Thousands turn out for Christchurch Matariki Fireworks Spectacular

Thousands of people turned out for the Matariki Fireworks Spectacular in Christchurch.

The event, run by the Christchurch City Council, was held in New Brighton on Saturday night.

The spectacular replaces the event usually planned for Guy Fawkes.

Local food was on offer at New Brighton Mall followed by kapa haka, fire and aerial performers before the Ōtautahi skies were lit up at 7pm.

Stace, Anika and Dave, from The Hits, were to emcee the event.

Those who could not make it were able to tune in to 97.7FM (The Hits) from 7pm to listen to Kiwi songs synched to the fireworks.

Thousands of people have turned out for the Matariki Fireworks Spectacular in Christchurch. Photo / George Heard

Stacey Morrison, from The Hits, told the Herald the event was a great way to celebrate Matariki.

"It's a nice way to look at what New Brighton offers as a setting. I think we've got this backdrop of a beautiful night sky and we all just enjoy these fireworks."

She said different iwis would quite often recognise whatever star was their reference for the new year.

Ngāi Tahu, in the south, often recognises Puanga, another star that is particularly bright in the south.

"The beautiful thing about Matariki is that it is something ancient that was nearly lost to us that we've been able to reclaim as this tradition.

"It's really about looking at the year that's passed, being grateful for the harvest and everything that we can get from our environment and everything we've survived in the last year. As well as planning for the year ahead and give our wishes to the wishing star Hiwai-i-te-rangi."

Thousands turned out in Christchurch this evening to see the Matariki Fireworks being set off at New Brighton Beach. Photo / George Heard

Morrison said it was important to celebrate the Māori new year as it is unique to New Zealand.

"It's relevant to our seasons, in these cold winter months it is time to look at things that are relevant to us."

The Matariki star cluster is well known throughout the world and at different times of the year can be seen around the globe. It is one of the brightest clusters in the sky, containing hundreds of member stars.

It has different names around the world. In English, it is called by its ancient Greek name, Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. In Hawaiian it is Makali'i, "eyes of royalty", and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning "gathered together".

• To find out more about Matariki, read this story from Kāhu.