Nehe Kururangi Dewes, the first Māori senior prison chaplain in Aotearoa and a respected pakeke and pillar of Ngāti Porou, has died at the age of 88.

A Presbyterian minister from Tikitiki in Te Tai Rāwhiti, Dewes served with great passion and dedication for over two decades in prison chaplaincy across the motu, and was a kanohi kitea and ahi kā in Te Riu o Waiapu.

“Koia te pou o te paepae o te pā o Rahui,” says Patrick Tangaere of Ngāti Porou.

“Koia tētahi o ngā pou o te Hāhi Mihingare. Ahakoa he minita Presbyrtarian a Pāpā Nehe, engari kaha ia ki te tautoko i ngā karakia o te Hāhi Mihingare.”

Tangaere says Pāpā Nehe was the last of his generation, and for the past 25 years since returning home, he played a vital role in keeping te reo o Te Riu o Waiapu alive.

“Koia te tangata whakamutunga o tōna reanga i tēnei takiwā i Tikitiki,” he explains.

“Koia te whakamutunga o te reanga e mātau pai ana ki te reo, ngā tikanga o te reo me ōna āhuatanga katoa.”

Ka rere a roimata, a hupe mō te mōrehu pāpā nei

Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel spent her life in the Waiapu Valley, and also paid tribute to Dewes’ legacy.

“In your well accomplished life, you touched many souls, including mine,” she said in a Facebook post.

“A humble servant, yet you lived fully - still riding horses, still playing golf.”

“I’ll miss your warm greetings, your kindness, and your words of love and encouragement.”

He kawe i te rongopai ki ngā whare herehere

His prison chaplaincy career spanned more than two decades, starting at Waikeria Prison in the 1970s before moving to Mount Eden Prison in the 1980s, where he served for 12 years. In 1992, he was appointed Senior Prison Chaplain in Wellington, becoming the first Māori to step into the role.

At Waikeria, Dewes was used to congregations of around 100, but at his first service at Mount Eden, he stood alone in the chapel. He said that moment marked the beginning of a transformation in prison ministry at Mt Eden.

He waiata nō te ngākau

Upon returning home to Tikitiki in his latter years, in his whaikōrero, Pāpā Nehe often reflected on his time in the prisons and returned to the same hīmene that many remember him by.

“Kotahi anake te waiata a Nehe, koirā rā tana waiata,” Tangaere says.

He recalls a story from Pāpā Nehe’s chaplaincy, saying that he once heard a prisoner call out to him.

“E te Minita, taihoa, kei te pīrangi au ki te waiata ki a koe.”

With his hands on the prison bars and only a silhouette visible in a dark cell, the inmate sang a hymn for Pāpā Nehe - Tēnei Hoki Au e Ihu.

“Kāore e mōhio ko wai te tangata e waiata ana ki a ia. Engari ki te kore rāua e tūtaki i tēnei ao, ka tūtaki rāua ki te ao [wairua],” Tangaere adds.

Tributes have flowed on social media, with many remembering Pāpā Nehe as a peaceful man, deeply committed to his people and his faith.

“Kāore rawa koe e kite i te riri i roto i a ia. He hūmārie i ngā wā katoa. ” Tangaere says.

“Mā mātau o te kāinga e rapa atu, hika - ko wai hei whakakī i ngā hū o tēnei koroua.”

Pāpā Nehe is lying in state at Rāhui Marae in Tikitiki. His final service will be held on Thursday, after which he will be laid to rest at Kahukura urupā alongside his wife, Lucy.