Haere atu rā Pā Henare Tate

It is with sadness that we share news of the passing of Pā Henare Tate (Ngāti Manawa, Te Rarawa), the author of He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama.

Pā Tate passed away in Rawene, Northland on Saturday after a long illness.

A priest, whānau and community leader, Pā was a former lecturer at the Catholic Institute of Theology in Auckland. He earned a doctorate in theology from the Melbourne College of Divinity, which formed the basis for his book.

He Puna Iti i te Ao Mārama sets out the foundation for an indigenous Māori theology, integrating traditional and Christian beliefs to form a distinctively Māori response.

An intelligent, humane and warm man, and a superb speaker of Te Reo Māori, Pā will be much missed by all those who knew him.

His tangi is taking place at his home marae of Motutī, in the northern Hokianga.

Haere atu rā e mātua kei tua o te ārai. As you wrote in the introduction to your book:

Kua ū te waka ki uta ka titiro ki waho, ki te ara moana. 
The canoe has come ashore and one looks back on the ocean pathway.