Whanganui man Niki Parker who died in ‘freak accident’ taken for final paddle to Putiki Marae

Keen waka ama enthusiast Niki Parker was given one last paddle with his teammates on the Whanganui river. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui man Niki Parker has had one last paddle on the Whanganui River.

On Friday his teammates from Te Whanganui River Outrigger Canoe Club took him on one last paddle, carrying his coffin to its final resting place at Putiki Marae.

Parker died after his waka flipped during a team race last weekend.

“It’s an honour to be taking him home,” teammate Murray Carey said.

Teammate Chris Kofoed said the six-man, over-70s team were two-thirds of the way through a 16km race in Porirua when the accident took place.

“I don’t know whether it was a gust of wind or a wave but the waka flipped and we were all upside down, five of us got out, but Niki was the last one.”

Niki’s sister Ngawai Richardson said it was a “freak accident” that unfolded too fast for the rescue boat present to save Parker.

“It happened so fast, the wind had come up and it was a little bit gnarly, then by the time they realised he wasn’t there it was too late.”

Niki Parker's coffin being carried to Putiki Marae by his teammates. Photo / Bevan Conley

Richardson said her brother “died doing what he loved”.

Parker joined the waka ama team in 2018 after reluctantly being persuaded to “have a go” by his cousins.

From there, his passion for waka ama grew.

“He was always out on the water, it helped him to stay fit but it also kept that sparkle in his eye.”

Parker won silver in the Waka Ama National Sprint Championships at Karāpiro in 2023, and his crew took home gold at the Long Distance Nationals at Waitangi in 2022.

After he got involved with the sport in 2018 Parker never missed a training, teammate Howard Hyland said.

“He was never the last to arrive to training, he was just a consistent person and an honest paddler.”

For the last two years, as a part-time job in his retirement, Parker drove the school bus for Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Te Atihaunui-A-Paparangi.

“He used to drive by my house five days a week on the school bus, and every time he’d stick his hand out the window and give me the thumbs up, and he never, ever missed a day,” Hyland said.

Richardson said driving the school bus was a job her brother loved.

“The teachers and school got him a new bus and he decorated it all.

“He used to drop the kids off every day, and they wouldn’t go into the classroom until he’d given everyone a high-five.”

Parker is survived by his wife Vivienne Parker and two daughters Rawinia and Ariana.