Kīngi Tūheitia was welcomed onto Omahu Marae earlier this morning in his second day of witnessing first-hand the devastation left by Cyclone Gabrielle in the region.
Many local people gathered at Omahu Marae in Hastings this morning to greet the Kīngitanga and the main message from the king to Ngāti Kahungunu was that they will all remain united.
Dr Joseph Te Rito of Ngāti Hinemanu, Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri said, “This is a big day for us, for Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, the entirety of Ngāti Kahungunu, for us here in Omahu, Ngāti Hinemanu, Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri, Ngāti Mahuika, Ngāti Honomōkai because we still retain that ancestral connection of Tainui and Takitimu, the union of Tūrongo and Mahinaarangi.”
Te Rito said he and the whānau of Omahu had been rehearsing the pōhiri for the past week and he says hundreds of people were in attendance to witness the royal arrival.
“I greatly acknowledge him and his arrival, spreading his love all across Ngāti Kahungunu. His spokesperson also mentioned that a part of the Kīngitanga also went to Te Wairoa to aid and support our whānau there. So I have great admiration for the Kingitanga, the king himself and the royal delegation in Waikato, and those who arrived by his side today," Te Rito said.
Kīngitanga arrives at Omahu Marae.
'Stay united'
One week after the cyclone, the Kiingitanga handed over a $100,000 koha to the iwi and, according to the speeches of the day, it was all out of love for the support given to him.
“When the rains from the heavens overwhelmed the land, aroha for our people must ever increase, Ngāti Kahungunu, King Tūheitia has much aroha for you all. His aroha for Ngāti Kahungunu will only ever increase,” the King's spokesperson, Archdeacon Ngirea Simmonds, said.
Yesterday saw the beginning of the king's journey across Hawke's Bay, so he could see the damage left behind.
“We should stay united. The West and East should stand united under this ancestral connection we hold," Te Rito said.
Tomorrow the royal delegation will travel to Tangoio Marae in Napier and then to Te Wairoa, again witnessing the extent of the damage and to offer comfort for the many whānau still in hardship.