- E au ana te wehi o nga manu o Rehua. Ka whakakiki, ka whakakakaa. Ka tau ki te taumata o te Hui ora. E mihi atu nei ` Haumi e, hui e, taiki e! This week on The Hui ` We take a look back at some of our most powerful stories so far this year. New Zealand's most successful axeman, Jason Wynyard, passed away this month. He spoke exclusively with The Hui about his shock cancer diagnosis earlier this year. And the insightful interview with the last surviving member of the Maori Battalion, Sir Robert Bom Gillies. - Peace is the best thing out, and nobody promotes it. - Plus, the rising MMA star, Aaron 'Tauzemup' Tau. (PUORO WHITAWHITA) Na Te Puna Whakatongarewa nga kupu hauraro i tautoko. - Te hunga kua aro atu ki te ara whanui a Tane, haere mai, haere! Tatou te hunga e pupuri ana ki nga aweawe o te whenua. Tihewa mauri ora! And welcome back to The Hui. In March this year, the elite axeman Jason Wynyard had yet another world championship in his sights, but within weeks he was facing a much more dangerous opponent ` a rare and aggressive cancer attacking his lymphatic system. Jason died earlier this month. We're sharing Ruwani Perera's exclusive story of his cancer journey as a tribute. - 2023 was shaping up to be another competitive year for champion wood chopper Jason Wynyard. But it's now going to be one of his toughest ` staring down stage four cancer and in the fight of his life. - Jason was misdiagnosed several times for an aggressive cancer where early treatment is crucial. Do you believe that those delays in diagnosing the tumour have made things worse for you? - Oh, 100%. And if it had've been picked up on his first time, we would have had a really good fighting chance. - MC: Stand to your timber. Three, two, one, go. (CHAINSAWS ROAR) - This was 49-year-old champion wood chopper Jason Wynyard, smoking his competition; beating competitors 20 years his junior. - What are your goals for this year? - I wanna win the world championship in October. - But just a month after coming second at this national competition... - So Jason takes that out in 12.68 seconds. - ...that goal has been derailed. Jason is now confined to a hospital bed, fighting Burkitt lymphoma, a rare, fast-growing cancer of the lymphatic system. - Jason's partner of almost two years, Sharon Kennerley, has barely left his side, and has been documenting his medical journey exclusively for The Hui. They're going public for the first time about their frustration with a health system they say has failed Jason. His ordeal began in early April. Where was the pain? - It was in his stomach, but he was also having back spasms. And so it would present itself on one side, and then within minutes it would be on another side. - The GP Jason saw told him he'd just strained a muscle, but Jason knew it was more serious. Days later, still in pain, he went back, asking for a scan and a referral to a specialist. Once again, the GP was adamant that it was just a sprain. Not happy with that diagnosis, Jason contacted a friend who was a specialist and got a scan. - We're grateful that we were able to get that scan, because as soon as we had it, his specialist friend said, 'Look, they've picked up that there's a mass. You need to go straight to Middlemore.' - Jason and Sharon were hopeful for a thorough investigation at Middlemore Hospital, but were told that the mass on the scan was just a haematoma; a bad bruise. - And I said, 'Can we have an MRI scan?' 'It's important for us to know that this is exactly what it is.' And he actually said that they cost a lot more money, and that it's just a haematoma which will absorb into the body. And so Jason trusted that. - But Sharon wasn't convinced. - As soon as we saw the mass, I was asking about cancer. - Did you feel sort of dismissed? - Oh, absolutely. 100% I felt dismissed. I felt like I was an idiot for asking questions. - After almost four decades at the top of his game, competing in a highly physical sport, Jason is a tough athlete with a high tolerance for pain. But he was in agony. - He was just in so much pain. He was curled up in pain, and I could see the swelling around his stomach, so there was more going on than just that. - They were right. Just a month after first going to his GP, Jason was told he had stage four cancer. Sharon felt the shock diagnosis was delivered without privacy and compassion. - There was no respect, no dignity, no confidentiality. And he just goes, 'Oh, it's not a haematoma, it's a lymphoma.' And I'm just like, 'Is that cancer?' And then he said, 'Yes.' - The whole experience has shattered Jason's faith in medical experts. - Jason's hospital notes show the mass was first diagnosed as a haematoma, and the MRI scan was done a month after Jason first sought medical attention. In that time, the tumour more than doubled, and caused Jason more health complications. - By the time they did the MRI, it had grown to 18cm. So in a matter of a couple of weeks, from seven to 18. And then he had tumour lysis through his body. It's affected every single organ in this man's body. And now we find out it's in his central nervous system. - This will be Jason's home for the foreseeable future, for intensive chemotherapy treatments. - Jason's drawing on the competitive spirit that's won him nine world titles to combat his cancer; forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he's received. - We're gonna beat this, you know? That's it. It's like Jason and I set up for another event that he's just gonna smash. And that's all we're focused on, is coming out this other end and creating an amazing comeback story. (SOLEMN MUSIC) - Moe mai ra, kare Jason i te po. Whai muri i nga whakatairanga, e nga iwi. Ko te morehu o te ropu ruatekaumawaru. The emotional interview with Ta Bom Gillies is next on The Hui. (PUORO WHITAWHITA) (PUORO WHITAWHITA) - Hoki mai ano ki ta tatou Hui e hoki komuri nei ana mahara ki nga keokeonga o te tau! Rotorua is home to the sole surviving member of the 28th Maori Battalion, Bom Gillies. I spoke to him for our Anzac Special and found him deeply contemplative about the role of war in society and his own participation in it. (PENSIVE MUSIC) As a 17-year-old, Bom Gillies left the shores of his hometown in Rotorua, ready to serve for his country in World War Two. Like many young men, he was hoping for the adventure of a lifetime. But the brutal reality of war soon hit home. Fighting on the front line of battlefields in Europe, where millions of people were killed. Today, the 98-year-old is the last surviving member of the 28th Maori Battalion. And as time has passed, his view of war is no longer the same. - I was always just one of the crowd. But now I'm the last one left. I've got to front up, and it's my duty to do it on behalf of the fullas who all passed on. When it comes to Anzac Day, what do you think about? - Anzac Day... is a day of remembrance, and honour the ope tuatahi. And there's all our koroua, which I used to watch as a boy, and all the Maori soldiers and Maori military people who volunteered their lives. And some came home, passed away at home here, and the others are still lying in foreign soil. It's an honour for them, to honour them. - Is there anyone in particular you think of and remember? - Oh, yeah. We... We all had a lot of mates, and you always think of them as mates. You wonder sometimes what they went for and what they died for. Because I think the world is worse now than at that time. - Really? - I think so. - Why do` What makes you say that? - Because it's all... It's all power. Wars are created for power and money. And that shouldn't be like that. No one should lose their lives. They should be allowed to live their lives out. - You're talking about the futility of war? - Yes. - Even though you went to war? - Yeah, well, we thought it was great to go and see other places. And... it was a different thing when we got there, though. We realised the reality of war. And those memories still linger in your head. You never forget them. - How often do you get those lingering memories, as you call them? - Oh, it's there most of the time. Different times of the day, you think about those fullas. Comes back into your head. But Anzac Day is a special day of remembrance to them. - I remember last year we had you in Waitangi... - Yeah. - ...at an event there to acknowledge you after you received your knighthood, and I remember, I think it might have been Pita Tipene was asked to open the korero, and he broke down. He saw you, and he said he couldn't help but think of all those ancestors, matua, kaumatua, who went to World War Two. And when he sees you, he thinks about them. What's that like for you, when people do that? - It makes me makes me really deep in my thoughts, because I know that the tears are for those of their relations, and the ones who died, almost for nothing. - You think that even now, almost for nothing? - Yeah. All the wars fought never solved anything. And now they've got Ukraine going. That should never have happened. - When you talk like that, I mean, there are a lot of Maori who are in the army now, and the defence forces. What do you think about that, when you hear that so many are following in your footsteps? - Yeah, I think very deep about that, and I only wish they'd stay in civilian life, because what they're going for will be the same as what happened to us. We come back. Nothing's changed. Peace is the best thing out, and nobody promotes it. They promote war. Call for war. Nobody called for peace. But I guess one day the world will wake up, I hope. - So when you hear about so many people talking about the feats and achievements of their ancestors in war, and dying overseas, does a part of you still think that you wished it never happened? - Yes, I do. Yeah. - For a lot of people that would be a surprise to hear you say that. - Yeah, I know. I know. We've got to be clear in our mind about what it's all about. It's only about killing people. It comes down to the brutality of war, we're losing parts of our family, which is very hard to get over. I've still got a great-uncle lying in France, and I still think of him, Uncle Walter. And a lot of people will have bodies still in other places, even in Malaya and Vietnam. Some of our kin there. Should have been at home here. It's very sad. Very sad. War never solved anything. - So what do you want the legacy of the 28 Maori Battalion to be? - The main thing is that there was about 3000 men serving in the battalion, and about nearly 600, I think, didn't come home. And I think back, and what did they waste their lives for? There's a lot of grievance to the families, and nothing` it wasn't worthwhile. If I had my time over again, what I know now, I would have stayed at home. I would have been an objector, conscientious objector. - Really? - Yeah. For peace. - If you'd done that, what do you think... - Oh, I would have been slammed by the average person in New Zealand. It was the way they think. Which... I was thinking that way. All the objectors, we just used to` they called it white feather. White feather people. But I think they were right to promote peace. - And I wonder what your message is, to particularly rangatahi. I mean, you're 98... - Yeah. - ...now, as we approach Anzac Day. What do you say to rangatahi when you talk with them? Because they all look up to you. - Stay real to your Maoritanga. I tell them to learn a bit about religion, and in reality... treat the people like you treat your own family. That's the best way we'll get on together. - E kara ata Bom tena koe. Taro kau iho ana. He tau pai te tau. He tau whai hua te tau. Ko Aaron 'Tauzemup' Tau ` e haere ake nei. (PUORO WHITAWHITA) (PUORO WHITAWHITA) - Ao kau ana te pupuhi o Haumihi ki a koutou katoa, e nga iwi. MMA, or mixed martial arts, is booming in popularity in Aotearoa, especially among Maori. When D'Angelo Martin caught up with Far North fighter Aaron Tau in July, he was on the cusp of joining the UFC and a quick heads up, his story opens with some pretty tough fight scenes. - D'ANGELO MARTIN: It's brutal, it's bloody ` It's MMA. - Look! he's face down! - Mixed martial arts is one of the fastest-growing sports globally... - Knockout victory! - ...And fighters out of Aotearoa are some of the best in the business. - Kia ora. My name is Aaron 'Tauzemup' Tau. I am a professional mixed martial artist. - Aaron... Taaaaauu! - There's a new Maori in the MMA scene ` Aaron Tau is about to hit the big time. - My biggest goal is just to go up to the big leagues and show the world that I belong there ` just remind them where the greatest warriors on Earth come from. - Ohhh! - In the cage, Aaron's nickname is Tauzemup, and with seven wins and zero losses, he's living up to that name. - The meaning behind it is, like, you do your job so well they're flat on their back with their toes up in the sky ` so 'toes him up'. Yeah. (PENSIVE MUSIC) Home for me? I'm from the Hokianga, Te Tai Tokerau, in a place called Rahiri. # Tukituki... - Oh, yeah, Hokianga hard. That was my playground as a kid. We used to ride horses, we had our own gardens, and we hunted for our own meat. We lived off the land. - But family life was turbulent. When he turned 15, Aaron left home and moved to Brisbane. - I was playing league; I got into the Queensland Maoris' team. My mentality was, 'Win, and win at all costs,' so I was real, like... aggressive. - It was his league coach who suggested he try MMA. - I just got pushed in the right direction. I'm pretty lucky. - Aaron Tau making his way to the cage. - He applied for MMA mentorship back in Aotearoa and returned in 2016. - ...and he's won the Dan Hooker scholarship! - Haven't looked back since. - Aaron's found a home at City Kickboxing in Tamaki Makaurau. It's the training ground for our best fighters. - The talent and knowledge at my gym is insane. What they've got down is the simple things ` the turning up, the training consistently, the eating right, the recovery ` things that you wouldn't think are as important as they are. Fighting is a lot more than just the physical body, and it's a lot more than just being violent. - This is Aaron's round. This is what he wanted. - I definitely used to use my aggression a lot to win fights, and now I only use my intellect. There's a chess game being played that most people can't even see. You gotta approach and exit exchanges with your intellect, and if you don't do it like that, that is when you get hurt. If you just jump in there and you're just swinging your hands and your legs around ` there's no honour, there's no mana in that. There's no matauranga in that. - I have to have a healthy respect for the fighter to train them to their optimal. I have to respect them enough that they` that I would form a friendship with them. I know their families. - Israel Adesanya has that thing! - Israel Adesanya's coach, Eugene Bareman, is now Aaron's coach. He sees Aaron's skills taking him to a higher level. - His abilities ` they're both physical and mental. He's a very strong-minded individual. His determination to reach his goals, to have a one-track mind and that tunnel vision ` that invariably comes with his upbringing and a lot to do with his culture. He's only a small human being, but for a small human being of that size, he's incredibly strong. - XFC Bantamweight champioooon! - He is, in my opinion, the best bantamweight in Australasia and New Zealand. So he's the number-one bantamweight. He's developed into a very good fighter. Yeah, a very good fighter. - Oh! Picks him up and throws him! - In the next level ` like the UFC ` a minor, minor mistake can cost you the fight; it can cost you a contract; it can cost you the last 10 years of sacrifice. So technique beats everything. Technique and consistency will make you a champion. - But Aaron knows that very few make it. - 5% will make it to the top. Maybe less. In that 5%, to make some real decent money is probably the 1%. - And how confident are you? - I'm the 1% of the 1%, brother. - And it's that confidence that people often mistake for arrogance. - In our culture in New Zealand, no one wants you to keep your head high; no one wants you to walk around like you believe in yourself. I think that they just don't see everything before those moments ` you doubting yourself, you working hard and getting beaten up, months of you fighting every day, 'Am I good enough? Can I do this?' You get broken down systematically, and you have to build yourself back up. Finding your mana and holding onto it and believing that you're gonna go to battle and you're gonna bring those treasures of war back with you to your people. You've never seen the build up. You've never seen the suffering, the blood, sweat and tears that got you to that moment. They think it's arrogance, but it's really just like... 'Wow. I've done it.' I doubted myself, and I found the belief, and I still stood, even though I didn't think I could stand. - Now it's gonna be a takedown. (WILD CHEERING) - If Aaron does get his shot in the UFC, he'll be the first with a mataora. - That's gonna be pretty cool ` to take our culture onto a big stage. I've been wanting to get my mataora for a few years. I grew up in the pretty old ways, and those things that my grandparents gave to me... I wanna pay them homage and pay my people homage. When I do represent, I want people to know where I'm from. - It was only in March that Aaron got his mataora done. Do you buzz out sometimes when you wake up in the morning... - (CHUCKLES) - ...and you see you got the mataora? - The funny one is I walk around my house at night-time, and I, like, walk past the mirror like, 'Whoa!' And then, 'Ey, kia ora, matua,' you know? I forget. - MEN: # Tenei te tangata # pu-huru-huru # nana i tiki mai... - Doing the haka in Dunedin ` That was definitely a highlight of my career. That was cool. - # A upane, kaupane, # whiti te ra. - Most of the world has seen the All Blacks and what they represent, and that is, like, just the edge of te ao Maori. - # Hi! # - They haven't seen the manaakitanga, the whanaungatanga. They haven't seen things at the marae, you know, the way that our culture exists. You ready? (GRUNTS) - (GIGGLES) - I do this to create a new pathway for young Maori like me, where... There was nowhere for someone like me to go. No one wanted to be` to look after me or, you know, to teach me, because I was` uh, I had this nature. Yeah, that's it. That's it! Finish the tackle! - (GIGGLES) - (GROANS) That's the idea ` I'm trying to build a whare for the children of Tamatauenga so they have somewhere to come, so they don't feel like an outcast; they feel like they have somewhere to go and use that part of them. And now we have the avenue of making money and belonging in society with this ahua. - Definitely aggressive. - Yeah! - Tau is such a physical fighter, but that was a fantastic... Tau's held by the neck. - What does your whanau think of you and your mahi? - A lot of them didn't like it, especially cos they just think of it as a violent sport. But they can see how much it means to me, they can see how hard I work at it, and they definitely respect that. - Keeping him grounded are his partner and tamariki. - They give me all of my motivation, all of my purpose. I was a bit of a lost soul before they come around. I couldn't really look after myself. Now I got three kids, and I've got a reason to wake up early. - At 29, Aaron has four XFC belts to his name. - The belts don't mean a lot to me. I hit a goal and I look for the next. - The next goal is coming up, and the pressure is on. - Most people that do quite well get into it in their early 20s. You wanna try and hit the big leagues before you turn 30. Usually, around 35 is the end of your career. So, yeah, I've got about five, six years left to make a billion dollars and, uh, (CHUCKLES) hit the road. - (GRUNTS) - Haramai. And our thanks to Alex Bradshaw from FireFire for some of the pictures in D'Angelo's story. That is us for this week. Enjoy the rest of the public holiday and you can find all our stories on our social media platforms and on newshub.co.nz Kia mau ki te turanga o Taputapuatea. Haumi e! Hui e! Taiki e! Na Kitty Wasasala nga kupu hauraro i hanga. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 (PUORO WHITAWHITA)