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Waitangi Day

Waitangi - Whanau - Whanui

How does commemorating Waitangi Day benefit our community?

The goal of the Waitangi Day 2008 working party was to facilitate a series of community events that encouraged wide participation and empowered district citizens to positively reflect and commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

All events were delivered in an environment that fostered respect for:

• Tangata Whenua: acknowledging the special place they hold as 'first nations' people.
• Celebrate and encourage a shared understanding and appreciation of community diversity by engaging, listening to and learning from each other.
• Elevate whanau and the special role family has to contribute to the future of our community.
• All events were free and enabled whanau the opportunity to spend quality family time together.
• Community building and networking.

In achieving the above goals, the community benefited in numerous ways:

• Because Waitangi Day events are FREE it is accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds to attend one/or more events.
• All events are characterised by positive notions of community and expression of cultural diversity.
• Learning was actively encouraged in all events and backed up with access to good quality information (via resources, facilitators and educators).

The key successes for the project can be measured in the positive feedback and media reports collected throughout the week as well as the increase of numbers attending (and participating) in all aspects of the programme. Return to top

Why commemorate Waitangi Day at Puke Ariki?

In 2008 Waitangi events took place at Puke Ariki.This is a historically important site, located in the heart of the CBD of New Plymouth. The location has mana, as it was the most prominent Pa site of New Plymouth foreshore, which accords Puke Ariki regional significance not only to mana whenua but also to the wider community. The landing was also originally the heart of the early colonial town and the location of the first provincial council.

Today, the site is also the home to Taranaki’s premier cultural and heritage centre aptly named Puke Ariki. The essence of Puke Ariki is learning about who we are, where we come from and where we are going. The facilities and historical importance of Puke Ariki made this a fantastic new venue to hold the Waitangi events.

What events were held in New Plymouth District?

Three main activities were held:

The Dawn Ceremony (6 February 2008)
Located on a waahi tapu site adjacent to Puke Ariki, a dawn ceremony was held to mark the beginning of Waitangi Day.

Led by mana whenua Ngati Te Whiti, the event allowed for quiet reflection on what the signing of the Treaty means to both tangata whenua and tauiwi across culture and time. Joris de Bres, the Race Relations Commissioner also attended the ceremony to show his support for the Waitangi activities organised within the district.

After the official component of the ceremony was over, attendees enjoyed a free community breakfast and kapahaka, which enabled informal discussion and appreciation for the day.Return to top

Ngahau @ Puke Ariki (6 February 2008)
The Ngahau was comprised of a full outdoor stage programme which provided both a fun and safe environment in which to learn more about the Treaty and race relations.

Treaty educators were available on-site and members of the public were also able to access the resources available within Puke Ariki’s library and museum.

A key component of the day was to actively promote community diversity through cultural displays and entertainment for families.

The full stage line-up included:

• Headline New Zealand act: Ladi 6.
•  NZ Hip Hop Artist ‘Ethical’.
• Kanohi ki te Kanohi kapa haka.
• Maori Element (youth band).
• Japanese taiko drummers.
• Tongan community group.
• Samoan community group.
• Future New Zealand (dance phenomenon).

Within Puke Ariki, tours of the ‘Settler’ and Taonga Maori’ galleries ran throughout the day to provide a historical context to the activities.

Interactive Workshops
Four multi-ethnic workshops ran throughout the day to allow genuine interaction and hands-on learning.

The workshops included:

• Raranga Harakeke (Flax weaving).
• Poi and haka.
• Japanese taiko drum.
• '‘Can you kanikani?'

These sessions were very well attended and resulted in extremely positive feedback.

What activities were there for tamariki/children?

Tamariki Time Zone was a dedicated children’s area that provided free activities for young people of all ages to participate in. Return to top

Activities included:

• Painting the 2008 Waitangi Day flag.
• Face painting.
• Chalk murals.
• Hoola-hooping and moon hopping.
• A bouncy castle.
• Whakapapa activities within Discover It! (Puke Ariki)

E Kai!

To further enrich the day, multi ethnic food and art stalls also lined the site with a wide variety of crafts and cuisine from around the world.



In addition to the events held on the day the council also organised:

The Community Korero Workshop Series (4-8 February 2008)
The entire week of 4-8 February was dedicated to engage the community in a dialogue on the Treaty of Waitangi and Race Relations in Aotearoa/ New Zealand.

Over 250 people attended the five workshops and full day seminar. Small discussion groups allowed for real interaction and discussion with the facilitator and fellow participants.

The most popular session was 'Tino Rangatiratanga' with a sell out crowd. The range of topics included:

• Is the Treaty of Waitangi important in 2008?  (Youth Forum, facilitated by Marcus Akuhata-Brown.)
• Finding Common Ground ... What does that mean? (Facilitated by Joris de Bres Race Relations Commissioner.)
• Valuing older people’s perspective on the Treaty of Waitangi. (Facilitated by Marcus Akuhata-Brown.)
• How to apply the Treaty in your workplace. (Facilitated by Treaty Educator Margaret Smith.)
• Tino Rangatiratanga ... What does it really mean? Why fly the Tino Rangatiratanga flag, what does it symbolise? (Facilitated by Marcus Akuhata-Brown.)
• Māori- Pakeha-Asian: Cultural Tides on the Pacific Rim. (Full day seminar with international and national speakers.) 

 

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