E whakapaetia ana, ka tono atu te pirihimana kaitirotiro nei, a Hurimoana Denis i tana rihainatanga mai i tana tūranga heamana ki Te Puea marae ki tētahi hui a te poari o te marae a te pō nei. E whai ana tēnei i te matapae, taihoa ake nei ia ka ūhia ki te whakapae mō te kahaki i tētahi rangatahi, he tekau ma whitu tau te pakeke. Ko te whakawhiu mō te hara nei, he tekau mā whā ngā tau ki te whare herehere. Mo te roanga ake o ngā kōrero kia whakawhiti atu tātou.
Ako ake nei ka hui ngātahi te Poari Kaitiaki o te marae ki konei. Ka tae atu a Hurimoana Dennis ki taua hui, ka tuku ai tana rīhainatanga. E ai ki te ahikā, ka taunaki tonu rātou i tā rātou pou māngai mō te kaupapa āwhina i te hunga kainga kore o Manaakitanga Tangata. E ai ki a kaumatua a Morehu Kara me te kaitiaki a Mona Kingi me whakatau te kēhi ā kōti ki runga i te marae.
Ahatia te hiahia o Hurimoana Dennis kia whakaheke tana tūranga hei heamana mō te marae o Te Puea, e ai ki te haukainga e kore rātou e whakaae.
E ai ki a Kingi, “No I don't, and I hope the rest of the trustees don't! Because if you look out in the wide world, he's out there and how much he helped homeless. And he's done a bloody good job. I just hope we don't lose him, and he's part of our marae now, he's part of the whole community.”
Mai i tērā tau, i āta rangahau a Dennis mō te whakapae, nāna tētehi taitama i raka i tētehi ruma i te whare pirihimana i Tāmaki, hei aukati i tāna mahi ai ki tētehi kōhine i raro iho ngōna tau ki te ture. E ai ki te haukainga, me whakatau kē te take nei i raro i ngā tikanga Māori.
Hei tā Kara, “Te whānau o te tamaiti nei, āe, me te whānau o te kōtiro nei rātou kia honohono tātou, kia kōrero tahi tātou. Ko te whakaaro kia awhi ki te manaaki ki ngā āhuatanga ō mātou tūpuna.”
Kua heke iho a Dennis i tana tūranga pirihimana i te marama o Māhuru i tēra tau, nā te tama tētahi amuamu i tuku ki ngā pirihimana.
“Mai tana ngākau ka mahi pēnei i a ia ki te tamaiti ki te ako te tamaiti ki ngāna mahi.//Heoi anō rā, nā te ture he āhuatanga anō tērā, engari ki a mātou hoki i te ao Māori, he painga mō mātou i tōna nei mahi,” says Kara.
E karanga ana hoki a Morehu raua ko Mona ki ngā mema pāremata Māori ki te tautoko i a Huri.
Hei tā te mema paremata o Tāmaki Makaurau a Peeni Henare, “Kua kōrerotia e au ki te nuinga o ngā mema Māori kei roto i te whare pāremata. Ko tā rātou ki ahau nei e tautoko ana i a ia.”
Kāti, e whakapono ana tana roia, a Stephen Bonnar me kaua a Dennis e patu ki te ture, inā, ngāna mahi hei painga mō ngā taitamariki tokorua rā.
