Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have farewelled Grant Pakihana Hawke, a long-time leader and one of the last surviving occupiers of Takaparawhau/Bastion Point.
Hawke lay in state at his beloved Ōrākei marae before being laid to rest at Te Puru o Tāmaki urupā on Thursday.
A former chair of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust Board, he played a key role in advancing the Treaty settlement process.
His nephew, Taiaha Hawke, says it’s a sad day for his people.
“E tangi ana, e hotuhotu ana te ngākau tangata mō tēnei, tō mātou nei rangatira mākoha nui. Kua tiraha mai nei i a mātou e noho pani nei i a ia.”
Bastion Point/Takaparawhau
Like many of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Grant grew up with the history of land loss - from Apihai Te Kawau’s gifting of land to establish Auckland, through to the Crown taking the 700-acre Ōrākei block in the 1950s.
By the 1970s, plans were underway to use Bastion Point for luxury housing.
In 1977, Grant joined the 507-day occupation of Takaparawhau, standing alongside his brother Joe in what became a defining struggle for Māori land rights.
Taiaha remembers him as a key pillar of the movement.
“Te wā o te porotehe ki konei, ki runga i a Takaparawhau. Koia kei te taha ki te whakatuara mai i a Pāpā i roto i tērā pakanga nui.”
He toa mō te taiao
Aside from the many projects and years advocating for Māori, He was also a well-known environmental advocate, serving as pou tikanga of Greenpeace.
Taiaha says it’s a passion that took him all over the world.
“Ko ia anō hoki tērā, ko te pou tikanga mō Greenpeace mō ngā tau nui. Kua puta atu ia ki te ao katoa me tērā kaupapa. Hei āwhina, hei tautoko i ngā iwi taketake o te ao.”
Taiaha says, while the world was his oyster, his real love was whānau, whenua and uri.
“Ko tēnei nā, ko te tama a Rongomaraeroa, a Rongomātāne. Kua pā ōna ringa ki te paru, kei reira whakatō kai, kia whakatipu i āna tamariki ki āna mokopuna.”
