Notorious "unruly tourist" James Nolan, who caused havoc across the North Island in the summer of 2019, has died in the UK.
Nolan's relative posted a tribute on social media where she described him as the "best daddy to his big lovely children"'.
"My big lovely brother Jimmy Nolan as much as we always had argument been there all my life loved him like a big brother best daddy to his big lovely children and best husband to my sister (sic)," relative Lucy Nolan said on Facebook, adding his death didn't "feel real".
Nolan was part of a group of tourists who were first spotted littering and abusing beachgoers at Auckland's Takapuna before they went on to cause chaos across the North Island in 2019.
Krista Curnow, who was on Takapuna Beach at the same time as the group, told Newshub they threatened her after she confronted them about the rubbish they'd left behind.
Curnow posted a video on her Facebook page that showed a young boy wearing a straw hat threatening to "knock your brains out".
"There were about four or five ladies standing around me in a half circle basically egging each other on to hit me," she said at the time.
"At that stage, I backed off a little bit."
And that was just the beginning, with the tourists going on to destroy hotels, put ants in their meals so they didn't have to pay, steal Red Bulls from the petrol station and ending up in court.
Ten thousand Kiwis signed a petition to get them deported and, outside a Hamilton Burger King, they were given their deportation notice.
Nolan himself was charged with a raft of crimes including assault using a car, reckless driving and fraud related to roofing scams.
He failed to appear in court on multiple occasions and eventually managed to escape New Zealand after a Customs blunder at Auckland Airport.
Customs said at the time Nolan "deliberately circumvented border controls by using a valid passport that was not his own".
"He used an eGate which uses biometric data to match and confirm the identity of a passenger.
"The eGate identified further checks were needed on the passport. The image was automatically sent to a Customs officer, who incorrectly identified Nolan as the passport owner.
"Unfortunately that was a case of human error which shouldn't have occurred."
Customs subsequently launched a review into the processes that led to Nolan's escape.
Last year, the infamous saga was made into an opera.
How the saga unfolded
New Zealand's news was dominated by the family in the summer of 2019, who subsequently made world headlines.
The debacle traced back to January 13 of that year when the group of travellers, originally thought to be Irish but later confirmed to be English, were confronted on Takapuna Beach over the huge pile of rubbish they left behind.
It struck a nerve with New Zealanders, with many calling for them to be deported.
Police officers were called later the same day by staff at a Burger King outlet in Hamilton, who complained that the group was causing a ruckus.
Media attention covering the travellers continued to intensify and, while the group was in Hamilton, Tina Marie Cash pleaded guilty to two counts of theft in court.
Multiple restaurant owners then came forward alleging the group refused to pay bills for their meals. One curry restaurant in Northcote was allegedly $250 out of pocket after the group refused to pay.
The group was then spotted in Levin and, in an unexpected twist, was described by a motel employee as "polite" and "would be welcome back again".
However, Levin's mayor warned people in the area to watch out for the group.
The holidaymakers then made their way to Wellington, where they lied about a motel booking and were accused of trashing the room they stayed in. That was nearly a week after immigration officials asked the tourists to leave New Zealand.
One member of the group, however, told reporters earlier that week they would cut short their trip and return home because they felt "unwelcome" in New Zealand.
