Southern Auckland celebrates Waitangi Day

From Auckland Council:

All welcome! 2019 Waitangi Day celebrations include FREE introductory te reo Māori lessons at Waitangi ki Manukau  

Come along to Waitangi ki Manukau for a fantastic family day out to enjoy culture, music, te reoMāori, kōrero and kai and celebrate our national day.

Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Council is bringing Waitangi ki Manukau to Aucklanders at a new venue – Manukau Sports Bowl – and entry is FREE for all who visit the day-long festival from 9am until 5pm on Waitangi Day, Wednesday 6 February.

The event starts with a public pōwhiri which everyone is invited to and new to the line-up at Waitangi ki Manukau this year will be free introductory sessions in te reo Māori, suitable for all Aucklanders. 

All are welcome to come and listen to top Māori musicians and music from emerging artists,enjoy kapa haka, experience a village with arts and craft stalls, and take part in interactive activities that build knowledge about our national identity.  

The music line-up at Waitangi ki Manukau includes local performers Maimoa, Rob Ruha and The Witch Dr, Tone6, NRG Rising and more.

Auckland Council’s arts and culture programmer, Ataahua Papa, says, “Manukau was one of the sites where the Treaty was signed so it’s hugely significant for us to stage Waitangi ki Manukau here each year.”

Supported by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Te Puni Kōkiri and Mai FM, Waitangi ki Manukau is part of Music in Parks – 25 FREE events across Auckland, January to April 2019 – and another illustration of Auckland as a UNESCO City of Music.

There are further events on 6 February in Ōkahu Bay and at Hoani Waititi Marae in Glen Eden, bringing music, kai, culture and history together for all Aucklanders to celebrate Waitangi Day.

And over six evenings, Vector Lights will host a brilliant celebration of Waitangi Day with waka, stingray and birds choreographed in light and music for the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

The show will flood the bridge with light from Saturday 2 until Thursday 7 February at 9pm until midnight at 30-minute intervals. Accompanying the seven-minute show is a soundtrack, which includes ancient karakia from local iwi Te Kawerau a Maki.

Audio can be accessed via www.vector.co.nz/lights to sync with the show as it plays out in real time. 

All four events have their own perspective, Papa says, but they are all unified by a single Waitangi theme.

For more on Waitangi ki Manukau:

http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/events/2019/02/waitangi-ki-manukau-2019/

For more on Waitangi @ Waititi: http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/events/2019/02/waitangi-at-waititi/

For more on Waitangi Day ki Okahu: http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/events/2019/02/waitangi-day-ki-okahu-bay/

For more on Vector Lights for Waitangi Day: http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/articles/events/2019/02/vector-lights-for-waitangi-day/

Ten Waitangi Day Facts

1.       There are 19 mana whenua groups in Tāmaki Makaurau, the Māori name for Auckland.

2.       The original name for Manukau Harbour is Te Maanukanuka o Hoturoa, named for the captain of the Tainui canoe.

3.       There has been a Waitangi Day commemoration in Manukau for over 20 years.

4.       Auckland was the capital of New Zealand from 1841 until it was moved to Wellington in 1865.

5.       Of the 500 estimated Māori who signed the treaty, 13 were women.

6.       There are nine copies of the Treaty of Waitangi. The first treaty was signed on 6th February 1840 and the last signing was on 3 September 1840.

7.       There are both an English version and a Māori version of the treaty. They are not exact translations of each other. Only 39 rangatira signed the English version of the treaty. 

8.       Some of the chiefs were not able to write their names so their signature is a version of their facial moko.

9.       The Treaty is named after the place Waitangi. Every year, there is a commemoration of the signing of the treaty held at Te Tii Marae in Waitangi.

10.   The initial treaty was drafted and written in less than a week after the arrival of William Hobson.

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Manukau is easily reached by car, train or bus.