Dallas Matarautahi Taukiri (Ngāti Kiriwai/Tainui) calls himself the Queen of Kāwhia.
He gets to check out everyone arriving or leaving the small seaside settlement with a magnificent harbour, an hour and a half west of Hamilton.
That s because he works at the Rusty Snapper cafe where the favourite on the menu for kids is either Loaded Wedges with bacon, sour cream, sweet chilli and cheese, or Cheesey Wheezy, which is fries with cheesy mayonnaise on top.
For 24-year-old Dallas, Kāwhia is a place he s come and gone from many times in his life.
But he says it was returning this last time that he really opened his eyes.