Success of 200th anniversary of Bay of Islands’ missionary Williams family’s arrival sets blueprint for 2040

Some of the 800-plus descendants of the early settler missionaries Henry and Marianne as well as Jane and William Williams walk across Waitangi Bridge during Paihia200, the 200th anniversary of their arrival in Paihia.

A Northland event marking the 200th anniversary of the Williams missionary family arriving in the Bay of Islands has been hailed a huge success — and a blueprint for how the country can unite to commemorate the bicentennial of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 2040 and move towards a better future.

Paihia200 organisers, mana whenua and the Williams’ descendants involved say the triumphant event should serve as a prototype for Māori and Pakeha to unite and move forward together as the country gears up to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty at Waitangi in 2040.

Two hundred years after their ancestors arrived in the Bay of Islands to establish a mission station, more than 800 Williams family descendants were welcomed by mana whenua to commemorate the bicentenary of their arrival.

The commemorations last weekend included church services at St Paul’s Church in Paihia — the Williams Memorial Church — visits to former Williams homes including The Retreat at Pakaraka where Henry and Marianne spent their final years, a re-enactment of the arrivals of Henry and Marianne in 1823 and William and Jane in 1826 to Paihia; a whānau festival, and talks at the Waitangi Treaty grounds.

The Williamses established their mission station at Paihia in 1823 and so the Bay of Islands town is also celebrating its bicentenary this year. The descendants were welcomed formally onto Waitangi Marae and it was one of the largest powhiri to be held at the marae in memory.

Some of the huge turnout to the weekend’s Paihia200 commemorations, celebrating 200 years since the first of the pioneering settler Williams family arrived in the Bay of Islands

Organiser Jackie Sanders said numbers were so large, a huge marquee was set up to accommodate them after moving through the Whare Tupuna to pay their respects. Family members had travelled from all over the country, Australia and the UK.

Sanders said it was a fantastic four days of events that illustrated just how well mana whenua and tauiwi could unite and move forward together — an example the whole country should welcome.

A re-enactment of the arrival of the missionaries into Tii Bay also took place on April 14, followed by a waka flotilla and free festival at the Village Green. Members of the Williams whānau joined the waka crew for drills and practice for several hours in the morning, and some remained on board to be a part of the display.

On Saturday about 2500 people moved through the event to enjoy the kai, mahi toi, arts and craft stalls, and kapa haka performances from the Ngatiwai Kaumatua Kapa Haka Group and Waitangi Treaty Grounds Cultural Group.

The Williamses were among the first Pakeha families in New Zealand and played a major role in shaping relationships between Māori and Pakeha in the early to mid-19th century. Henry Williams and whānau were involved in various key historical events including the signing of He Whakaputanga — the Declaration of Independence — and the drafting and signing of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi. William Williams compiled the first Māori-language dictionary.

Descendants of the Williams family and mana whenua united to paddle waka in the Bay of Islands during Paihia200 celebrations

“This was a great opportunity to share historic memories about the beginnings of our wider family and to renew our bonds with each other and the local hapū,” said Jane Fletcher, family reunion spokeswoman and Waitangi National Trust Board member.

“We felt humbled to be so warmly welcomed back to this beautiful and spiritual place,” Fletcher said.

Waka off Te Tii Beach during last weekend’s Paihia200 commemorations.

Ngati Kawa Taituha, from Bay hapū Ngati Rahiri, Ngati Kawa and Te Matarahurahu, said the entire weekend of events had been a huge success.

“And it was definitely an honour for us at Waitangi Marae to be the hosts of such an auspicious occasion. Our Hapu Ngati Rahiri, Ngati Kawa and Te Matarahurahu have an enduring relationship with the Williams family stretching back to 1823 with the arrival in Paihia. Our Māori people also erected a monument at the Paihia Stone Church which was dedicated to Henry Williams in 1876. The Williams family gifted a church bell to our marae in 1973 and then, in preparation for the 1990 commemoration of Te Tiriti O Waitangi, our kaumatua decided to place Henry Williams or Te Karuwha as a carved pou within our whare tupuna. Those are all significant milestones,” Taituha said.

“There was an amazing spirit of unity, we are setting a trend for the future. It’s all about building on our relationship and keeping the conversation alive about how we as a nation will bring honour to Te Tiriti by 2040.”

Taituha said for him, the big overall message was reconciliation.

“It was symbolic that the first thing the Williams family did as part of their powhiri was to come inside our Whare Tupuna to acknowledge the carving of Te Karuwha (Henry Williams). I think that was a moment of truth or even a revelation because many of them were caught by surprise when they saw Karuwha in a prominent position on such an iconic marae. There has been a lot of controversy around Henry Williams and his translation of Te Tiriti so that pou of him in our whare speaks volumes. It’s a sign that our kaumatua backed Karuwha 100 per cent,” he said.

Descendants of the pioneering Williams family in period costume watch the waka paddle past in the Bay of Islands for the Paihia200 commemorations.

“In my farewell speech to the Williams family on Sunday, I deliberately said that I hope we’ve addressed the ghosts of the past as I know for a fact that the descendants of Henry Williams have carried a burden since 1840, it’s almost like a curse. My aim was to lift that off their shoulders by letting them all know that our elders placed Te Karuwha into the carved pou to defend his integrity and his credibility, which ultimately means that we are honouring the mana of Te Tiriti 1840.”

Taituha was optimistic Paihia200 would have a massive, positive effect leading up to the bicentennial.

‘’There were some pretty big hugs before everyone departed so I felt a lot of peace, pride and aroha. We’ve corrected the past and now the future is in our hands. I’m extremely confident that the foundations for reconciliation are firmly in place which will enable us as Māori and Pakeha to restart this journey of building the greatest nation on Earth which is what they had in mind back in 1840. I’m super-excited to see what we achieve together by 2040.’’

A waka wends through the water during the Paihia200 commemorations.