Man charged with murder of up-and-coming Maori leader

30 Nov 2009 06:10p.m.

ANDRE TAI wrote:

It is with deep regret that I find myself here in Australia, and not in NZ to stand beside my family to support them in this time of tragic circumstances. I would however like to extend to the Vercoe whanau my condolences for their loss of a loved one in such a tragic and senseless manner. It is also very unfortunate, the manner in which we as MAORI must display our emotions in such an aggressive way. Truth be told, that we as a race of Maori people, we are all aggressive ,each and every one of us. When the fear of being hurt or the threat of violence is set upon us, our instant reaction is to defend at all cost. It is not my intention to make this sound like I am defending my nephew or cast obscenities upon the Vercoe family, I am merely trying to make sense of the whole unfortunate scenario.
Being here in Oz, makes it very difficult to understand or know in its entirety the truth and the facts of exactly what happened on that night, and I think the only 2 people that will ever have that knowledge will be Isaiah and Hawea.On 1 hand we have Isaiah, who will have to face the Justice System and give a self explanatory version of events through his own eyes, and live the rest of his days with the knowledge that someone died at his hand.(yet to be determined).On the other hand, and very unfortunately we had Hawea who has taken all he ever had to do with anything to the grave with him..(R.I.P)... Personally, I would like to think that there is a lesson there for all of us as Maori...Instead of segragating ourselves from one another, learn from what has happened and relay a message so other whanau dont have to go through any of this. If we dont want our children to be faced with this sort of SENSELESS BEHAVIOUR in the future, then they need to learn that violence is not the answer to eveything.
An accident is an accident, otherwise it would be called a deliberate. Murder is a plan, or an act of Premeditation, something I believe very strongly in my heart was not something

26 Nov 2009 09:01a.m.

Miss Te Arawa wrote:

I knew this awesome father / teacher for over 10 years he was educated, ambitious, articulate and forever trying to help out someone else in need...he was totally dedicated to all of his young children and step daughter and dedicated his teaching life to seeing young Maori who wouldve ordinary fallen through the cracks succeed and enjoy learning as well a staunch advocate for the Maori language. He gave 150% as a teacher, father, principal and up-and-coming Te Arawa / Ngati Awa leader...Hawea was the type of character we "hope" Maori boys will aspire to be like....all taken away...by the senseless, unprovoked attack by a real "stereotypical useless" Maori male...hang your head in SHAME TAI whanau!!! What your son did was disgusting and you should all be ashamed of the way you behaved in court. The WHOLE country thinks your all shameless hicks...most Maori aren't like this lot!!

25 Nov 2009 10:51a.m.

Alex wrote:

Get real, kiwikathy do you really believe that closing pubs earlier would have prevented this murder?

25 Nov 2009 02:04a.m.

Brooke wrote:

Firstly Hawea's parent's are both Maori and Pakeha and if you look at their ancestory, many races like most of us.

As for the pub. Friends were there & said it was a lovely evening & Hawea left happy. And after being hassled outside, tried to walk away. People need to be really careful to not jump to conclusions, listen to gossip but to keep an open mind & heart. Attacking each side only escalates things. I ask that we consider what we say or how we say it, to remember that he has 6 children who may one day read these comments. They are the victims too.

24 Nov 2009 11:26a.m.

kiwikathy wrote:

What time did the pub close? Maybe it's time to close the pubs earlier. Why do people feel they need to be drinking at that hour?

24 Nov 2009 10:04a.m.

Alex wrote:

Boy there are some ignorant douche bags commenting on here. Show some respect - this man was murdered unjustly and you blame his fate because of his culture??

24 Nov 2009 02:49a.m.

Toby wrote:

George and Abo, you ignorant, insensitive low life's, coming on here and disrespecting the memory of someone taken so tragically! This is not a race related issue, this is about some piece of scum attacking a man as he was walking away and kicking him while he was down! Yes, Hawea was a proud Maori, but he was also very proud of his English and Scottish heritage. He was an intelligent, loving family man who devoted his life to teaching children. And as a full European cousin of his, I was incredibly proud of him and miss him immensely. So next time you decide to write some senseless, uninformed rubbish, how about having a bit of respect and sensitivity not only to the deceased, but to those of us he left behind!

23 Nov 2009 11:49p.m.

annon wrote:

Respect and credibility are European concepts, this case has all the aspects of tribal warfare!.

23 Nov 2009 04:56p.m.

dan wrote:

How pathetic are some of these comment's,how old are you ? maybe 4yrs old,I mean seriously, Maori aren't looking for sympathy,
to choose this "death" as an opportunity to attack "Maori" show's how sick some people are,why dont you put your full name's up along with your "complaint" about why you are so angry at "Maori". What's the issue considering they're both Maori, I find it fascinating find "Redneck's" jumping on board here.

23 Nov 2009 04:05p.m.

George wrote:

I am with abo here,and to Jan and graeme I say ,if Maoris are looking for Sympathy from the Europeans,they will find it in the Dictionary somwhere between sodomy and Syphilis.