Two members of the Ngapotiki group ready for the dress rehearsal. Waitangi Day 1968 Speaking at this year's Waitangi Day Celebrations on 6 February, New Zealand's new Governor-General, Sir Arthur Porritt, said that when he recently re-read the Treaty, he was amazed at its simplicity and its symbolic significance. ‘It's moral purpose was, and is, crystal clear, whatever may have been its validity as a legal document, a matter on which I am most certaintly not qualified to express an opinion. It was a promissory note of mutual trust. The Maoris, as British subjects, were not only to be constitutionally ruled by the Queen, but also officially protected by her. ‘Captain Hobson became not only governor of the new colony, but also consul to the Maori chiefs,’ he said. Sir Arthur said that the fruits of this somewhat philanthropic document were before us today, and a study of them could reasonably bring pride and satisfaction, and that much of the fruit had ripened well, although all of it had not yet matured. He said he felt New Zealanders should look even further forward to a time beyond today's generation when a The Whakatohea group performing for Their Excellencies. National Publicity Studios