Captions by Jordan Waetford Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 (BELL TOLLS) (CURIOUS MUSIC) - Our Porirua staff have been struck with COVID, and our only staff member, Shelley, our embalmer, is negative. Shelley, dear, I've forgotten my log in. Do you know your one? - Oh, no, I don't, actually. Sorry. That's not very helpful. - Oh. One minute it was quiet, and then the next minute, it was just so busy. And at that point in time, I actually didn't know how to run everything. - Oh. Needs a password. - Do you have your` - No. - Oh. - Sorry. - I'll ring my wife. - OK. - When I see the phone, it's like, 'Oh, should I answer it?' - Can you just tell me a password to open it up? Shelley, her main role was embalming, but thank goodness she knows how to work freedom. - I've only done this once before, Frances. - Oh, sorry to put that on you. - No, no. I did learn the other day. - Sorry, sorry. - I know how to do the mortuary stuff well. - And that's the main thing. - (CHUCKLES) - There was a moment there I felt like I had COVID. I had a sore head, sore throat, sore hands, because it was just full on. And I wanted to go and isolate for 14 days, not 10. With pen to paper, you never go wrong, eh, dear? - That's right. - Now the computer crashes and, oh, you can't find anything. - He's great at answering the phone. Oh yeah. He's amazing at answering the phone. - We'll swap and let you go and do that. - 'But he lacks administration skills.' - Cos I need Leka to do service sheets tonight. - 'He does get flustered when there's a lot of tasks in front of him' and he doesn't know how to do them. So his next best thing to do is delegate it out. - Hi, darling. Look, um` (CLEARS THROAT) the Mr Lewis whanau, they would like service sheets, so I've forwarded you a draft that they've given me, and it's got a photo, everything there. Could you put it in order? - He's like, 'Oh hell no. I am not going to get through that. '(STAMMERS) I need my wife.' (LAUGHS) - This other family want service sheets too, dear. - Do they? - Oh gosh. I'm gonna have to have stress leave soon. - He did look flustered. I don't know why. Everyone else had to do it for him. ON PHONE: So you've given me... these waiata. You want the waiata on there as well? - Ah... I'm not sure. Um. I was so blessed that I could delegate and get people in Auckland to do this. Thank you. And if you can tag Leka in so she can print them on this computer. - Why did I let him go to Porirua without me? - It's good you're here. - Oh, lovely to be here, dear - What exactly did he do? (LAUGHS) (TINKLY MUSIC) - Morena, Matua. Just going to take your potae off. Today in our care, we have the late Murray Stanley Lewis, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 72 years. Murray's laying in our chapel at the Porirua branch for a couple of days, to give his` some of his friends and whanau time to come and view and pay their respects to Murray. After which, we will make our way to the Porirua RSA to allow a lot of his work friends and whanau to come and say ka kite to their mate. We were asked to print 60 service sheets, because they thought it'll just be a few people, cos a lot of people will be at work. But there was a little over 100. One, two, three, up. With the restrictions that we are currently under, you're only allowed 100 people inside the venue. And so that possibly might have made it difficult for many who might not have made the 100. Muz was missing. (EXHALES) Ah. - Murray's death was quite sudden and a shock to many. He hadn't visited the RSA or his friends for a couple of days, which seemed very off. - A member went up. Knocked on his door. But anyone else would have knocked on his door, there was no answer, they'd have gone. But the member... he thought, 'No, he's got to be somewhere.' So he actually found a way to get inside. - Thanks to his good friends, he was found within two days, and we're able to prepare his body to have an open casket for the whanau. - (STRUMS GUITAR) # My Lord, my Lord.# - He refused to come here, because he wasn't allowed to wear his hat. So he finally relented, signed up to be a member. But I went down and saw him this morning, before he came up here, and I saw him with his hat on. good on him. He got his last wish ` wearing his hat. - The beautiful thing about going to a service for someone, in this instance, Murray, you get to learn a little bit more about the person. - Good old Muz, being called MacGyver. He had caught one of the biggest groupers we think we've seen. They say it was bigger than him. But here was Muz on the front of the boat. He, ah` we couldn't get a gimbal for him, but he made his own gimbal out of his belt. He pulled his belt out of his pants, wrapped it round him, pulled in this huge grouper. - People would come to him for advice, because he'd been there and done that. - You had a 10 ton panel to put in, and you told him, 'Oh, I've only got a 5 ton crane here,' he would find a way to put it in. You just close your eyes and walk away, but when you came back, panel would've been in there. - A lot of people really loved him. - I wanted him with me. I wanted to take care of my papa, but he wouldn't come, because he loved you all. - Koro. I love you, you stubborn old bastard. (LAUGHTER) I'll always love you. And we're gonna be taking you home after the service. We'll take you up home where you're gonna be with your mama and your papa. - The service has concluded at the Porirua RSA, so now we're going to place Murray back into the hearse, and I'll drive him back to the funeral home and wait for his brother to come with his ute. And his brother wants to transport Murray back up to Maungaturoto. I haven't ever seen a tupapaku on the back of a ute where the back door is still down. And so there was a little bit of uneasiness. So I was worried. It's such a long trip from Porirua all the way up to Maungaturoto, which is just north of Auckland. But his brother, you know, he's an old school matua. He'd done it before. He knows what he's doing. And so that gave me a sense of ease and peace. 'But still, I wanted to go and feel the ropes.' Is that supposed to be loose? 'I do not want the casket to fall out of the truck.' Maybe a bit tighter. Mm. - I pulled it tight. - Sure enough, Matua tightened everything up again, you know? Wrapped a tarpaulin over the top so he didn't get wet. And so, yeah, that's all I could ask for, that he was secure safely. No reira, e te matua, Murray, moe mai ra i raro i nga parirau aroha, i roto i nga ringa aroha, o to tatou Matua nui i te rangi. Haere, haere, haere atu ra. # Summer in the morning light, # everything's feeling right. # The waves in the distance calling me home again. # Back to the maunga, # down to the moana ` # you and me, takahia atu te whenua, # singing, 'Pick me up on the baseline.' We see you moving with the times, Aotearoa, - Ah! Winter ` so hot right now. Spring lamb in winter ` so hot right now. Jumping out of a (ECHOES) plane ` so hot. Sledding ` so cold. I mean hot. ECHOES: The end of the earth ` yeah, that's hot. Sunrise ` getting hotter. Rotorua ` well, obviously, you're hot. Aotearoa New Zealand really is great in winter, so check it out for yourself. Ooh. Is that too hot? (CURIOUS MUSIC) - I would say I've been blessed with green thumbs, green fingers, at the beginning of the palm's life. 'Sort of towards the middle and end of its life...' Aue. '...they all die.' Oh my goodness. Better get some scissors. And I've got so many tips and advice from different people, but... yeah. - The mortuary. There are days where we are very busy, and this particular day was one of those days, but it seems like my husband is probably not caring about what's happening, because he's so caught up in his plant thing. - 'Palms. They are like babies. They're very needy,' and sometimes, unlike the human body, you think, 'Oh, are you hungry?' You keep feeding, feeding, and then, oh, eat some more. Well, palms, you can't overfeed them. You can't overwater them. And I think that's what's been happening to a lot of the palms at the funeral home. And so ka mutu, ka mate. It's like the many other the things we have around the funeral home. (LIGHT MUSIC) - He's making a little bit of a mess. And I'm just hoping we can still move around him as he's doing his potting. (MUSIC CONTINUES) - I just like the beginning of the palm, until, you know, couple of months later, then we've got to get another palm to replace it. But we'll live and learn. (TINKLY MUSIC) (SOMBRE MUSIC) Today in our care, we have the late Dame Te Muranga June Batley-Jackson, otherwise known to many as Dame June Jackson. And she was 82 years old. Oh my goodness. You want one of these when you die, dear? - No. I want a (SPEAKS TONGAN) - Oiii aue. I'll get you one of these, dear. Suits you. You're Maori in your heart. -(LAUGHS) - Dame June has been prepared by our embalmers, and the whanau have dressed Dame June. And so the time has come now for us to place Whaea June into the selected casket. OK, Whaea. We're going to bring you over and place you in your beautiful casket the whanau have chosen. Haere mai. We're just gonna gently bring you over this way. Whaea June looked so beautiful in her kakahu. Look at that. Oh wow. 'And the clothes that she's wearing and her head piece, 'Everything is spot on to images that I've seen of her in the past.' And so I hope that the family are pleased with the way in which she's going to be presented in her casket, cos she looks like a queen. QUIETLY: (GASPS) Look at this. We've finished casketising Dame June, and it's now time for us to move her. And at the same time, we'll finish the final touches. We're placing a korowai on top and the photo of her late husband on top as well. Just to make sure everything's beautiful, centred and ready to go. Ko tona hoa rangatira tenei. Whaea June was so selfless. She was all about all of Maori, but more so urban Maori. And giving those who were brought up in cities a place to call home ` a turangawaewae. - She established Nga Whare Waatea, and there, Whaea June will go to lay in state. She's put on a beautiful day to come back, hasn't she? Man. So we'll turn this way. On three, we'll lift. One, two, three. Up together. And we're going to turn around and face the marae. 'At Nga Whare Waatea Marae, 'we've got all wahine carrying Dame June on to the marae.' Watch your step. Just stop there. Whaea June, she was a very outspoken lady and she spoke what she thought. (WOMAN PERFORMS KARANGA) For her, expressing her mana wahinetanga was to have female pallbearers to carry from the hearse up on to the marae atea. - Kia hiwa ra! Kia hiwa ra! - ALL: ...mate, ka ora, ka ora! Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru, Nana i tiki mai, whakawhiti te ra! - When one calls tupapaku on to the marae, they are calling that person, but at the same time they're calling many ancestors and tupuna that they want to be there to come on to the marae as well, because we don't want our loved one going back beyond the veil by her or himself. We want them to be guided and carried by the many ancestors who have gone before her, to come and collect her, to take her there, lead her the way and show how to go. And during that time, you think of your own ancestors, your own tupuna, and those memories come flooding back, because we all can relate to a tangihanga and to the first call on the marae, which is the karanga. (WOMAN PERFORMS KARANGA) Just go all the way forward. We're going to go on top of the blanket, eh? And down together. That's it. Yep. Ordinarily, we will take the tupapaku inside, but because of the restrictions given to us, the family have decided, because of the many people that will come and express their aroha and love to Whaea June and her whanau, they're going to have her outside on the marae, on the mahau. What a beautiful expression of a love. And one that will leave beautiful, lasting memories for her whanau. (MOURNERS SING WAIATA) - Today is the funeral day where we're going to have whaea June's final service on the marae. Today we've got the prime minister there, various political parties, and, you know, it's like a mini parliament sitting. If you had a good look around and thought, 'Oh my goodness, everyone's here.' - My nan would be super happy that Jacinda is here. She loved, you know, politicians. She would love it that the National Party are here. We got Matua Hone here. The Greens came. New Zealand First. She loved Winston Peters. The Maori Party, of course. She'd love you, Rawiri. (LAUGHTER) Probably happy that the Act Party's not here. I don't think she would have liked them very much at the moment. - I've had a bit of a rebellious paepae. Sort of Maori Party takeover at the start, and had to kick them off for a while. and then barred them from talking to the Prime Minister. - If you didn't have thick skin, you could get offended quite easily. But because all those politicians and different community group leaders, they're all used to it. And so you'd sit there and go, '(GASPS) did he just say that?' But, yes, they did. - For all those that have... that have been victims to the arero of our Whaea June, I know what that feels like. (LAUGHTER) You guys are all here to make sure that she's going to actually be in the ground. (LAUGHTER) - She challenged them to say, 'How dare you use our people for fodder in the prisons.' You don't know anything about our people, and yet you write all these reports that influence decision-making processes. And, ah` it would have been OK if she'd stopped there. (LAUGHTER) - If you knew Whaea June, that was her ` said it how it was. And so let's not beat around the bush. Say what you think. And all the whakaaro came out. That was` That's one thing ` it was a true reflection on Dame June, cos that's exactly how she was. - Just before COVID hit, I got to see my Nana in person for the last time. I rubbed her feet and I did her nails. She asked me my name and I said it was Te Muranga. And she said, 'That's my name.' And I said, 'Yes. You are my grandmother.' And at that moment, recognition came over her. And I told her I was well and I had a baby daughter now, and she asked to see her. I rushed to grab my baby from the other room. But when I returned, the moment had gone and she didn't remember me any more. But I remember this moment and how my nana was so proud of me. (MOURNERS SING WAIATA) (WOMEN KARANGA, MEN WAEREA) (MAN VOCALISES) (CONCH BLOWS) - MAN: A ha turuki, turuki. - ALL: Paneke, paneke. - MAN: A ha turuki, turuki. (WAEREA CONTINUES) - We've arrived at Te Piriti urupa, and we're going to go walk down to the grave where her late husband is awaiting her arrival. And on our way to the gravesite, we have kaikaranga calling Whaea June in. We have people walking with us, taking Whaea June, performing waerea. - Takoto. - And all of these words that are spoken, all of the calling, the crying ` apakura. These are all tributes that are being paid to Whaea June, and also opening up the way to the heavens, that she may arrive there to the many of our ancestors who are there already. - You know, dad went down in 1994. So, you know, it's, ah` 28 years or something, in terms of Dad, you know, being down there. And he'll be happy now. That his mate's come back. So, we love you, my mum. Mo ake tonu atu. - E te Atua kaha rawa, whakapai atu ana matou ki a koe. Ko tau whakaaranga... - Ko nga rarangi maunga, tu te ao, tu te po. Ko te rarangi tangata, ngaro noa, ngaro noa, ngaro noa. E te whaea, kua ngaro atu koe i te tirohanga kanohi. Hoki atu ki to hoa rangatira, ki o whanau katoa e tatari mai na mou ki tua o te arai. Haere mai, haere, haere, haere. (TINKLY MUSIC) (CELL PHONE CHIMES) - Hello. - Dear, how are you? How's it all going? - Oh, it's pretty good. I mean, I feel fine. It's only day two, and thankfully, my tests have come back negative today as well. - Tamale's a close contact, so we're just ringing him to see how his RATs tests are going. Has he tested? And, at the moment, he's all negative. - Dear, what's it like when you have to do your tests, cos you need to do that yourself, right? - Yeah. It's-It's, like, weird, because, like, you know when someone does it, like, and then you feel resistance, you can't really push their hand away. Whereas when you do it, you just want to hurry up and take it out, cos, you know, it hurts. - You made me want to squeeze my nose. - Me too. I could feel it. - I cried so many times trying to attempt to do it, but, nah, we got there in the end. - And how's Fehi been going? She had a bit of a cough. She's all right? - Yeah, nah. She did have a cough, but, nah, she said she doesn't want to get it. I told her I was negative. I was like, nah, you might as well get it. Just give you that peace of mind that you actually don't have it. - I wouldn't mind her going into isolation, having seven days away from her. That'd be quite nice. - (GASPS) Rude. (LAUGHTER) - It's important to keep tabs on everyone, to make sure they're, you know, cos it could probably` it could possibly affect your hinengaro. But again, stressing to him, it's the virus that's the issue, not you. Oh well, is there anything you need? Like, any kai that we can get delivered and brought over. Any... do you want any... Coke or Sprite or` - No! Don't say Coke. He's on a kaupapa. - No? - Tamale is doing so well on his hauora kaupapa. My husband, he's so` yeah. He's very kino. He's still the same, dear. Still trying to get everybody off the kaupapa and tempt them all the wrong kai. - Oh well, everyone's eating salads around here. It's so boring. - It's just weird being home, because usually I'm` - Busy at work. Yes. Cos you're such a busy body. Always, you know, with families and moving bodies and driving hearses. The funerals. You're just such a busy person. It must be so hard for you to sit still. Well, thank you for keeping us all safe. You're doing what you need to do. That's awesome. - Yeah, hard out. I definitely can't wait to see you guys. - OK. Take care. - Stay safe, dear. Stay safe. - All good. Talk soon. Bye. - OK then. Bye. Well, that's good. He seems OK, eh? - Yeah. He's good. He seems to know what to do at home. But the whole process of doing that himself, oof. - Yeah, let's hope we don't have to our own, eh? - No. So, I was thinking, if I need to, will you help me? - I can help. I'd do yours and you do mine. - Thank you.