Over 500 locals and guests attended the 170th anniversary commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi which took place at Māngungu Mission in the Hokianga on February 12, 2010.
The day-long event marked the largest single Treaty signing anywhere in New Zealand – where at least 64 Rangatira signed the document in 1840 – and was the culmination of several events held over five days, including a hikoi from the Bay of Islands and a Wānanga Kōrero the evening before the events at Māngungu.
One of the many highlights of the day was the ceremonial waka salute from 12 waka taua – including the arrival of Ngatokimatawhaorua (pictured). Crewed by descendants of the men who originally served on the impressive waka when it was built 62 years ago, this was the first time ‘Ngatoki’ had seen the waters of the Hokianga since 1948.
Staff from NZHPT worked with kuia Whaea Makuini and Whaea Hine who welcomed visitors to the Māngungu Mission house, and showed them around the 171-year-old building, which has been operating as a NZHPT museum since 1977. Over 120 visitors viewed the house throughout the day, ranging from adult students at Trinity Methodist Theological College to children from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe, who performed a spontaneous waiata in front of the house.
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There's more than one way to commemorate the Treaty of Waitangi.
Although firmly and forever associated with Waitangi, the Treaty that bears its name was signed at many sites around the country, each of them special in its own way. The signing at Māngungu Mission House near Horeke is notable for being that at which more people added their names to our founding document than any other. Today, Māngungu is notable as the focus for a remarkable act of commemoration that was the brainchild of Ray Pomare, secretary of the Horeke Development Trust.
“In 2006 we had a hikoi and took a group of kids from Waimate Mission Station to Horeke over three days,” explains Pomare. “We camped for the night and talked to the children about the impact the Treaty has on them.” As well as the children, who ranged in age from primary school level to teenagers, the group was accompanied by MP Shane Jones and Hone Harawira, who talked to them about the Treaty’s significance for them.
The walk changed many of the students’ perceptions. “At the start, they thought it was about contention. We turned it around and said it was a good thing, because it meant one people one nation. After discussing the Treaty for three days on the way, we asked the children: given what you know now, would you have signed?
“There was a dialogue all the way along. ‘You know what, Uncle Ray, I wouldn’t have signed it.’ That was day one, but by day three they could see there was benefit in signing it.” Pomare got the idea for the hikoi after doing research into Treaty architect Governor William Hobson’s journey, when he decided “to travel the Treaty”. Pomare saw a fit with the kaupapa of the trust, which is to give young people experiences they otherwise wouldn’t have. In this case, “It was about making the Treaty available to young people.”
And not just Maori young people. “We had several races. There were about 60 per cent Maori and 40 per cent Pakeha or other ethnic cultures.”
By Paul Little
read more in Heritage New Zealand, Summer 2006