Maureen Waaka has returned to her ancestral marae within the blossom of her ancestor Tamatekapua, she passed away this morning at Rotorua Hospital after suffering a stroke on June 16.
Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue welcomed this afternoon one of their own who sat as a councillor, advocator and also a Miss Zealand beauty queen, being the first Māori woman to achieve this.
