How about a Carmen Day?

This year Wellington Mayor Justin Lester called for Matariki to replace Queen’s Birthday as our mid-year public holiday. Two years ago, O¯ torohanga College students presented a petition to Parliament asking for a national day of commemoration for the New Zealand Wars.

Both debates became locked into the choice of whether or not to commemorate each event by way of a public holiday. For Matariki, the answer appears to be a no for now; and it was decided to commemorate the New Zealand Wars nationally, every two years, on October 28.

Observance Days are practised overseas and are most popular in America. There, they have national and regional observance days that commemorate historic events (such as Religious Freedom Day when Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was adopted in 1786), figures who have left their historical imprint in a significant way (such as the African-American rights leader Malcolm X), or a well-deserving cause (such as Child Health Day).

Many of these days are not public holidays but they are elevated to a status that creates an opportunity for the public, and perhaps more importantly, children, to become educated about either the country or region’s history or an important cause.

Already we have ‘‘Observation Days’’ in New Zealand. For example, Mother’s Day, Valentines Day or Halloween, which all tend to be commercially driven and not based upon our history. Potential national observance days might include Sir Edmund Hillary Day, Matariki, Rainbow Warrior Day or Suffragette Day.

At a regional level, Wellington may choose to have a Capital and/or Carmen [Rupe] Day; Waikato, a Sir Colin Meads and/or Waikato-Tainui Settlement Day; Canterbury, a Four Ships and/or Antarctica Day; Manawatu¯ , a Military and/or Turbine Day; Taranaki, a Parihaka and/or Mountain Day; Marlborough, a Wairau Affray and/or Picton Day; Timaru, a Jack Lovelock and/ or Phar Lap Day; and finally, Southland, a Bluff Oyster and/or Presbyterian Day.

In New Zealand the ability to ‘‘proclaim’’ an observance day could be performed by a regional authority after consultation with their community.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage could be the lead agency and engage with the public via an online forum.

Of our 11 public holidays, only four could be argued to be ‘‘home-grown’’. One commemorates our bicultural past, the second Samuel Parnell’s role in establishing the eight-hour working day, another our war dead, and the fourth the day our regions were founded.

Other than Easter, Christmas and New Year, there is only one other public holiday that stands alone – Queen’s Birthday. By declaring Matariki as one of the country’s observance days, nervous politicians could test the waters with the public to see if there is an appetite for the Ma¯ ori New Year to replace Elizabeth II’s official birthday.

Observance days would also solve the problem of trying to settle on one day every two years to commemorate the New Zealand Wars, with regions having their own ‘‘Ora¯ kau Day’’, ‘‘Ngatapa Day’’ or ‘‘Battle Hill Day’’.

The cost of instituting observance days would be minimal, the public would have the ability to determine what historic events are important to them and how many, and the long-term advantages would be of huge benefit to the country as future generations would become more familiar with our nation’s past.

Malcolm Mulholland (Nga¯ ti Kahungunu/ Rangitaane) was the specialist adviser on the Ma¯ ori Affairs select committee hearing the petition for a national day of commemoration for the NZ Wars.