{"id":119725,"date":"2025-11-05T18:54:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T18:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/119725\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T18:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T18:54:07","slug":"te-puke-father-tristan-eru-oakes-mother-makes-moving-tribute-to-her-son-after-fatal-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/119725\/","title":{"rendered":"Te Puke father Tristan \u2018Eru\u2019 Oakes\u2019 mother makes moving tribute to her son after fatal shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

He and his twin were two halves of the same heartbeat \u2013 connected in spirit, humour, love, and loyalty. <\/p>\n

Alongside his three other brothers, they shared adventures, laughter and the kind of brotherhood that runs deep in the blood.<\/p>\n

Eru was happiest outdoors \u2013 hunting, exploring, being in nature and providing for those he loved.<\/p>\n

\" Tristan “Eru” Oakes, (left) and his twin brother Wharehuia. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

He had a deep respect for the land, for the skills passed down through generations, and for the traditions that rooted him in who he was.<\/p>\n

His love for hunting wasn\u2019t just about the sport \u2013 it was about connection. To the land, his t\u016bpuna (ancestors), and his family.<\/p>\n

He also loved working on projects \u2013 building, fixing, creating \u2013 especially when it came to helping others. One of his greatest joys was working on his koro\u2019s house. Every nail, every board, every moment spent working was soaked in love, respect, and purpose.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just a project \u2013 it was a legacy, a way of honouring those who raised him.<\/p>\n

\" Tristan “Eru” Oakes, 29, was happiest outdoors, his grieving mother Sonya Grace writes. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Eru loved deeply. To his partner, he was a safe place. To his two babies, he was the world. Their smiles were his happiness.<\/p>\n

He was a playful, gentle, and protective dad who made sure his little ones always felt seen and loved.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t just show up for his family \u2013 he showed up for his community.<\/p>\n

Whether lending a hand, sharing kai, or offering a laugh when someone needed it most, Eru had a way of making others feel grounded and valued.<\/p>\n

\"TristanTristan Oakes was fatally shot in Te Puke, Bay of Plenty, on October 25. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Though his life was tragically cut short, the imprint he leaves behind will last forever. <\/p>\n

In every shared memory, every project he started, every place he hunted, and every growth milestone his babies reached \u2013 his presence remains.<\/p>\n

Eru was loved. He is loved. And he will always be remembered not by how he left this world, but by how he lived in it: with purpose, heart, and deep connection to his family, his culture, and his whenua.<\/p>\n

Love you, our Boy xox <\/p>\n

\u2013 Sonya Oakes<\/p>\n

Two men have been charged with Tristan Oakes\u2019 murder, and are due to appear in the High Court at Tauranga this month. <\/p>\n

Sandra Conchie<\/a> is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional\/community reporter of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He and his twin were two halves of the same heartbeat \u2013 connected in spirit, humour, love, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[74,1558,4057,5972,634,84399,77975,84400,37235,11784,2209,5504,1874,1445,74013,42,1364,1345,2241,1967,296,33450,685,7973,6176,424,6187,5338,5829,6178,2686,43,76862,1570,5351,46601,180,7819,22639,55997,1227,8690,61,40,38,41,39,84401,20838,76861,686,30859,102,26157,4181],"class_list":["post-119725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-after","tag-been","tag-behind","tag-day","tag-death","tag-eru","tag-eruera","tag-erus","tag-farewelled","tag-fatal","tag-father","tag-following","tag-found","tag-friends","tag-gunshot","tag-headlines","tag-her","tag-home","tag-hospital","tag-insights","tag-into","tag-known","tag-last","tag-leaves","tag-legacy","tag-life","tag-lives","tag-makes","tag-many","tag-mother","tag-moving","tag-news","tag-oakes","tag-october","tag-previous","tag-puke","tag-shares","tag-shooting","tag-son","tag-sonya","tag-tauranga","tag-te","tag-to","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-touched","tag-tribute","tag-tristan","tag-week","tag-whnau","tag-with","tag-words","tag-wound"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}