Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell has praised Mokau grandfather Pattinson Wetere for saving his family from near-certain drowning during the weekend’s destructive weather bomb northeast of Whangārei.
By Susan Botting of Local Democracy Reporting
Mitchell delivered the acknowledgement on Tuesday during a visit to Mokau Marae, the central refuge of small coastal community about 45km from Whangarei.
He travelled through vulnerable weather-hit settlements along the coast to hear firsthand about weather bomb-generated situations.
Mitchell heard how Wetere rescued his partner, grandson and granddaughter as the Mokau awa rose without warning in the early morning darkness on Sunday.
Wetere, 63, woke to find his cabin being swept downstream by raging floodwaters. His first instinct was to rescue his baby granddaughter Charleigh Pretty, aged three, who was asleep in a nearby cabin with his partner Krystal Wetere.
Charleigh’s mother Rachel and other family members were among 200 attending a first birthday celebration at the marae for local child Te Aio Houghton Simeon, with around 100 still sleeping as potential disaster struck.
Wetere raced through the darkness, picked up Charleigh, and rushed her through floodwaters to the marae, where party goers were still asleep, unaware of the flood consuming the valley below.
He burst into the wharenui shouting “flood" and "emergency" and calling Rachel’s name so she could take her baby before he ran back down the hill to rescue more of his family.
Cries in the darkness: 'Don't leave me'
Meanwhile, his partner Krystal Wetere and grandson Dayton Koia were by now clinging to the boundary fence beside the rising awa, fighting the force of the brown, churning water as it surged toward the sea.
Wetere said his partner pleaded, "Don’t leave me", as he inched toward them.
He told her that wasn’t going to happen, that if she went, he would be going with her.
The three formed a human chain and moved slowly along the fence line before climbing uphill to the marae, which sits about six metres above the river.
“I’m still in shock now,” Wetere said two days later. “I keep thinking about how we’re still alive and how we could have died.”
Mitchell said Wetere’s actions showed the strength and resilience of the community, which rallied to protect one another during the storm.
The Mokau awa had risen with unprecedented speed, transforming a calm Sunday morning into a life threatening emergency.
Wetere’s brother and neighbour Simon Simeon, 60, also faced peril as the awa surged around his cabin. He woke around 4.30am to the sound of timber stacked outside — materials for a house he planned to build — banging against the walls. When he stepped out of bed, he found his cabin floor submerged in calf deep water.
Simeon tried to open his cabin door but couldn’t; the pressure of the floodwaters was too strong. Forced to escape through a window into chest high water, he found his motorbike almost completely submerged. He unchained his dogs, one running to higher ground. but his puppy drowned. The timber and corrugated iron for his future home were swept out to sea.
“I’ve never seen the awa like that before,” Simeon said. “Not as high as it was, suddenly and unforecast.”
He then trekked 45 minutes through steep hills to reach safety at the marae, a journey that normally took five minutes via a shallow stream crossing.
Manakitanga: Part of a marae's identity
Mokau Marae has become a central hub for community response during extreme weather events.
Mokau’s Taunaha Brown has played a key marae emergency support role.
She said offering manakitanga to those in need was part of the marae’s identity.
Although many of the weekend’s guests had since left as roads reopened, local families continued to visit for support, including hot showers and clothes washing facilities.
Mokau Marae civil defence coordinator Clive Stone said marae were vital community hubs during emergencies because they were well-equipped to shelter and support people.
His marae has developed detailed emergency plans, installed Starlink connectivity, solar power with battery backup, and established a phone tree communications network. It can sleep up to 100 people and feed large numbers in its kitchen.
Stone said the flooding was the most severe weather event the area had experienced since Cyclone Bola.
Across the northeast coast of Whangārei, several marae activated as community led Civil Defence centres ifor evacuation and support including Tuparehuia (Bland Bay), Ōtetao o Reti (Punaruku), Ōakura, Mokau, Murray family Marae Ohawini, Ngaiotonga and Whananaki Marae.
About 200 people sought support across these marae during the storm and additional marae are opening on Wednesday ahead of the.
Some remain open, hosting around 30 whānau, while others have now stood down.
Northland Civil Defence deputy chair Kelly Stratford said government and councils must ensure marae receive adequate support to continue their essential roles during emergencies.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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