Clark Helen: Obituaries — Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu 
Clark Helen: Obituaries — Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu 
[Volume:633;Page:4737] 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 I move  
That this House notes with sadness the death of Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu Member of the Order of New Zealand Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; conveys its deepest sympathy to Dame Te Ata’s family the Kingitanga and all Maori people; and as a mark of respect to Dame Te Ata’s memory this House do now adjourn.  
Over the past week many fine tributes have been paid to the late Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Dame Te Ata passed away 8 days ago only a few short weeks after the celebrations for her 40th anniversary as Maori Queen and then of her 75th birthday. Dame Te Ata as is well known had been ill for some time and it took great courage for her to be present at those two celebrations. 
Dame Te Ata was known to us as a humble and unassuming woman who over 40 years as Te Arikinui made her presence felt in countless ways. She has been a source of continuity a force for stability and a voice of moderation throughout that time. Dame Te Ata represented links to the past and to the origins of Kingitanga but she was also one of the very significant creators of a new future for Maoridom. Dame Te Ata lent her mana and support to initiatives right across Maoridom. She was patron of the Maori Women’s Welfare League and in turn the league was a tremendously important support system for her throughout New Zealand. Similarly Dame Te Ata was a strong supporter of the revival of te reo Maori and all initiatives associated with that from the establishment of kohanga reo and kura kaupapa through to Maori television. 
In the world of arts and culture she gave strong backing to kapahaka across New Zealand and those great kapahaka festivals on the banks of the Waikato with her presence will remain in our memories forever. She could also be seen at the local arts festival in Huntly and she occasionally popped up at the opera and the ballet in Auckland’s Aotea Centre. I think what was remarkable about Dame Te Ata was that not only did she move widely within Maoridom she was to be found at many events right through our society. 
 She was a lover of sport and a promoter of physical activity for young people. She was especially known for her support for rugby league and I remember in the late 1990s when Tainui purchased a corporate box at the Ericsson Stadium. She was a proud host of the box on those occasions and loved following the Warriors and the Kiwi league team. She was a great supporter of the art of the waka and could often be found at other major sporting events. 
Wherever anything held opportunity for Maoridom Dame Te Ata was to be found in support. It is significant that it was in Dame Te Ata’s own rohe Waikato Tainui that the first major Treaty settlement with the Crown in modern times was made. That took courage because to be first is to lead. In this case it was to set benchmarks for others which would be very carefully scrutinised. Not all were supportive but Waikato Tainui’s settlement with Dame Te Ata’s backing paved the way for a new era for Maoridom. 
I believe this was consistent with Dame Te Ata’s quests throughout her life for reconciliation between Maori and Pakeha. She did indeed see us as two peoples within one nation. She wanted New Zealand to work for all of us and she knew that righting the wrongs of the past would help us to build a better future together—as it has. So Dame Te Ata was a force for unity in diversity in our country. I believe our country is the stronger for her contribution. 
In recent days I have also highlighted the extraordinary representational role that Dame Te Ata fulfilled for New Zealand. At home at Turangawaewae she was a gracious host to many dignitaries. Royalty heads of State heads of Government foreign Ministers diplomats and other dignitaries beat a path to her door. She also travelled widely on behalf of New Zealand and Maoridom—to Europe Asia the Americas and particularly to the Pacific where she built strong links. She was a tremendous supporter of the Pacific Arts Festival and was with the Kiwi delegation that went up to Palau in only the last couple of years. Yesterday and in the previous days our Pacific neighbours have been well represented in the ceremonies at Turangawaewae in recognition of the time effort and care Dame Te Ata took with relationships in the Pacific. 
Over the past week countless thousands of people have flowed to Turangawaewae to pay their respects to Te Arikinui and the tears have flowed for her and for the whanau pani. Waikato Tainui have been quite outstanding hosts to these countless thousands of people. Organisation of a tangi on this scale for one so widely revered is a massive undertaking and it has been undertaken with great skill and enormous dignity. I feel privileged to have been there as I know my colleagues do. 
More broadly I believe this week’s events have drawn us together as a nation because respect for Dame Te Ata flowed right across our communities. She brought us together at the time of her passing as she did throughout her life. As a young person growing up in the Waikato in 1966 I still recall the vivid black and white images in the paper of the time of King Koroki’s passing and of the last journey he made up the sacred mountain of Taupiri. Yesterday it was Dame Te Ata’s turn to be carried up Taupiri to make that journey for one last time. The image that will forever stay with me of yesterday is of that hillside erupting spontaneously with song chanting and haka as her casket was carried forward. Dame Te Ata will be greatly missed for her friendship to all her dignity her warmth and her wise counsel to so many. 
 To the new king Te Arikinui Tuheitia Paki I am sure this Parliament wishes him well in his responsibilities in the leadership of Kingitanga. I believe the new Arikinui brings the qualities of his mother to the job—natural dignity warmth and a willingness to listen—and that he like Dame Te Ata before him will become a force to be reckoned with in Maoridom and a voice to be listened to throughout the land.