‘Distasteful’ plan for Crate Day axed

The axing of a controversial party plan at a historic Ma¯ori site has been welcomed by iwi.

The Facebook event named ‘Crate Day 2018’ had peaked the interest of more than 13,000 people before yesterday’s post on the social media site announced it had been cancelled, just a day before it was due to go ahead.

National Crate Day, an infamous event previously linked to violent incidents, involves drinking beer from a ‘swappa crate’ on the first Saturday of summer.

The venue for the party had been Te Ngutu o te Manu reserve in South Taranaki, where land wars were fought in the 1860s, but the choice of location and the sheer amount of interest shown by people had been criticised by iwi and police.

The ‘Crate Day 2018’ Facebook event, which 2400 people said they were going to, now had a red banner that read ‘attention’ with a post from the organiser.

‘‘This event has been shut down. Police will be on scene.

‘‘This has gotton [sic] out of my control,’’ the post said.

The organisers of the Facebook event have been approached for comment.

Nga¯ruahine iwi leader Daisy Noble said the cancellation of the event was ‘‘fantastic news’’. ‘‘I’m naturally ecstatic.’’

The reserve was formally returned to the iwi as part of its 2014 Treaty of Waitangi settlement and the site was the recent venue for the 150-year commemorations which started a war known as the the South Taranaki Campaign or Tı¯tokowaru’s War.

Noble, who negotiated the treaty deal, said while the land was a great spot for camping and families because of its facilities, it was not for ‘‘one big weekend bash’’.

‘‘The land was set aside for historical purposes, certainly not to go there and party,’’ Noble said when she heard about the event on Thursday. ‘‘We urge ‘crate day’ organisers to think more carefully about where they plan to hold their events now and in the future.’’

However, she said the idea of such an event had sparked conversations about future issues which could arise regarding the historic reserve.

‘‘There are lots of conversations that have fallen from this.

‘‘We’ve got ourselves together to start putting together some plans. Like how do we manage this sort of behaviour?,’’ Noble said.

Ha¯wera Senior Sergeant Kyle Davie said the police had been dealing directly with Nga¯ruahine in order to put ‘‘plans in place’’.

Davie, who previously called the event a ‘‘recipe for disaster’’, wasn’t entirely convinced the event had been cancelled and said police were prepared.

‘‘Even if it is cancelled, we will still have a presence out there.’’

Nga¯ruahine general manager Allie Hemara-Wahanui said in a Facebook post that the ‘‘distasteful event’’ would not be taking place at the historic reserve.

A statement released by HemaraWahanui said Te Ngutu o te Manu would now be closed today, despite the organisers coming ‘‘to their senses’’ and cancelling the event.

‘‘The land was set aside for historical purposes, certainly not to go there and party.’’

Nga¯ ruahine iwi leader Daisy Noble