Bay of Islands town to mark 200 years since founding of Paihia Mission Station

The tall ship R Tucker Thompson will play a starring role in a re-enactment later this month of the 1823 landing of missionaries in Paihia. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The 200th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries in Paihia is being marked later this month with a series of events including a re-enactment, a free family festival and the launch of a “timewalk” through the town’s rich history.

Jackie Sanders, organiser of Paihia200, said the programme would bring together events, exhibitions and legacy projects to mark key moments in history.

That included the 1823 landing of church missionaries in present-day Paihia and the establishment of the Paihia Mission Station, where the relationship between Māori and Pākehā began in earnest — eventually leading to the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Sanders said the commemorations aimed to “bring people together and tell our stories”.

“We plan to spark kōrero, as well as increase understanding of a period of our history that experienced rapid change and conflict. We highlight the people, place and relationships that laid a critical role in the foundation of New Zealand,” she said.

Also taking place in mid-April was a reunion of the Williams family, with about 800 descendants of missionary Henry Williams, his wife Marianne and brother William, expected to gather in the Bay of Islands town.

A dramatisation of the missionaries’ arrival featuring waka and the tall ship the R Tucker Thompson would take place along the Paihia waterfront from about 2.30pm on April 14.

Also on April 14, from noon to 7pm, the Paihia200 Festival on the Village Green would offer music, arts and crafts, kapa haka, food stalls and the official launch of Ātea Nuku-Timewalk Paihia.

The line-up will include Whangārei reggae band IllumiNgati, DJ CeeKay and homegrown opera star Kawiti Waetford, who will also be the event MC.

Sanders said the innovative, experiential walk would use QR code technology to take participants on a journey through time, learning the stories of early cultural encounters and relationships between the Paihia Church Mission village and Te Tii Marae.

Waka and the tall ship R Tucker Thompson will feature in a re-enactment later this month of the landing of missionaries in Paihia 200 years ago. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Waitangi Marae chairman Ngati Kawa Taituha said the trail would celebrate the bond between the two cultures, which had been crucial to the signing of the 1835 Declaration of Independence and Te Tiriti o Waitangi five years later.

“The bicentennial will be commemorated in a way that enhances the mana [status] of everyone involved,” Taituha said.

“What we can do is learn from the past to make a better future for Aotearoa, as intended through the visionary foresight of both Māori and the missionaries when Te Tiriti was drafted and signed.”

Commemorations will continue throughout the year with exhibitions, workshops and events. Go to the Paihia200.com website for more information. Paihia200 is a collaboration between mana whenua, Te Tii Marae, the Williams family and community group Focus Paihia.