Behold the falling of a great totara

Kua hinga te totara i Te Waonui a Tane. A totara has fallen in the great forest of Tane.
IT WAS not a tree that stood out in the forest. Yet it was, nonetheless, an outstanding tree: straight, strong and with many sturdy branches providing support and shelter in many different ways.
That totara was Rangipo Mete Kingi.
Mr Mete Kingi passed away, peacefully, on January 10, 2008. He was in his 70th year.
It was perhaps fitting that Mr Mete Kingi spent the last few days of his life being cared for in Hospice Wanganui.
That was just one of the myriad of local organisations to which he gave time, energy and brought his particular expertise to.
He was a member of the hospice board for almost seven years, stepping down in September last year, when his health began to deteriorate.
Rangipo Mete Kingi was born at Ranana on June 23, 1938. He was raised mainly in Wanganui but in a farming background. After completing his primary schooling at Queen's Park School, he went on to Wanganui Technical College (now City College). In his senior year there he was head prefect, early recognition of the leadership qualities that would stand him in good stead for the rest of his life.
Mr Mete Kingi continued his education firstly at Victoria University, where he commenced studies for an arts degree, which he completed at Canterbury University, majoring in political science, history and education.
He also commenced a law degree but did not complete that.
Instead he embarked on a brief career in the insurance industry before returning to Canterbury University, not to study but in a paid position as that institution's accommodation officer.
That too lasted a relatively short time, before he opted for a whole new direction and trained as a secondary school teacher specialising in geography and economics.
It was around that time (1964), that he met his future wife, Judith. They married in 1969 and for the next 10 years both taught in Christchurch.
It was in 1981 that Mr and Mrs Mete Kingi made the move back to Wanganui. Both had obtained teaching posts at Turakina Maori Girls College at Marton. Rangipo taught geography and economics; Judith, history and English.
But essentially the shift back to Wanganui was prompted by Mr Mete King's heartfelt need to return "home" and become involved again with whanau and make a contribution to iwi affairs. In that respect he brought back with him a strong view that the way to the future for young Maori was through education something which he had directly experienced and benefited from.
And he had also acquired an understanding of the significance and importance of the Treaty of Waitangi and its implications for the future for Maori.
While Treaty issues have caused substantial angst in the community from time to time during the past 20 years or so, Rangipo Mete Kingi's approach to such issues was consistently pragmatic, practical, and reasoned.
People who worked alongside him in dealing with many of the issues commonly described him as "non-confrontational".
Although that approach did not always sit well with some Maori, it was an expression of Mr Mete Kingi's belief that education was the pathway to understanding.
And that was not just about educating Maori, but also educating Pakeha about the Treaty of Waitangi and about tikanga Maori in general.
If one needed some indication of the degree of success Mr Mete Kingi achieved with that approach, it was at his tangi, when more than 2000 people attended Putiki Marae to pay their last respects to a man of mana and integrity.
They were people from all walks of life, all ages, and representing many different cultures in the Wanganui community and much further afield.
Mr Mete Kingi's special skill firm leadership but without demanding that people follow him was put to very good effect in the career he pursued for the last 20 years of his working life, that of kaupapa atawhai for the Department of Conservation's Whanganui Conservancy.
It was a multi-function role, including providing guidance for DoC staff in tikanga issues. But the main thrust of the job was building bridges between DoC and iwi within the conservancy a massive region extending from north Taranaki to Manawatu.
It would be something of an understatement to call it "a pretty big job" advising iwi on DoC operational matters and decisions and taking up iwi views to be incorporated into DoC policies.
From all accounts, it was a job Mr Mete Kingi excelled, at largely because of his quiet, considered manner and his ability to express a firm view without any acrimony.
Again, those who worked with him generously acknowledged his special skill in being able to listen to all points of view and understand the reasons behind those.
However, when the time came for Mr Mete Kingi to offer his advice, he invariably did so in a quiet manner, but with a strength that clearly indicated that he knew exactly where he was coming from and the direction he expected the decision-making to go. But all this without antagonising people.
Two of the most protracted and difficult issues he had to deal with in his DoC years were those arising out the establishment of the Whanganui National Park and the many issues that always seem to flow with the Whanganui River.
And in all of the discussions and negotiations around those matters, Mr Mete Kingi's other skill shone through his ability to bring together the people of two cultures, Maori and Pakeha, in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Passionate about the environment and totally staunch in kaitiakitanga (guardianship), Mr Mete Kingi was driven by his unswerving belief that the environment was a taonga (treasure) and that its preservation and maintenance was absolutely essential for the future of all people.
It was with the same enthusiasm that Mr Mete Kingi embraced his involvement in the Rotary Club scene in Wanganui, and with that organisation he was highly regarded as a man of sound judgement whose contributions were always constructive.
Chairmanship of Aotea District Maori Council during the 1980s and 1990s, Putiki Marae Committee and St Paul's Church Vestry during 1980s and 1990s and establishment of Wahi Puna Scholarships at St George's and Wanganui Collegiate were other areas of involvement that were important to Mr Mete Kingi.
His associations with, and contributions to, so many other Wanganui city and regional organisations are too numerous to list.
But whatever he was involved in, it was always with commitment and enthusiasm and he never passed up any opportunity that might enable him to pursue his desire to bring people together and build understanding.
Mr Mete Kingi is survived by Judith, his wife of 38 years.
E te Rangatira moe mai ito moemoea mo ake tonu ite aroha ki te Waipounamu. Hoki atu ki nga Maunga kia purea koe enga hau o Tawhirimatea.
Sleep o chiefly one in the everlasting dreams of love towards the lands southward. Return to the mountains to be purified by the winds of Tawhirimatea.