The King (centre) at Takitimu Marae in Wairoa. Photo: Kiingitanga Facebook Page
King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero has finished a four-day visit to cyclone-hit communities across the Ngāti Kahungunu rohe.
The Māori King's chief of staff Archdeacon Ngira Simmonds said the visit was about offering support and hearing the stories of residents in person.
"One of the big principles for the Kiingitanga is we wanted to hear from the locals, we didn't want to just turn up and think we had the solutions. We wanted to hear from them and respond as they determined us to respond."
The visit began when Kiingi Tuheitia was welcomed by more than 500 people on to Omahu Marae on Monday morning.
He spoke with iwi leaders who told him of the ongoing needs of the communities still battling with silt and insurance claims, before touring the hard-hit community of Waiohiki, where he met with local whānau whose homes had been red or yellow-stickered.
Simmonds said he heard stories of hope, like in an area where local hapū were planning to build more resilient housing, but there were also stories of heartbreak.
"The King visited some homes and met with families directly standing outside their homes as they shared the heartbreaking story of what happened when the flood came.
"They talked about how they thought they were going to die, they talked about swimming through the floodwaters, it was a very very emotional visit."
On Tuesday, Tuheitia was flown by helicopter to Wairoa where staff from Waikato-Tainui and Ngaati Tamaoho were setting up camp for a week to support local marae and communities.
He even got the chance to pitch in by getting on a digger and helping to clear silt.
The powhiri at Omahu Marae. Photo: Kiingitanga/Facebook
Tangoio Marae north of Napier was the final stop on the trip. It is the worst affected marae in the region, where the carvings have been removed and the whare may need to be demolished.
Simmonds said he had never seen so much silt in his life as what was piled up at Tangoio.
He said despite everything the whānau of Kahungunu had faced, they still put kai on the table and showed manaakitanga to the Kiingitanga.
Simmonds said there was still much more that needed to be done in the region.
"The level of support is not unified across the rohe. So some areas received a lot of support and other areas are struggling, some of the people told Kiingi Tuheitia that they have yet to see any any officials from any council, or from any government department.
"So the King has issued a call to the government and to all councils to continue and to start working with these local communities."
The message from the Kiingitanga is for those who are responding, government, local councils, insurance companies to respect mana motuhake.