Tribute from Maurice Mitchinson
I first met Mike just after Christmas in 1971 in the Orongorongo Valley. Little did I know then that it would be the start of a long friendship for the next 52 years. Mike became an important part of our family and we became great mates. He was like the brother I never had. Not long after we met, I started giving Mike a hand building his hut. We continued to work on projects together replacing coal ranges and making repairs to our huts. Mike loved a good challenge and was very meticulous when it came to repairing something. We had many memorable trips in the Land Rovers together, like down to Kahurangi Lighthouse. Mike was renowned for taking detours to find a 'better way' through a river or bog and getting stuck. Bush time eventually evolved into a family affair when kids came along, and we spent many good times in the bush together with our young families. Mike loved to show kids how things worked and enjoyed taking John and Dean for a ride in the Land Rover and helped John build his new Lego sets. It was a joy to see him spend time with his grandson Louie. Mike was always there when the chips were down like when I had my accident. Apparently he sat outside my hospital room for the first 4 days I was in ICU. The last few months of Mike's life have been tough on all the family but Mike soldiered on and he was always thinking on the positive side of things. He was still giving instructions from his hospital bed on how things should be done, like when he asked Jamie to bring his tools into hospital to fix his wheelchair. I would like to thank everyone for their support of Mike over the last 9 years of his cancer battle. Mike, you will be sorely missed in the Valley, but never forgotten.
