Waitangi Day commemoration to be held near site of original Hawke’s Bay signing

Hawke's Bay kaumatua Jerry Hapuku at an earlier Waitangi Day commemoration beside the Clive River. Photo / NZME

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 the Clive River, Te Awa o Mokotūāraro.

This is close to Waipureku, 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 begin at 7.45am at Ātea a Rangi, the Celestial Compass in Waitangi Park, Awatoto with a karakia, followed by a Hikoi of Hope along Te Awa o Mokotūāraro, to the haka pōwhiri by mana whenua at Farndon Park at 8.30 am.

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.

Environmental, indigenous and human rights advocate Tina Ngata will deliver a keynote speech on co-governance, followed by a Treaty workshop hosted by Tāwhana and Robin Chadwick.

Hastings district councillor Ann Redstone, chairwoman of the Waipureku Waitangi Trust, which organises the event, said they are expecting crowd numbers 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, Eastern and Central Community Trust and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.

“This event was first organised by Jim and Marie Edwards over 20 years ago, with rides in the mighty waka Ngā Tukemata o Kahungunu a central feature,” Redstone said.

However, the state of the river stopped this, although waka taurua have remained an important part of the commemoration.

“With the iwi organising a much bigger family festival 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.”