November 17, 2021
Funeral for rangatira Neville Baker
The late Neville Baker is being remembered as someone who tried to create a public service that served Māori.
Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga and Te Atiawa kaumatua is being farewelled this morning at Waiwhetu Marae in Lower Hutt, where he was chair for 30 years.
He was deputy secretary at the Department of Māori Affairs when it was wound up in 1989, and went on to serve as Māori Trustee before taking on other public sector and tribal roles including managing the Waitangi Tribunal, Māori Land Courts and chairing Te Rūnanganui O Taranaki Whānui and the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust.
Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha says Mr Baker was able to draw on the past to create a vision for the future where Māori had control of their own lives and destiny.
“People remember Neville as that real fighter for the rights of āaori and he always referenced our rights under the Treaty of Waitangi and those principles that he eloquently referred to – a right to participate in all things whether it be in government, in public service, in community,” he says.
Wally Haumaha says Neville Baker never trumpeted his successes but shared that success with others.
The funeral service for Neville McClutchie Baker starts at 11 am at Waiwhetu Marae under COVID-19 level 2 restrictions, and will be live-streamed on Vimeo.
Moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā e te rangatira.