Christopher Luxon said Sir Toby was a "highly respected kaumātua who dedicated his life to improving the lives of Māori and all people in New Zealand".
He said Taa Toby constantly challenged communities and government to improve the lives of those around him and to shine a light on the importance of preserving and enhancing New Zealand's knowledge and use of te reo.
Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley worked alongside Taa Toby on the Commissioner's Māori Focus Forum.
He said the legacy he left behind in the community and region was strong.
Working on the forum together, Stanley was often given instruction by the Te Arawa kaumātua, "boy, would you do this?"
"When he spoke, I listened - very unusual for me."
He was one of a few people who could just get straight to the point, Stanley said.
"When you see a warrior, mana like that, you tip your hat."
Sir Toby held many leadership roles in his career, which have largely been in the education and broadcasting sectors.
Sir Toby was knighted in 2014 for his services to Māori education.
In his 16 years with the trust, he helped it fulfil its Treaty of Waitangi settlement mandate to support the recovery and wellbeing of the region's lakes.
He's also steered the ship while the trust took on a wider role within the iwi, particularly in the past three years.
He started as a primary school teacher and worked with intellectually disabled children before progressing to become principal of Hato Petera College and vice-principal of Auckland Teachers' College.
In the 1990s he was the Auckland College of Education's Primary Teacher Education director, faculty dean of the Auckland Institute of Technology and was appointed deputy vice-chancellor at Auckland University of Technology in 2000.
He has also been heavily involved in Māori broadcasting, and in 1997 was appointed chairman of Te Māngai Pāho, the Māori Broadcasting Agency.
He chaired a Māori broadcasting advisory committee in the late 1980s, which led to the establishment of Radio Aotearoa, iwi radio stations and Māori Television.
At the time of stepping down from the trust, he said there was one thing standing in the way of his ultimate dream of Māori and Pākehā co-governance, and that was Pākehā's reluctance to fully embrace te reo Māori and culture.
"We take it for granted that Māori can pronounce every Pākehā word correctly. I am looking forward to the time when every Pākehā can say every Māori word correctly.
''Until that happens, we will not be running the country together the proper way."
Whānau said in a statement on Wednesday morning that Sir Toby would remain at home with immediate whānau, before being taken to his marae, Rakeiao, at Lake Rotoiti at 10am on Friday.
From that time, the Curtis whānau welcomed all those who wished to honour the life of their rangatira at Rakeiao with the burial date to be advised.
In an effort to ensure as many people as possible could pay their respects, please contact Dennis Curtis at 021 281 6016, or Piki Thomas at 027 244 8784, who will facilitate each rōpū.
"We anticipate a large gathering at Rakeiao and will close Curtis Rd and run shuttle services between the dedicated carparking area and marae. Local Māori wardens will assist with directions, but please allow extra time for parking and transport to the marae," the statement said.
"Cell phone coverage is limited at the marae, but the tangi and whai kōrero will be livestreamed with details to come for those who are unable to be with us kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face).
"To help keep everyone safe (especially our vulnerable koeke), please wear face masks, use the hand sanitiser provided and stay home to watch the livestream if you are māuiui."
The whānau respectfully ask that they are not contacted directly at this time for tangi information. Full details will be posted here.
More to come.
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