Encounter celebrations take shape
Plans for the national commemorations for the first meetings between Ma¯ori and Europeans 250 years ago are gathering momentum, says the trust which will be facilitating the Northland events.
Both Whangarei and the Bay of Islands will be among the 19 locations nationwide that will be visited by a national flotilla as part of the 2019 celebrations.
Tuia – Encounters 250 marks the 250 years since James Cook and Tahitian chief and navigator Tupaia arrived on the Endeavour in 1769. The event’s name is a blend of the Ma¯ ori word tuia, to weave or bind together, and the European concept of time and commemoration.
It is intended to recognise those who were already settled in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the Pacific, Ma¯ori and European voyages that shaped the nation.
Established in 2015, Te Au Ma¯rie Trust is leading the Tai Tokerau Northland commemoration which includes Captain Cook’s landing in the Bay of Islands. It is working together with Ma¯ ori, community groups, historians, ecologists, artists and schools to develop events and legacy programmes that will have long-term benefits for Tai Tokerau. General manager Ngaire Wilson says ‘‘we are still in the early stages of our planning for Tai Tokerau’s involvement ... The trust’s job is to lay the initial framework for Tuia commemorations in our region but it’s the community participation that will make the programme come to life.’’ The flotilla, ‘‘will involve waka hourua, Tahitian vaka, tall ships and the New Zealand Navy, and ‘‘be on a scale most of us will not see again in our lifetime’’, she said.
To date, plans include a ‘‘po¯ whiri to welcome the national flotilla to our region’’ as well as an international waka building symposium, and environmental and historical projects.
Led by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, commemoration activities will be held across the country, with events in the four parts of New Zealand where Europeans and Ma¯ ori first met – Taira¯ whiti Gisborne, the Bay of Islands, Coromandel and Marlborough. A $9 million fund has been established by the Lottery Grants Board to support communities to hold events, organise activities, and share their stories.