Māori leader Sir Wira Gardiner has died, aged 78.
Tā Wira died in his home in Tairāwhiti on Thursday after battling a lengthy illness.
He was the founding director of the Waitangi Tribunal and the founding chief executive of the Māori Development Ministry.
Tā Wira was of Ngāti Awa, Te Whakatōhea, Whānau-a-Apanui and Ngāti Pikiao descent.
He had an extensive career in public service, playing pivotal roles n treaty settlements.
Most recently, he served as the interim chief executive of Oranga Tamariki, a role he stepped down from last year.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson expressed their deep sadness following the death.
"Tā Wira leaves behind a legacy that cannot be measured," Ardern said.
"A tireless advocate for his people, he has been a trusted and respected adviser to all shades of government for decades.
"Throughout his many roles it has always been clear that he has been there to improve the lives of others, and he did. His legacy has helped shape Aotearoa."
"Tā Wira leaves behind a legacy that cannot be measured," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. (Source: 1News)
Jackson added: "Sir Wira used to tell a story about his high school teacher who told him at the age of 15 he should leave school and go work on the railway because that was the limit of his capacity.
"This man's capacity for service had no limit. He gave to his country as a solider, to his people as a leader, to the public as a servant and to Māori as a trailblazer.
"Sir Wira has held numerous positions throughout many governments from across the political spectrum. One of the most symbolic to me is as the founding director of the Waitangi Tribunal and the first chief executive of Te Puni Kokiri.
"I would like to think that Te Puni Kokiri was moulded in his image. Today it stands as a Ministry committed to serving our people as its founder, Sir Wira, would have wanted."
He also said Tā Wira was a storyteller.
"Over a cup of tea he would share tales from his time in the army or about the history of the Māori Battalion. He was also renown for putting those stories on paper – with many of his books staples in Māori households across Aotearoa.
"His love for literature comes as no surprise. He told me when he built his house in Ruatoria he built the library first - then all the rooms for humans.
"Although he is no longer with us, his stories and his books will inspire many generations of Māori for years to come.
"Today our thoughts are with Hekia, his tamariki and his wider whānau. We thank them for sharing Wira with us all. And so we carry on the conditions they have laid. And as we go on day by day. You will always hear us say... Ake ake kia kaha e," Jackson said.
For his contributions and services to Māori, Tā Wira was made a knight of the New Zealand order of merit in 2009.
Sir Tipene O’Regan, retired assistant vice-chancellor Māori in Canterbury University and former chairperson of the Ngāi Tahu Māori Trust Board, called Tā Wira a "hugely important New Zealander".
"He had a desire for doing things. Other bureaucrats had a desire to work out how not to do things," he said.
"In a period when we were really, the world was changing quite dramatically... Wira was a rock standing in the middle of that storm, and he did it in great style and great humanity."
In Tā Wira's work reshaping the Māori affairs sector, Tā Tipene said he was a "particularly even-handed commander".
"Always a commander, but always a very fair person to deal with. I had a very high level of respect for him."
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