Tributes flowed at Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club last night for the three club members who lost their lives off Māhia in a fishing tragedy.
Taina Sinoti (33), Elwood Higgins (37) and Damien Macpherson (38) had headed out fishing for bluefin tuna on Monday morning when conditions turned severe.
Their bodies were found on a beach on the eastern side of the Māhia Peninsula on Wednesday morning.
Police reported today that formal identification had been completed and the men had been released to their grieving families.
Area police commander Inspector Darren Paki said police mourned with the community at the loss.
“Police and everyone else involved in trying to locate and rescue them put their heart and soul into it. It’s an absolute tragedy.”
This afternoon close friends of Taina Sinoti released a joint statement in which they described a “hugely popular” man who had a “contagious laugh and smile”.
“You know someone’s funny when they can make you laugh at your own fault or pain,” it read.
“He loved a good yarn, but his actions always spoke louder than words.”
It said Taina had married the “woman of his dreams” and loved his two children, aged 5 and 1.
“He loved and fathered by example, and his legacy and love for them will never perish.
“Taina will be sorely missed by so many.”
The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union paid tribute to referee and former player Macpherson.
“It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the tragic passing of Damien Macpherson, a magnificent servant and rangatira within our rugby community,” a social media post said.
“Poverty Bay Rugby sends out our heartfelt condolences to Viv, Madison, Harvey, Brad, Karl, Mandy, John and the entire Macpherson whānau at this sad time.
“We acknowledge the incredible service that Damien gave to the game, more recently as a referee but also in the playing space.
“As a player, Damien was a proud Ngatapa man who had come through Gisborne Boys High and the First XV. He also represented the Weka of Poverty Bay in 2008 and was Poverty Bay’s Cap #1315.
“As a referee, Damien was outstanding.
“Amongst his many achievements were six consecutive Lee Brothers Shield finals, eight first-class games and selection for the NZ National referee squad in 2018 and 2019.
“Above all else and most importantly, Damo was a friend, a true community man and his values will live on in all the lives he touched.
“We will miss him terribly.
“Moe mai rā e te rangatira.”
The Givealittle page set up for Elwood Higgins' family by friend Ashley Garnham, says:
“A very treasured son, brother, father, partner and friend to all who knew him. Elwood was a legendary hunter gatherer who leaves behind a beautiful young daughter.
"We as friends and whānau want to ensure we are doing all we can to support Elwood’s whānau through this incredibly tough time.
“Donations will go directly to Elwood’s whānau to support with tangi costs and any other financial challenges they may face during this difficult time.”
The loss of the three popular men has deeply saddened the fishing fraternity and many others in the Gisborne community.
“We debated whether or not to hold our weekly club night but in the end we decided it was a good way to pay tribute to the three guys, and for our members to talk about them,” club president Roger Faber said.
“We had a minute’s silence for them and really the whole night was about them - remembrances, stories about the three of them and so on.
“They were all very popular members of our club.”
Many members of the men’s whānau were in the clubrooms for the evening.
“Our members are fully supportive of the families and there has been huge amounts of support provided by our members and by local businesses.”
There had also been “huge support” shown by other fishing clubs around the country, with fundraising under way for the families, Faber said.
Givealittle pages have been set up for each of the families and the Gisborne-Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club also has a page up. As of this afternoon it had raised about $67,000, which will be divided equally between the three families.
In total the four Givealittle pages had received about $256,000 as of 5pm today.
“This tragedy has prompted many of us to look at our own boat safety,” Faber said.
“From carrying out safety briefings prior to going out fishing to checking lifejackets and flares on our boats, radio communications, everything that we need to stay safe on the water.”
Jack Higgins, an uncle of deceased fisherman Elwood Higgins, has spoken of knowing where the trio’s bodies would wash up near Māhia on Wednesday morning.
Higgins told One’s Breakfast he knew where the bodies would be located after being briefed by the Rescue Coordination Centre, explaining its tracking process which involved looking at the ocean currents to see where the men would most likely be.
He and members of the families went to Māhia to try and find their missing whānau late Tuesday evening.
“Me and my nephews and my son-in-law, who was really close to Elwood, we had enough of sitting around on Tuesday night. At 11pm we decided to go to Māhia and search ourselves,” he said.
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Additional reporting by NZ Herald
