He’s the feared and revered Head Hunter whose death sparked a 500km procession of more than a hundred bikes as various gangs paid tribute.

Now, William “Bird” Hines is set to be laid to rest alongside other members of his family at the urupā of Motuiti Marae near Foxton, with his tangi expected to begin around 11am today.

Hines was among the most senior members of the Head Hunters motorcycle club. He was released this year from prison on compassionate grounds amid ailing health and died on Wednesday.

His body was taken to lie in state at the Head Hunters East pad in Marua Rd.

Over the following days, many Head Hunters and members of other gangs, alongside whānau and well-wishers, converged on the pad to pay their respects.

On Saturday, a van carrying his casket accompanied by dozens of Head Hunters riders left for the marae at Himatangi, just north of Foxton, where the Hines family is from.

At times the convoy numbered more than 100 riders. Before the ride, police convened a high-level meeting, sparked by fears the procession could cause mayhem on the motorways.

While police impounded a motorbike, seized a stolen car and made a few arrests, those fears largely did not come to pass, despite the massive convoy. It was followed all the way to Foxton by the police Eagle helicopter and patrol cars.

The gathering of Head Hunters in Foxton and surrounds has also been relatively quiet.

Police have told residents of Foxton and nearby towns they can expect to see a heightened police presence ahead of the funeral proceedings starting late on Monday morning.

The death was marked by family and friends paying respects to the “OG” (Original Gangster) on social media and his tangi is anticipated to be among the largest gang funerals in New Zealand history.

He was serving a 17-year prison sentence for running a methamphetamine syndicate but was released by the Parole Board late last year on compassionate grounds.

Hines was living with type 2 diabetes, which required dialysis every second day and resulted in limb amputation, heart disease and end-stage renal failure.

The esteem in which Hines was held in the Head Hunter fraternity is illustrated by a message in the East chapter’s pad at 232 Marua Rd which simply states “In Bird We Trust”, a phrase used on several other placards put up ahead of his tangi last week.

The police are seeking for the premises, and other properties, to be forfeited to the Crown in a long-running case taken against the club’s alleged president, Wayne Doyle.

During the recent High Court trial, Doyle spoke warmly of his old friend Hines when asked why he continued to associate with people who had been involved in meth manufacture.

He described Hines as a “unique, amazing sort of a character”.

“How do you throw your friends out that have been beside you for years and years and years?” Doyle said.

“You don’t just throw someone out because they get into trouble. You’ve got to stand by them.”

Hines was released from prison shortly before his 70th birthday and had been living with a family member who provided 24/7 care in his final months.

A previous Parole Board decision noted that Hines wanted to “make peace with his whānau as a consequence of his offending history on them”.

His criminal history stretches back to at least 1989, when Hines was caught with a loaded pistol in the lounge bar of a hotel. Pistols are prized in the criminal underworld, a weapon of status.

But it was the lucrative profits of methamphetamine which took Hines from menacing standover man to the big time.

He was one of the ringleaders of a network who dubbed themselves the “Methamphetamine Makers Co Ltd”, alongside infamous bank robber Waha Safiti and meth cook Brett Allison.

The trio was planning to split a batch of methamphetamine to yield hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The business partners were busy falling out when police swooped in 2000 following Operation Flower.

Bugged conversations were played at the trial in which Saifiti and Hines were recorded talking about “whacking” people.

After serving seven years for the Operation Flower drug crimes, Hines managed to stay out of prison until becoming the principal target of a new police investigation, Operation Sylvester, in 2015.

By this time, he sat at the very top of the Head Hunters hierarchy and was revered by gang members as a Godfather-type figure. Despite being in his 60s and riddled with health problems, “Bird” was still feared in the criminal fraternity.

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