May 13, 2019
Busby touch kept waka tradition alive
The captain of Te Aurere says the death of Sir Hekenukumai Busby is like losing a father.
The man who built Te Aurere and 50 other waka and revived the arts of traditional ocean-going waka in Aotearoa died on Saturday aged 86.
Jack Thatcher says he leaves behind a core of senior crew members who are able to train up the next generation to build and sail waka.
He says while a lot of people would have seen the tohunga, the bridge builder, the master waka builder, they may not have seen how he was a father to many around him.
"The way he used to interact. Sometimes it was gruff. A lot of the time it was gruff but most of the time he was being gruff because of his care in wanting to make sure what he was passing on to us would be retained, and he would do that sometimes in a hilarious way, and I'm going to miss that," Mr Thatcher says.
A large group of students are expected today at the tangi at Te Uri O Hina at Pukepoto near Kaitaia.
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