[3] His mother Frances Paki (née Brown) was from Te Aupōuri,[3][4] the northernmost Māori iwi, or tribal group, in New Zealand.
[1] By the 1950s, Paki began dating Princess Piki Mahuta,[1] the only daughter of both King Korokī and his wife Te Atairangikaahu Hērangi.
[1] They had seven children - Heeni Wharemaru, Kiri Tokia Ete Tomairangi, Tuheitia, Maharaia, Mihikiteao, Kiki and Te Manawanui.
Paki had wanted a tombstone for his wife, but members of the royal family of Tainui, called kāhui ariki, are not permitted to have monuments at their graves.
[2] Instead, Paki planted a breed of purple roses, named specifically for Te Atairangikaahu, around a memorial stone at their home in Waahi Pā.
[8] His funeral was held at his home at Waahi Pā, Huntly, with dignitaries attending from as far away as the Cook Islands, Hawaii, and Samoa.