Sir Jerry's thunderous welcome

Sir Jerry Mateparae addresses the crowd at Mangungu Mission. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae has made history by being the first representative of the Queen to visit Mangungu - scene of the third and biggest signing of the Treaty of Waitangi - since Governor Hobson in 1840.

Sir Jerry arrived in style befitting an historic occasion, landing at Horeke Domain in an Air Force NH90 helicopter after a short flight from Waitangi yesterday.

Sir Jerry Mateparae accepts the challenge at the gates to the historic Mangungu Mission.

He arrived accompanied by his wife Janine, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry, kaumatua Patu Hohepa, and a bevy of officials. Sir Jerry and Mr Hohepa then boarded the waka Kaitoki to be paddled down the harbour to Mangungu jetty.

The chopper had barely touched down when there was a peal of thunder and the skies opened, sending his entourage scurrying for umbrellas. The waka trip looked uncertain for a moment but, after a brief discussion, went ahead despite the deluge. Sir Jerry and Mr Hohepa were armed with an umbrella and caps to keep off the worst of the rain.

Back on land the kaihoe (paddlers) formed a guard of honour and Sir Jerry was met at the mission station gates with a spine-tingling challenge, followed by a haka powhiri by the children of Horeke School. Later, in a marquee set up near the old Wesleyan mission house, Sir Jerry said he felt honoured to be the first Governor-General to visit Mangungu since Hobson.

It was his ambition to visit all the places where the Treaty was signed and Mangungu, where up to 3000 Maori gathered and about 65 chiefs signed on February 12, 1840, was one of the most significant. It was important New Zealanders realised the Treaty was signed not just at Waitangi and not just on February 6.

Click on the image below for a clip of Sir Jerry's rain-soaked wero (challenge):

His visit to Mangungu was a good way to start a year which was rich in milestones. As well as the 175th anniversary of the Treaty, it was 150 years since Wellington became the capital, 100 years since the Gallipoli landings and 50 years since the Cook Is became self-governing.

"It's also 40 years since Dame Whina Cooper took the hand of her mokopuna and set off down a dusty Tai Tokerau road."

Dame Whina's long walk would eventually lead to the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal and all the Treaty settlements that followed, he said.

It was important to remember the turning points that shaped New Zealand as a nation, he said.

A few hundred people attended yesterday's commemorations. Among them were Labour leader Andrew Little and NZ First leader Winston Peters, iwi and church leaders, and Heritage New Zealand representatives.

One of the guests of honour was an inanimate object - the table the Treaty was signed on at Mangungu in 1840.