Observing Waitangi Day in Hawke’s Bay started in 2000. I was the chairman of the Māori Millennium Committee at the time and we had organised a dawn ceremony at Clive with Ngā Tukemata Waka Taua on the river to welcome the rising sun on the first day of the new millennium. It was hugely successful and inspirational for all those that came along.
Over breakfast, those of us in the committee - Marie Edwards, Tom and Piki Mulligan and Lovie Edwards -agreed it was a wonderful occasion and we were still filled with euphoria over what had just occurred. We agreed to capitalise on the success of the one-off dawn ceremony and to do something that was more lasting, like a legacy.
I suggested Waitangi Day as it was coming up within six weeks and the committee whole-heartedly agreed. That’s how our Waitangi Day celebrations started. It wasn’t the “done” thing in those days. People preferred to call it a commemoration, but I’ve always believed we have every reason to celebrate as the original treaty signing document was about partnership between the Crown and Māori.
In 2000 our budget was $300 and we had no expectations of how many people would show up, but around 500 people came along to Farndon Park, Clive. Ever since then, the occasion has been marked by a hikoi (walk), a ceremony with waka and craft on the water, entertainment, a food market and sport.
Touch has been a sporting tradition on Waitangi Day since 2001 and Anaru Bartlett has been the sole organiser of that tournament to this day. He is the epitome of passion for touch and he and his family have embraced living a healthy lifestyle in their lives, work and play.
Another Waitangi Day tradition has been Ngā Tukemata o Kahungunu waka, one of the first waka taua in Aotearoa for men and women. The waka is owned by a trust that uses the waka in a programme for people with mental disabilities since 1994.
The waka is operated by Jim and Marie Edwards and the community has always been welcome to row the 40-man waka during the day-long celebrations. Up to 10 trips are normally scheduled and there has been an annual fundraiser to cover the waka’s annual insurance bill.
Sadly this activity is no longer offered because the river has been silting up for years and is too shallow to safely paddle on now. It’s a real pity, as this was a popular activity for visitors in the early days of cruise ship visits to Napier.
By 2010, the Waitangi Day event at Farndon Park had become hugely popular, attracting thousands of people and hundreds of cars with no room for expansion. Land opposite the park used for parking was sold to a developer for housing so I discussed with the committee the option of moving the Waitangi Day event to the Hawke’s Bay Sports Park.
My reasoning at the time was that the sports park offered excellent event benefits including safe off-road parking, expansion of sports to include more codes, a 2000-seat stadium with more toilets than McLean Park, Napier and the potential to grow the event.
Committee members were lukewarm about the idea but in 2011 agreed to support a two-part plan. Farndon Park would host a twilight water event on February 5 and a morning water ceremony the next day and finish the day at the sports park with sports, entertainment and a food village. Waipureku Waitangi Commemoration funded by all three local councils has replaced the Farndon Park event and is now centred around Waitangi and the Clive River and still attracts visitors to the morning ceremony.
Over the past 10 years, Waitangi Day has grown to be the biggest annual event Mitre10 Sports Park Hawke’s Bay hosts, with 10,000-plus visitors coming and going all day to the free event.
Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated is the only iwi to be the main funder of a Waitangi Day event for a major centre in New Zealand.
National and international acts have included Ardijah, House of Shem, Tomorrow People, Sammy J, Fiji, Ria Hall, Savage and Aradhana. Our Waitangi Day event has also hosted two Ngāti Kahungunu Regional kapa haka competitions.
Sports we have hosted over the decade have included volleyball, netball, touch, rugby league, ripper rugby, Ki Orahi and 3x3 basketball.
Since 2017 we have booked Mahons Amusement rides and they have provided free rides all day to thousands of thrill seekers of all ages. I am always delighted to see the thousands of people who come along and genuinely enjoy themselves. Most of the food vendors come year after year and most sell out. It’s good for business and our event supports around 60 businesses. Ten community, sports and school groups also use this occasion as major fundraisers and service providers have always seen benefits to their participation.
Waitangi Day celebrations were cancelled last year due to Covid-19 restrictions on events so I am so looking forward to us coming together again to celebrate family, community and nationhood in real time on our national day.
Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated acknowledges the support of our funders who have come through to support our day. Check out our poster on the back page of this publication of Tihei Kahungunu for more information.
