Ngātokimatawhaorua

Today's the day .................... for a history lesson

Well we've learned a bit today about the early history of the Māoris and the various sorts of people who came to their country from Britain. We started by visiting the Kerikeri Mission and the Stone Store. Will did a painting there and if you want to see that and learn a bit more about them - you can see it here.

Then we went to see the place where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand. The Treaty established a British Governor of New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and gave the Māori the rights of British subjects. Māori believed they ceded to the Crown a right of governance in return for protection, without giving up their authority to manage their own affairs. However, as the English and Māori versions of the Treaty differed significantly, there is no consensus as to exactly what was agreed upon - and apparently it's still a subject for debate even today!

The site at Waitangi is beautifully set out and we enjoyed our visit there. This is the 30-metre-long canoe, Ngatokimatawhaorua, which was launched at Waitangi in 1940 during a re-enactment of the treaty signing on the 100th anniversary..................