Trouble-free Waitangi Day

Despite an anti-oil-drilling hikoi - led here by Reti Boynton of Kaitaia - at Waitangi Day festivities in the Bay of Islands, the 2015 commemorations of the nation's founding document have been hailed as one of the smoothest and most trouble-free celebrations ever. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Waitangi Day 2015 has been hailed as one of the most successful to date with a trouble-free crowd of more than 30,000 and one of the biggest waka displays in decades.

Waitangi National Trust visitor experience manager Mori Rapana said he was "absolutely rapt" with the festival's success and the number of families that took part.

He also praised participants in the peaceful Waitangi Day hikoi, which starts every year outside Te Tii Marae and ends at the Treaty Grounds flagpole.

Another hikoi which ended at Waitangi a day earlier, aiming to highlight concerns about oil exploration off Northland's west coast, also passed without incident. Mr Rapana estimated more than 30,000 people attended on February 6 alone and the trust felt pressure to organise a memorable festival for the 175th anniversary.

"We had to work quite hard to bring together a festival people would remember," he said.

One of the new attractions this year was an evening concert on a stage at the upper Treaty Grounds with Kiwi band Ardijah as the headline act. In past years, evening entertainment had focused on a smaller area at the lower grounds near the Whare Waka. The upper stage would almost certainly return in 2016 after the success of this year's trial.

Top kapa haka performers from around the country as well as a larger than usual Navy presence - vessels were anchored in the Bay all week and sailors held a charter parade in Paihia - added to the atmosphere, he said.

Meanwhile, Nga Waka Federation and the umbrella group Te Korowai staged one of the biggest waka displays of recent years. At least 15 vessels took part including the great waka Ngatokimatawhaorua, which celebrated its 75th birthday on Waitangi Day, plus an ocean-going waka from Tainui and a large contingent from Rotorua's Te Arawa tribe.

A waka pageant in front of Te Tii Marae on Friday morning culminated with a mass haka for thousands of spectators in which kaihoe (paddlers) from Ngapuhi and Te Arawa appeared to compete for the loudest, most fearsome display.

Parallel festivities at Te Tii Marae also went without a hitch, thanks in part to new marae trustees determined to host a peaceful welcome for the nation's politicians.

Police had a large presence, setting up bases at the yachting and bowling clubs, but made no arrests. The Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Creative NZ and the Morgan Foundation helped pay for the festivities on the Treaty Grounds.