Gang members from around the country are expected to descend upon Auckland for a tangi.
William 'Bird' Hines' farewell is expected to be the largest gang funeral in New Zealand history.
He had years of poor health from type two diabetes and was released from prison on compassionate grounds.
The Herald's Jared Savage says he had a ferocious reputation and younger gang members looked up to him.
"He did a lot of very bad things, he had a very staunch obsession with violence and kidnapping- those sort of violent stand overs. He was pretty much the first meth trial in New Zealand's history back in 2000."
LISTEN ABOVE

David Seymour: ACT Party leader on the party's bid to scrap the Waitangi Tribunal if elected
03:26

Debbie Power: MSD chief executive on the review into the Ministry's thousands of payment errors
05:34

Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the report into the MSD payment errors
06:05