Waitangi Day 2012

Dave Brennon, Leader of Pounamu Ngāi Tahu, who performed on the day.

On Monday, we celebrated Waitangi Day in New Zealand -  February 6th, 172 years after the signing of the country's founding document, The Treaty of Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, Northland, in 1840. As usual, there were organised official and social celebrations throughout the country. I went along to the Ngāi Tahu celebrations at Kaiapoi (although Ngāi Tahu's official celebrations were this year staged at Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff).

The Kaiapoi celebrations at Trousselot Park, took the form of a light-hearted re-enactment with a signing of the Treaty of Tuahiwi. Dozens of locals came in period dress and Pounamu Ngāi Tahu entertained the crowds with a Māori cultural performance. I've selected a few photos to show something of the mood of the day.

Waiting with Mum before the show

Always a surprise when 'a colonial' uses a modern camera.

Traditional Ta Moko

Performing for the crowds

The weather at Kaiapoi was baking hot on the day but locals relished the chance to forget earthquakes for a while, and to lounge about in the sun, thinking their own thoughts about the Treaty and what it has meant for their lives.

Celebrating Waitangi Day

Today is a public holiday in New Zealand - designated such to celebrate Waitangi Day, which in turn celebrates the signing of The Treaty of Waitangi at Waitangi in 1840. That's an aerial view of the Waitangi National Trust grounds at Waitangi above. The bridge across the causeway links Waitangi to the nearby village of Paihia in the Bay of Islands.

The two photographs above are among the many I took when I visited Waitangi last April, while travelling New Zealand updating the travel guide Frommers New Zealand. They show two views of Te Tii Marae, which sits adjacent to the Waitangi National Trust grounds and is the focus of Waitangi Day celebrations. Thousands of people and politicians will be packed in here today - and if today is like any other Waitangi Day celebration, some controversey is bound to arise.

The flagpole in the Treaty Grounds
I meanwhile, will be attending the Ngai Tahu Waitangi Day celebrations, which are being held at Onuku Marae in Akaroa. The Governor General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand will be in attendance. I hope to bring you photographs from today's Akaroa event later today and tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Books, Books and More Books

I’ve been collecting old books on matters Maori again. The first is A Dictionary of Maori Place Names by A.W.Reed and illustrated by James Berry. Published in 1961, it lists New Zealand place names and gives a concise meaning. Little ink sketches are a quirky addition. Tangata Whenua – The World of Maori is by D.M Stafford and was published by Reed in 1996. I guess in that regard it doesn’t really qualify as ‘old’ but it’s filled with good illustrations and some interesting facts. Last but least is a small boxed collection of leaflets on The Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document. Over 500 Maori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown signed the Treaty in 1840. The leaflets the story of the Treaty, it’s journey and timeline – an excellent backgrounder to a document that still colours the political and cultural climate of this country. www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nz

Waitangi 'Warriors'

Maori culture is very much alive and well in the Bay of Islands and while you won't see too many Maori roaming about town dressed like this, you will see performers like this at Waitangi National Reserve at Paihia. I met these two men as I was coming out of the Waitangi Visitor Centre and when I asked if I could take their photograph, they took up a traditional stance. www.waitangi.net.nz

A Northern Ancestor

I photographed this stunning carving inside the Whare Runanga at Waitangi National Reserve - which I wrote about here a couple of days ago. This pou tokomanawa represents Rahiri, the Ngapuhi chief. Pou representing the other iwi (tribes) of New Zealand are placed around the walls of the interior, each displaying the ancestors and distinctive carving styles of their region. www.waitangi.net.nz

Waitangi - The Whare Runanga

The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are home to two important buildings in national history – the Waitangi Treaty House, where the treaty was signed; and the Whare Runanga, a Maori meeting house. Both are monuments to a nation its people and its ancestors. When I was in Waitangi during my latest ‘around-New Zealand’ trip, I spent half a day at the Waitangi National Reserve, wandering the grounds and buildings with lead guide, Wil Napier (Ngapuhi). Wil was brought up on the reserve (his father was caretaker), so there’s no better person to have as your Waitangi tour guide.

The Waitangi Whare Runanga is a little different to most in that it is a building of national rather than tribal significance and as such, it welcomes people of all tribes and nationalities; and it is one of the few whare runanga that you are allowed to take photographs in. Its foundation stone was laid by Lord Bledisloe on February 6, 1934 and it opened in 1940 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. It is also unique in that its elaborate interior carvings are a monument to the ancestors of not one iwi (tribe) but to all tribes of New Zealand. The poupou (carved figures) down each side of the interior are arranged in pairs (28 in all), and because the whare runanga is in Ngapuhi territory, the Ngapuhi carvings of their tribal ancestors, Hineamaru and Rahiri take pride of place. The carvings for all tribes were created specifically for this whare runanga under the supervision of master carver, Pine Taiapa of Ngati Porou. Carvings from each iwi tell the ancestral story of each in their own distinctive carving style.

For Maori, the meeting house and marae (literally the grassed area in front) sit at the heart of Maori society and culture. They are a symbol of prestige, a monument to tribal ancestors and much more than a simple architectural statement. Each part of the wharenui (meeting house) symbolises a notable tribal ancestor – the head (koruru) at the top of the roof apex is the head of the ancestor; the ridgepole is his backbone; the bargeboards the arms (with lower ends divided to represent fingers); the interior rafters are the ribs; and the interior is the chest and belly. www.waitangi.net.nz

More From Te Tii Marae

This is the very cute wharenui at Te Tii Marae, build along the lines of the European-style community halls of the 1880s. Opened in 1922 by then Prime Minister, William Massey, it was built by members of the Maori Women’s League (now the Maori Women’s Welfare League), after World War I and the international flu epidemic had had a severe impact on the male members of Northland iwi. It replaces the original building, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which was erected on the same site in 1881 but was destroyed by a gale in 1917.

I also loved the gateway – I have a bit of a thing about entrances to buildings and complexes – and I photographed the plaque which sits on the inside wall of the entrance.

Waitangi - An Aerial View

Waitangi, Northland. Image Courtesy Waitangi National Trust
This is the very beautiful Waitangi National Trust Estate as viewed from the air. I visited here again on my recent trip around New Zealand and I was lucky enough to do two of the Trust’s guided tours, with Waitangi’s senior guide, Wil Napier (Ngapuhi), who was born and raised on the Waitangi grounds. This is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed on February 6th, 1840, granting Maori the rights of British subjects. The flagpole is in the foreground on the spot known as Te Pitowhenua, or Birthplace of a Nation. The Treaty of Waitangi is one of only two treaties in the war signed in peacetime not war. The other is the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959. www.waitangi.net.nz

A Place of Significance

Castle Hill, Porter's Pass. Dec. 2008. Ajr

The hefty limestone outcrops of Kura Tawhiti (Castle Hill), near Porter’s Pass - between the Torlesse and Craigeburn Ranges in the Southern Alps - are among my favourite places. Towering, sculptural, with an almost animate quality to them, they were used as shelters by early Maori navigating their way across the South Island along a network of trails….. hunters and gatherers visiting the rich food and fibre sources of the Waimakariri River basin. Some of the outcrops still show evidence of early rock drawings said to have been made over 500 years ago by the Waitaha people, the first Maori travellers in the area – but you have to know where to look and what to look for. The limestone valley is of special spiritual, cutlural and historical significance to Ngai Tahu and the area was declared a topuni ( a protective cover), in 1998 as part of the givernment's Treaty of Waitangi Settlement with Ngai Tahu.