-
Related
The Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu is credited with bringing conservative Tainui into the 21st century.
She worked hard for a better future for the next generation of Maori.
Many will remember the queen for her work with young Maori and her influence in Te Reo.
Maori used to be dying language, but as patron of the Kohanga Reo movement, Dame Te Ata made Maori proud to speak their mother tongue.
The message from children at the marae: "It's cool to korero!"
"It's the sort of thing you can do that no-one else can, and you can tell secrets!," a girl says.
But it was not all talk - Dame Te Ata supported plenty of action too.
The queen pushed for Maori success on the sports field. Turangawaewae Marae hosted the inaugural and controversial Maori Sports Awards.
Children gathered at the marae say she was a good influence to get up and do things so they do not sit around.
The queen was a staunch supporter of Maori involvement in rugby league and netball and her marae was also home to the national Kapahaka champs for many years.
While many at the marae are too young to understand what Dame Te Ata has done for Maori, there is no doubt she was hugely loved.
"She was pretty as, and now I can't see her again," a young boy says.
Tainui's next generation came by the classful on Wednesday - some wearing their Sunday best - to pay tribute to a down to earth queen many kids knew and loved.
"She achieved a lot of things, like the land and the Maori people," says a teenage boy wearing a black Tainui t-shirt.
"She was beautiful and she was a nice nice lady," says another.
And with such support from young people, her legacy will live on for another generation.
