Resort hosts Waitangi celebrations for first time
NGAI Tahu shared its Treaty of Waitangi commemorations with people living ‘‘in the interior’’ for the first time yesterday.
Otago and Southland Ngai Tahu normally hold the commemorations in Bluff or Dunedin, but hosted them in Queenstown for the first time in the resort’s history.
In his opening address, Otakou kaumatua Edward Ellison said it was ‘‘very important we share this occasion and join with each other in the interior’’.
The day began with a procession of dignitaries from Earnslaw Park to the Queenstown Recreation Ground.
It included Labour, NZ First and National MPs, as well as most of the region’s mayors and council chief executives.
Fine weather helped draw an estimated 1500 people to the venue, including many overseas visitors.
Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene, who accepted the challenge during a powhiri under a symbolic marae entrance, said it was a day for remembering the nation had been founded on the Treaty.
‘‘The roots of our country are binary, and we are very privileged to be resting on that foundation.’’
New Zealand First MP and Lawrence farmer Mark Patterson said his ScottishIrish ancestry meant he was raised in a family ‘‘quite ambivalent’’ about the Treaty.
‘‘There was a wilful blindness to the events of the past.’’
He was now proud to be part of a tradition of parliamentarians who had worked on addressing Maori grievances over the past three decades.
CluthaSouthland MP Hamish Walker said the Treaty ‘‘affects everything I do as an MP’’, and it continued to be relevant because of the continuing disparities between Maori and Pakeha.
After the formal proceedings, the crowd was treated to a series of cultural performances by the Arrowtown School kapa haka group and representatives of the resort’s Chinese, African and Brazilian communities.