Two flags to fly in unity on Waitangi Day
Two national flags will fly high in the spirit of togetherness on Waitangi Day in Katikati.
The town now has a celebratory dawn service to celebrate Waitangi Day, which will be a short service at Western Bay Museum forecourt where local hapu¯ representatives will lead karakia, mihimihi and waiata to commemorate the signing of the Treaty.
The event includes the raising of the Tino Rangatiratanga flag on the museum flagpole and the New Zealand flag in Memorial Square — at the same time — which will fly together for the day.
The Tino Rangatiratanga flag flying on this day embodies Western Bay Museum’s aspirations in maintaining a partnership with mana whenua, says museum manager Paula Gaelic, “and it feels like a good time for our community to come together”.
“Waitangi Day is our nation’s national day. It needs to be commemorated — we are all partners and it’s an exciting time for us all to celebrate diversity, growth and partnership,” she says.
In 2009 the Tino Rangatiratanga flag was recognised as the preferred national Maori flag to complement the New Zealand flag. The idea was for the national Maori flag to be flown at Waitangi Treaty Grounds on the 150th anniversary of the signing.
A competition was run by Northland group Te Kawariki, which oversaw the creation of the flag.
The black colour of the flag represents the darkness from where the world emerged, the white represents the physical world and the koru represents new life. Red represents coming into being and earth mother Papatua¯ nuku.
Western Bay Museum mana whenua liaison officer Hone Winder-murray, who grew up in Katikati, says this is the first celebration here of its type at a community level and he sees the dawn service as an exciting step forward. The flag has too often been perceived as a notion of protest but this is not how it should be seen, he says: “The Tino flag has far more meaning than what some people know it to be. For me, it acknowledges the past, it talks to the present and gives me hope for the future. We can not change the past but we are in a position to determine how bright our future can be together.
“It doesn’t have to be politicised, this can cause friction. If anything, it has the ability to bring people together and that should be the kaupapa of what Waitangi Day is.
“I’m happy that we can commemorate this day together in our community.”
It’s also going to be wonderful for Maori children to see their flag flying high as well as the New Zealand flag, he says.
The Western Bay Museum board of trustees are looking forward to the day of commemoration and celebration with their Te Tiriti o Waitang partners and the wider community.