NZ on Screen: Waitangi Day

The Waka crews take part in the celebrations on Waitangi Day held at Waitangi, Northland. Photo / Dean Purcell

NZ On Screen Content Director Irene Gardiner marks Waitangi Day with a look back at some of our most significant television programmes about the Treaty of Waitangi and the history surrounding it.

This year is the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, so what better time to look back at some of our classic television documentaries and dramas about what happened at the treaty signing in 1840, and in the years since.

A good starting point is comedian Mike King's informative 2008 Maori Television series Lost in Translation. Inspired by an epiphany at the Waitangi Treaty grounds in 2000, and after learning New Zealand's founding document was actually several pieces of paper, King went on a quest to learn the stories behind Te Tiriti O Waitangi. He was motivated by feelings of guilt about how little he actually new about treaty history. Over the course of the series, King traces the 1840 path of the nine sheets as the treaty accrued its 540 signatures, he meets Maori and Pakeha descendants of those involved, and re-connects with his own Maori heritage.

You can view episode one of Lost in Translation here:

The first New Zealand television drama to tackle our early colonial history and the signing of the treaty was The Governor in 1977. The epic six-part series was a massive undertaking for the time, earning TV awards and record viewing numbers, as well as budgetary and political controversy. The series examined the life of Governor George Grey in six thematic parts. In Episode One - The Reverend Traitor, Grey (played by British import Corin Redgrave) arrives to colonial troubles: flag-pole chopping Hone Heke, missionary Henry Williams, and rebellious Te Rauparaha.

View episode one of The Governor here:

A more recent award-winning Treaty of Waitangi drama is the one-off teleplay Nga Tohu: Signatures, made in 2000. The programme follows a whanau taking a claim to the Waitangi tribunal, over plans their Pakeha neighbour has to build a resort on disputed land. The drama jumps between present day and 1839/40, when Maori chiefs were canvassed to support the treaty.

Watch Nga Tohu: Signatures here:

Historian James Belich's award-winning TV history of Maori versus Pakeha armed conflict, The New Zealand Wars, screened on TVNZ in 1998 to widespread acclaim. This excerpt from the first episode of the series examines growing Maori resentment following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and focuses on Nga Puhi chief Hone Heke who sees few concessions to partnership. The refusal of the British to fly a Maori flag alongside the Union Jack particularly incenses him - and his celebrated acts of civil disobedience directed at this symbol of Imperial rule flying over the town Kororareka (now Russell) lead to the outbreak of war in the north.

You can view an excerpt from episode one of The New Zealand Wars here:

As well as documentaries and dramas about the Treaty of Waitangi, we have also had annual TV coverage of Waitangi Day commemorations for many years. This classic NZBC coverage from 1974 featured the first Waitangi Day that was known as New Zealand Day (as announced by the Kirk Labour government, but later changed back to Waitangi Day by a National government). The 1974 day featured a royal entourage, and an "Aotearoa pageant." The pageant ranged from giant fake moa and Howard Morrison as Kupe to Age of Aquarius dancing. It doesn't stand the test of time quite as well as Prime Minister Norm Kirk's speech, which is rather more inspiring and enduring.

Watch New Zealand Day at Waitangi here:

You can see a more comprehensive selection of Waitangi-related screen titles in NZ On Screen's Waitangi collection.