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Forty-four years ago Joseph Parata Hawke was arrested and dragged off Bastion Point after a 506-day occupation.
Today he has been returned to the whenua – permanently.
Mr Hawke’s tangi and nehu at Ōrākei Marae drew thousands of mourners, including Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, who acknowledged the friendship he forged as a young parliamentary staffer with the then-Labour MP.
Mr Hawkes was then buried on Takaparawhau beside the memorial for his niece Joannee, who died in a fire during the occupation.
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