Celebration events in Auckland for Anniversary Day were a hop, skip and a jump away from one another this year as tens of thousands packed the waterfront.
Wynyard Quarter was the centre of much of the celebrations with people eating their way around the Auckland Seafood festival at Halsey St Wharf, music lovers partying at Silo Park for the Laneway festival and others taking in the International Buskers Festival at the Viaduct.
On the Waitemata Harbour for the annual regatta, the Coastguard reported fewer boats on the water than in previous years. There were 20 calls for assistance - most of them related to mechanical problems, Coastguard spokeswoman Georgie Smith said.
Regatta chairman Eric Mahoney said the 15 knot easterlies made for perfect sailing conditions for an event that he cheekily suggested had a better pedigree than the America's Cup. The annual event - which went back to September 1840 before a change of dates - was 11 years older than the more famous yachting event.
Highlights for him included the yacht Jessie Logan, which dates to 1878, and M class yachts, 18ft kauri yachts which are 90 years old.
