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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 1 (May 1, 1933)

The Farewell to Maclean

The Farewell to Maclean.

The Maoris mourned for “Te Makarini” as for a parent. His faithful old ally, Major Ropata Wahawaha, leader of the fighting Ngati-Porou, said of him: “The affection of my own parents did not exceed his loving kindness to me. I grieve for my father. Who shall be a parent to me like unto him? He spread the sleeping-mat of peace for all the tribes of the island. Go, Te Makarini! Now that you have pointed out the path for us to follow, we will not be in doubt nor will our thoughts go astray.”

Major Ropata Wahawaha, N.Z.C. The fighting Chief of the Ngati-Porou tribe, who served under Sir Donald Maclean's instructions in the campaigns against the Hauhaus. (From a painting by G. Lindauer.)

Major Ropata Wahawaha, N.Z.C. The fighting Chief of the Ngati-Porou tribe, who served under Sir Donald Maclean's instructions in the campaigns against the Hauhaus. (From a painting by G. Lindauer.)

Another chief, at a Taupo meeting of lamentation, likened the departed white leader to the glowing sun vanishing in the west. Developing another poetic image, he compared the spirit of Te Makarini to an albatross, soaring above the storm-lashed capes, steadfastly keeping aerial watch over the coast of the land he loved.