The cyclone-hit Hawke's Bay town of Wairoa is tonight celebrating the return of local hero Gavin Jones.
Jones, who has an intellectual disability, was one of the vulnerable people moved out of the town after Cyclone Gabrielle.
He was taken to Rotorua. He wasn't happy there, telling TVNZ Chief Correspondent John Campbell through tears: "I wanna go home."
After four months of displacement and a battle to secure his return, he finally made it home to his beloved community last week.
"I'm home! I'm home now!" he yelled. "I'm home!"
The town is pleased to see him as well. They're giving him a special Wairoa Civic Award tonight, "for being the unofficial town crier".
One local woman, Jane O'Sullivan, is even opening her home so Jones has somewhere to stay.
"Everybody was saying we want to get Gavin home," she said. "But there was nowhere for Gavin to go.
"And then I thought, we've got the room."
"We're all a big fan of Gav," local Robert Gemmell said. "He's a bit of an icon in Wairoa."
Diana Hind said: "It's absolutely magic, he connects our community and makes it feel whole again."
And hairdresser Nadine Upritchard said it's "wonderful to have Gav back".
She said he walks around town, saying hello to all the shop owners, every morning.
There are still other locals who haven't been able to return yet.
"They've been told there's no space," Mayor Craig Little said. "We'll make space."
But for now, the town's just glad Gavin's back.
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