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Sir Paul Reeves, who died this morning in Auckland, has been described as a great churchman, a great statesman and a down to earth man.
The 78-year-old retired from many of his public duties after announcing he had cancer just last month.
Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to Sir Paul in the days leading up to his state funeral later in the week.
His body will lie in state at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Grafton, Auckland, and preparations are underway for the tangi. Te Tai Tokerau Maori Bishop The Right Reverend Te Kitohi Pikaahu expects the church to be opened up to the public tomorrow afternoon.
Prime Minister John Key says New Zealand has lost one of its greatest statesmen with the passing of Sir Paul who held New Zealand's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand.
A state funeral is being planned to honour his life of achievement.
Sir Paul, who trained for the Anglican priesthood, became New Zealand's first Maori Governor-General in 1985 and his tenure was one of inclusiveness and compassion, Key said.
Key said Sir Paul modelled his Governorship on the life of a Bishop.
Sir Paul had said "A Bishop travels, a Bishop stands alongside his people and searches for common ground".
And Key said Sir Paul's contribution to New Zealand did not end when he left Government House.
"He spent another two decades serving at the highest level. We are indebted."
Sir Paul was Anglican Observer at the United Nations from 1991-1993, observed elections in Ghana and South Africa, helped write constitutions for Fiji and Guyana and chaired the Nelson Mandela Trust.
At home he chaired the Queen Elizabeth II National trust and the Bioethics Council and helped to select judges for the new Supreme Court.
He was the incumbent Chancellor of Auckland University of Technology, having been appointed to the position in 2005.
Sir Paul is survived by his wife Beverley, Lady Reeves, his three daughters, Sarah, Bridget and Jane, and six mokopuna.
ONE News reported on July 26 that Sir Paul was to withdraw from all public roles to spend more time with his family and had asked for privacy.
'A remarkable man'
The death of Sir Paul is a great loss to his family and to New Zealand, the Governor-General, Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand, said.
While many hope to achieve in one sphere of life, Sir Paul's achievements were all the greater because he made a significant contribution to so many different areas of New Zealand life," he said. "He was a remarkable man who brought to all his work a quiet determination and a strong moral compass founded on Christian values and social justice."
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark said Sir Paul was a great New Zealander who served his country, church and his iwi with great distinction throughout his life. "My heart goes out to Lady Reeves and all Sir Paul's family at this sad time," she said.
'Always present amongst the people'
Archbishop David Moxon, speaking on behalf of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, said: "Bishop Paul took the office of being a bishop and an archbishop into the role of Governor General.
"He aimed to bring people together, to listen to people at the edges and to speak to issues. In his role he was always present amongst the people. He continued to follow the gospel and remained a bishop contributing a great deal to our church and community. Bishop Paul was and remains a taonga to us and future generations."
'Immense grief'
A spokesman for the Reeves family, Reverend Jayson Rhodes, said the Reeves whanau wished to acknowledge the immense support they have received since Sir Paul announced he was stepping back from most aspects of his public life after the recent diagnosis of cancer.
The immediate family would spend some private time with Sir Paul before the public tangi begins tomorrow at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Auckland.
"The whanau acknowledge and are very aware of the immense grief and loss felt by Maori, the Church and the wider community, and there will be time and opportunity for people to pay their respects in the days to come," Rhodes said in a statement.
Born in Wellington, Sir Paul's mother whakapapa was Te Atiawa and his father pakeha. They lived in Newtown at a time when mixed race marriages were not common.
Sir Paul clearly remembered Maori children being asked to identify themselves as such at school.
"What it meant straight away was identifying yourself as a rather lonely person within a crowd of people, differentiating yourself in that rather awkward situation as being something the others were not," he once said.
At primary school they called him Darkie and by his own admission he denied his roots at first and it was at university where he began to embrace being Maori.
He began his ministry as a deacon in Tokoroa and later spent five years England. In 1964 as Vicar of Okato, a Taranaki coastal town, Sir Paul lived amongst his whanaunga. He was appointed Bishop of Waiapu in 1971. In 1979 he became Bishop of Auckland, and then Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand the following year.
He held both posts until then Prime Minister David Lange asked him to be Governor General in 1985. It was a controversial appointment because Sir Paul was a churchman and because of his outspoken political views.
"People fear I may say the wrong things. I will say things, hopefully I will say them rightly and appropriately," he said.
Ironically in later years he was to support New Zealand becoming a republic.
'Service and leadership'
The group Monarchy New Zealand has expressed its sadness at the passing of Sir Paul.
"Sir Paul, who served the Queen of New Zealand and people of Aoteaora, was a man of great principle, and rightly saw the office of Governor General as one of service and leadership" said Simon O'Connor, Chair of Monarchy New Zealand.
"The role of Governor General is central to New Zealand's constitutional system. Sir Paul, as GG and the Queen's representative, played a key part in our democracy."
The coming days will be ones of sadness, but also gratefulness for the part Sir Paul has played in New Zealand's history," O'Connor said.
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentRichard Mayson said on 2011-08-18 @ 16:47 NZDT: Report abusive post
From his days as Bishop of Waiapu, to Archbishop to Governor General, he personified a bi and multi cultural New Zealand/Aoteoroa. I knew him as Bishop of Waiapu and meeting with Kenny Rogers and the First Edition on the marae at Kohupatiki.He was then the essence of the best of humanity, full of life, combined with dignity and refinforced this as he reached the heights of the Queen's representative. He espoused the timeless universal values of social justice and love.A true statesman
eggspert said on 2011-08-14 @ 15:44 NZDT: Report abusive post
Truly a great example of how one person can influenece the lives of so many for good. God bless and comfort his family at this sad time.
dear oh dear said on 2011-08-14 @ 13:16 NZDT: Report abusive post
A real legend in NZ. Just like Edmund Hilary and Peter Blake......will be sadly missed. John Key got it right when he said this man GAVE GAVE GAVE...........................perhaps his mokopuna and the rest of NZ maori could take a lesson from that?