Shorter walk for the Waitangi service

The dawn service celebrating Waitangi Day will be held near the base of the 37m high Mount Drury on Monday – instead of at the 230m high summit of Mauao.

The decision was made to move the popular ceremony after last year’s celebration was cancelled because of heavy rain that damaged several of the mountain’s tracks.

Mount Drury – the scene of this year’s Waitangi Day service.

The move to Hopukiore will give Mauao the much needed time to heal after the slips of 2011, say the organisers, who are also keen to see more public participation for both locals and visitors.

In previous years the elderly and infirm were driven to the summit of Mauao for the dawn service, others walked up a winding gravel track in the dark.

Hopukiore, Mount Drury, is chosen as the site for the Waitangi Day event because of it’s proximity to Mauao and its ability to hold a gathering of 500 people, similar to that of the ANZAC Day ceremony.

“We usually get about 400-500 people so we were looking for a venue in the same area that could hold that many people,” says Tauranga City Council organising committee member Keren Paekau.

“We’re not going to the top of Mount Drury we are just going to be at the bottom of Mount Drury.”

The top of the Mauao was getting pretty packed with 500 people, says Keren.

The organisers are hoping the change of venue will encourage more people to attend the celebrations; people who either can’t make the walk to the top or don’t want to walk up.

“We are expecting more because more people will be able to come and bring their families and children as well,” says Keren.

The Tauranga event was initiated by Maori elders, members of the Tauranga Moana District Maori Council in the late 1970s and continues to play a significant part in the region’s historical heritage.

Each year local kaumatua and kuia, supported by Rangatahi and clergy from various Church groups, have joined together for a powhiri (welcome) at the top of the ancestral mountain Mauao.

The day starts at 6.30am with a Karakia (blessing) by Tangata Whenua followed by a Community service and open forum giving participants an opportunity to have a say about the event or to raise other matters of interest.

Tauranga City Council is taking a more proactive role on behalf of the community to celebrate Waitangi Day and views this as an excellent opportunity to work together with the Whareroa Marae Committee, Ngai Tukairangi, Maori Wardens Association, Ngati Ranginui, Takitimu Waka Kaihoe, Te Manu Toroa, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Environment Bay of Plenty and the Tauranga Church Community.

Opening karakia on the summit of Hopukiore Mount Drury is at 6.30am.

The closing is at about 8.30am followed by breakfast at the Whareroa Marae for kaumatua kuia and invited guests.

The event organisers are a committee including representatives from Tauranga City Council, Whareroa Marae Committee, Ngai Tukairangi, Maori Wardens Association, Ngati Ranginui, Takitimu Waka Kaihoe, Te Manu Toroa, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty  Regional Council and the Tauranga Church Community.

The venue options will be reassessed following this year’s event.

Waitangi Day, February 6, marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 between representatives of the British Crown and over 500 Maori chiefs.

It marks the founding of the New Zealand colony.

For some people, Waitangi Day is a holiday; for many it is the occasion for reflecting on the Treaty.

Since it became more formally incorporated into New Zealand law in the 1970s, the style and mood of the commemorations on Waitangi Day have been influenced by the at times heated debate surrounding the place of the Treaty in modern New Zealand.

Waitangi Day has been a national holiday since 1974.

The Waitangi Tribunal was formed to address Maori grievances over land losses under the treaty in 1975.

It wasn’t until 1985 that the Tribunal’s legal scope was broadened to hear grievances dating back to 1840.