First New Zealand Day At Waitangi

Te Ao Hou, March 1974, Page 30

After being welcomed onto the Tiriti O Waitangi marae, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Norman Kirk answered criticism from local elders over the name change from ‘Waitangi Day’ to ‘New Zealand Day’. First New Zealand Day At Waitangi The Prime Minister presents the Red Ensign to the marae Speaking at the conclusion of the ‘Aotearoa’ pageant, depicting in two hours the history of New Zealand from the arrival of the first canoe until the present day. Her Majesty the Queen said, ‘Mr Prime Minister, this place has many happy memories for me. I have visited it each time I have been in New Zealand and I am particularly glad to be here, with my family, on this historic occasion.

The flag raised, the Prime Minister and his party were greeted by tangata whenua. Afterwards Mr Kirk and Mr Rata boarded the recently-refloated canoe Nga Toki Matawhaorua to travel out to the royal yacht Britannia where Her Majesty the Queen gave the royal assent to the Bill naming her as Queen of New Zealand. ‘Waitangi will always remain an honoured name in New Zealand's history. The Treaty The Prime Minister accompanied by Bruce Gregory greets those on the marae. The Minister of Defence, the Hon. A. J. Falkner greets tangata whenua signed on this spot in 1840 between Maori and Pakeha was based on compromise and tolerance and has set the keynote for this country's development. ‘Since then peoples from all parts of the

Members of seven groups, Te Ropu Parahaki, Amohia Youth Club, Muriwhenua, Moerewa Cultural Club, Te Rongopal Youth Club, Moungataniwha and Te Rarawa joined together to form the Tai Tokerau Cultural Group, to welcome Her Majesty and the royal party with karanga, powhiri and haka world have come here to make their homes. No one should underestimate the strains and stresses which a mixture of races and cultures can generate. The solution of such social problems cannot be left to chance. There must be a conscious effort to work together to solve them. ‘I do not believe that any country can claim to have made a greater effort than New Zealand to work out a life style acceptable to all sections of a multi-cultural community. ‘New Zealand Day, which we now celebrate for the first time, symbolizes this spirit Members of the Auckland Anglican, Te Roopu Ma nutaki, Ngati Rangiwewehi, Walhirere. Mangatu. South Taranaki, Ma-wai-hakona, and Te Kahui Ra ngatahi Maori Club, the top eight teams at last year's Polynesian Festival, joined to present the early items in the pageant ‘Aotearoa’. Here they perform Hera Kaiene-Horvath's poi waka, showing how the early voyagers came to New Zealand

Ross Gregory places the third challenge dart in front of Her Majesty the Queen after Waihoroi Hoterene and Iwa Williams had made the first two challenges. Her Majesty then asked the Minister of Maori Affairs to pick up the darts on her behalf, and her New Zealand Equerry, Lt Cdr K. Wilson chased the third challenger back towards the welcoming group of mutual respect for all cultures and the continuing search for understanding between them. ‘We have all seen this spirit in action at the Commonwealth Games. Superb facilities and generous hospitality were provided by the people of Christchurch and it was obvious that they, and indeed all New Zealanders, were proud to be the hosts and glad to welcome so many visitors to their city and their country. And no one who saw the athletes and the officials circling the track at the end of the Games—all barriers forgotten in genuine friendship—could doubt the real value of such gatherings. ‘This is the true spirit of the Commonwealth. It is this friendliness between nations, this comradeship, which I am sure we all

Ma-wai-hakona team members ready to take part in the pageant. Her Majesty the Queen inspects the guard of honours from HMNZS Waikato. want to see flourish within the Commonwealth family and spread to all peoples of the world. ‘Mr Prime Minister—New Zealand will have an increasingly important part to play in the Pacific and in world affairs. But her voice will only be heard if it comes from a strong and united people, conscious and proud of their Nationhood. ‘You have reminded us that it was twenty-two years ago today that I became Queen of New Zealand. It is also today, on the first New Zealand Day, that I have personally approved an Act of Parliament amending my Style and Title in this country to place New Zealand before all my other realms and territories. I have been particularly glad to do this because The Crown is a symbol of national identity and national unity. May it help you all to live together in peace and prosperity in the years to come.’ In his speech of welcome, the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. N. Kirk, referred to the signing. 134 years before, of the treaty which became ‘the foundation stone of our nation.’ In choosing the anniversary of this treaty as ‘New Zealand Day’, he asked, ‘Do we all realise the special meaning of this choice? Some other nations celebrate on their national day an act of violence, a revolution, a coup, a war. But we achieved our nationhood gradually, peacefully. We have no desperate revolution as the focus of our national day. We remember no martyrs who fought to overthrow a tyrant or to drive out an alien power. We were the lucky country. Independence was handed to us on a plate in the most friendly, gentlemanly, rational fashion. We came to nationhood with no heavy legacy of bitterness, with no old scores to pay off. ‘True, Maori and Pakeha came to blows. But there was valour, and honour, and restraint on both sides. We emerged from this testing period with respect for each other. We were born in peace. And so we commemorate as New Zealand Day not an act of violence but an act of trust, a pledge of co-operation. This is part of our national inheritance. We must not forget it.’

These ‘Scottish migrants’ show the arrival of many people from the British Isles. This group learning the ‘Alphabet Song’ indicates the tremendous interest in education at the end of last century, when New Zealand had the highest literacy rate in the world Referring to the people from many lands who came here, he said, ‘Already we are a distinctive nation, unlike any other in the world. And this is so, largely because Maori-tanga—the history, the culture, the life-style of the Maori—is woven as rich gleaming threads in the fabric of our society.’ Speaking of the future, he said, ‘Our future is what we will it—our future is no more and no less than the sum total of our daily actions. Let each New Zealand Day stand as a marker of our progress.’ In her final speech before leaving New Zealand. Her Majesty said how much she and her family had enjoyed the New Zealand Day pageant. The post-war period has been marked by a Poly nesian migration. Here the Auckland Niuean group sings a song especially composed for this first New Zealand Day. They were followed by the Wellington Tokelau Island group and the Auckland Samoan group

Cook Islands dancers from the Porirua Cook Islands Association perform a Manihiki Island dance as the sky darkens and the pageant, with its twin themes of education and welfare, draws to a close The WRNZS Corps of Drummers appeared several times during the pageant As the 700 performers gather for the finale, couples representing their countries take up their ‘baby’ from in front of the dais—here the Indian representatives leave the arena