{"id":646757,"date":"2026-10-31T09:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/646757\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T09:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:26:11","slug":"porirua-deputy-mayor-kylie-wihapi-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/646757\/","title":{"rendered":"Porirua deputy mayor Kylie Wihapi dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tributes are pouring in, after the death of Porirua deputy mayor Kylie Wihapi, aged 45.<\/p>\n

Mayor Anita Baker said she was numb with shock and disbelief at the sudden loss.<\/p>\n

“She was such a vibrant, outgoing and generous person, full of life, warmth and a deep love for all of Porirua,” she said.<\/p>\n

Baker said Wihapi died on Saturday morning, as the result of a fall.<\/p>\n

“There will be more to say about Kylie’s extraordinary contribution in the days ahead, but right now, my thoughts and deepest sympathies are with her wh\u0101nau, especially her husband Adam, son Cooper, step-son Arama, her mum and dad Marlene and Rob, her brothers and wider family. My heart breaks for them.<\/p>\n

Baker said Wihapi had made history as Porirua’s first elected M\u0101ori ward councillor.<\/p>\n

“She brought wisdom, courage, compassion and an unmistakable energy to everything she did.<\/p>\n

“I have lost a trusted adviser and friend, and her fellow councillors have lost a much-loved colleague.”<\/p>\n

\"Kylie<\/p>\n

Kylie Wihapi<\/p>\n

Supplied\/Barbara Edmonds Facebook<\/p>\n

“Kylie was Porirua through and through. She loved this city, believed in its people and worked tirelessly to make it a better place.<\/p>\n

“We will miss her terribly.”<\/p>\n

Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said she was “so very sad to hear of Kylie’s passing”.<\/p>\n

“She was so passionate about Porirua, every conversation with her was of huge pride for the whole community.<\/p>\n

“My deep condolences to her wh\u0101nau… Moe mai r\u0101 e te taonga.”<\/p>\n

Labour MP Barbara Edmonds said she was “heartbroken” at the loss of “one of our most amazing local wahine”.<\/p>\n

\"Barbara<\/p>\n

Barbara Edmonds and Kylie Wihapi.<\/p>\n

Supplied\/Barbara Edmonds Facebook<\/p>\n

“Kylie was everywhere and anywhere.<\/p>\n

“Whether it was on the netball court as a dedicated referee, hosting her annual Pink Breakfast to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation, co-ordinating her annual Christmas pet food drive, filling in for the mayor Anita Baker, coaching netball teams or following her beloved son Cooper on the rugby field side-lines.”<\/p>\n

Edmonds described her as “selfless” and “always keen for a dress up”.<\/p>\n

“Her energy for life was just immeasurable. No matter what it was, Kylie always made time for the community of Porirua that she loved so much.<\/p>\n

“Thank you e hoa for all that you’ve done for us and for Porirua. La manuia lau malaga.”<\/p>\n

Wellington City Council deputy mayor Ben McNulty said he was devastated.<\/p>\n

“Kylie was an incredibly warm and welcoming person, and deeply passionate about Porirua.<\/p>\n

“To her family, friends and wider community, I am so sorry for your deep loss.”<\/p>\n

P\u0101uatahanui general ward councillor Ross Leggett said Wihapi was “true child of Porirua” and “gone far too soon”.<\/p>\n

“To say the loss of Kylie Wihapi… is a shock would be an understatement.<\/p>\n

“I was elected to the council alongside her in 2016, and we were all the better for her openness, humour, warmth and sheer industriousness. She made a fine deputy mayor and gave so much to the city she loved.”<\/p>\n

The former mayor of Lower Hutt, Campbell Barry, said Wihapi’s passing was not fair.<\/p>\n

“I know so many will be hurting right now. Kylie Wihapi was a champion for Porirua, and so deeply rooted in community.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tributes are pouring in, after the death of Porirua deputy mayor Kylie Wihapi, aged 45. Mayor Anita Baker…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":646758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-646757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646757","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=646757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}