Waitangi Day commemoration near site of original signing

A commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in Hawke’s Bay is once again being held on Monday, February 6.

A commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in Hawke’s Bay is once again being held on Monday, February 6, on the banks of Te Awa o Mokotūāraro (commonly known as the Clive River).

This is close to Waipureku, the site where three chiefs - Te Hapuku, Hoani Waikato and Harawira Mahikai Te Tātere - boarded the HMS Herald on June 24, 1840, and signed the Treaty under the watchful eye of emissary Major Thomas Bunbury.

The morning’s events will begin at 7.45am with a karakia at Ātea a Rangi, the Celestial Compass in Waitangi Park, Awatoto, followed by a ‘Hikoi [walk] of Hope’ along Te Awa o Mokotūāraro, to the haka pōwhiri by mana whenua at Farndon Park at 8.30am.

People are welcome to attend the pōwhiri whether they walked or not.

Iwi Kaumatua, descendants of the signatories of Te Tiriti at Waipureku, Members of Parliament, local mayors, chairs, councillors and staff, and members of the public are expected at the commemoration.

After the pōwhiri, dignitaries will be invited to speak on the significance of the day and site. Historian Pat Parsons will be speaking, as well as Keith Newman and Martin Williams.

To complete the morning, a Treaty workshop will be hosted by Tāwhana and Robin Chadwick.

Hastings district councillor Ann Redstone, chairwoman of the Waipureku Waitangi Trust, which organises the event, said they were expecting crowds to exceed the hundreds who attended the event prior to Covid restrictions. Sponsorship has been provided from Hastings District Council, Napier City Council, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.

“This event was first organised by Jim and Marie Edwards more than 20 years ago, with rides in the mighty waka Ngā Tukemata o Kahungunu a central feature. However, the state of the river stopped this, although waka taurua have remained an important part of the commemoration,” Redstone said.

“With the iwi organising a much bigger family festival starting later in the day at the Mitre 10 Park, we have focused on making an opportunity for remembering the signing of the Treaty and reflecting on what this means to us as Treaty partners.

“We hope this commemoration will bring us closer to “He iwi kotahi tātau”, a statement uttered in February 1840 that is about aspiring as one, but respecting the mana and identity of each other toward nation building.”