The 99-year-old known as "Bom" was the last remaining member of the Māori Battalion B-company. Photo: RNZ/Pokere Paewai
Te Papaiouru marae in Rotorua is welcoming manuhiri from all around the motu who are wanting to say their final goodbyes to Sir Robert Gillies.
The 99-year-old known as "Bom" was the last remaining member of the Māori Battalion B-company which fought in the World War II.
Defence Minister Judith Collins was among the government dignitaries welcomed onto Te Papaiouru marae at Ohinemotu in Rotorua Sunday to pay her respects.
She recalled meeting Bom at the the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cassino and learnt about the connection between him and her father.
"Both fought at Cassino and I didn't ask if he knew my father but I expect that he probably did in many ways because the New Zealand contingent is always relatively small and the big thing is, is that they both survived... I was very pleased to be able to meet Sir Robert and his whānau who were there were just lovely as well," Collins said.
Gillies's death is an end of an era and represents the last of a generation who fought in World War II, Collins said.
"He represented a generation of Māori who volunteered to go to World War II, all of them were volunteers who put their country first. They'll also be a generation that lost their youth and many of their own aspirations, and what that means is that those whakapapa are forever the rest of their contribution," Collins said.
Others who arrived on the marae Sunday included more than 150 people from Ngāti Kahungunu, his father's side of his whānau.
Kōrero at Gillies's tangi included a challenge from Ngāti Kahungunu about how he should return to their region.
Tā Bom's grand-nephew Jeremy Tātere MacLeod said this was a Māori custom.
"As Māori custom you will come and you will fight for a body to be taken back to your own marae and your own region and in this case it was where Uncle Bom's father comes from in Waimarama. But they laid the challenge, they knew that we weren't going to win so we found a compromise and found a way the mana of both wakas can be kept intact," MacLeod said.
A Ngāti Whakaue representative said many will travel around the motu to farewell Gillies because of strong connections to their whānau.
He was the link between a lot of whānau and their tīpuna who fought in the war, Biddell said.
"The beauty of Uncle Bom with his memory, he could regale that family for hours and stories about their grandfathers. So he brought them, he brought them to life and we think about the bravery, we think about the 28th Māori Battalion. He was the face, he was the kanohi, but he was also the link for those many, many families.
"You'll see many aren't actually from Rotorua but they're wearing the medals of their father, their grandfather because they've come to see them. It's like a closing of a door for them," Biddell said.
There's been an outpouring of support from the community to help out the hau kāinga, Biddell said.
Tā Bom's poroporoaki will begin Monday night, with his funeral on Tuesday at Kauae Cemetery where he will be buried alongside his wife.