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Mita Mohi, the Te Arawa kaumatua who used mau rakau to turn around the lives of thousands of young people, has passed away .
As well as being skilled in the traditional Maori fighting arts and kapa haka, Mr Mohi also excelled in wrestling, represented New Zealand in rugby league and was a Maori tennis champion.
He also served on marae committees, school boards, the Parole Board and as kaumatua for the police.
Fellow mau rakau exponent Sir Pita Sharples says as well as training people at his taiaha wananga on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua, Mr Mohi took his lessons into prisons.
"Mita had a regular team, usually his family but also his students who had graduated, would go in there and take programmes and it was a great thing, especially for young people who were in prison for burglary or drunk and disorderly but still had a chance to redeem and change their habits," he says.
Mita Mohi’s tangi is at Ngati Rangiwewehi’s Tarimano Marae at Te Awahou, with the funeral service at 11am on Thursday.
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