Nelson's Māori Santa has been given the welcome he always wanted, in Wellington.
Community worker Rob Herewini was the special guest at a Christmas Parade in the Aro Valley, after a Facebook campaign called to bring him to the capital.
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It's been a whirlwind month for Mr Herewini, or as he's come to be known, Māori Santa.
Mr Herewini appeared at Nelson's Santa Parade as Hana Kо̄kо̄, but backlash to his red kākahu, fish-hook sceptre and lack of beard led to event organisers apologising.
"I've been living in Nelson for 39-40 years now, so I was quite disappointed to some of the reactions towards me being Hana Kо̄kо̄," he said.
But Lexi Taylor, Natasha Crombie, and Nik Moke decided Mr Herewini deserved a crowd that would appreciate him, and prove the negativity isn't a reflection of the whole of New Zealand.
"Yeah, we thought Wellington would give him a good reception," said Ms Taylor.
More than 6000 people signed up to the Facebook event calling for Mr Herewini to go to Wellington, with organisers even paying to bring him to the capital.
"Can we actually bring him? Does he actually want to come?" said Ms Taylor.
"We heard he did want to come, and we can't believe he's here. We're so honoured and stoked he's here to be a part of it."
Entering to a waiata, alongside an old-school traditional Santa, a good reception is exactly what Hana Kо̄kо̄ got.
"I got goosebumps, it was awesome," said Ms Crombie, while Ms Moke said the crowd's roar was "amazing".
Mr Herewini has been overwhelmed by the support.
"I work at a primary school in Nelson, and the kids know who Hana Kо̄kо̄is, and that's awesome, that's cool," he said.
"Aroha ki te tangata, everybody love everybody," he said to those in Wellington.
And after the reaction he got from the crowd, he's not ruling out coming back next year too.
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