Fierce welcome for Ardern, ministers
WAITARA: Hundreds of Maori toa (warriors) gave Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Maori ministers a fierce welcome to Owae marae in Waitara for the commemorations of the New Zealand Land Wars yesterday.
Te Putake o te Riri, He Ra Maumahara is a national initiative to commemorate the New Zealand Land Wars and raise awareness of the events that shaped the country’s modern history.
The official commemoration date of October 28 was selected as it coincides with the date the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand was signed in 1835.
The inaugural commemorative event was held in Northland last year.
The focus this year is Taranaki. After a powhiri yesterday which ended with Ms Ardern being offered a white feather or raukura as a symbol of peace, the Prime Minister said she did not favour a national day of commemoration.
‘‘Putting the teaching of New Zealand history into our schools, into our education system, for all our young people to learn, I think that is the most significant and important thing that we can do, going forward.’’
Ms Ardern said putting aside a single day to remember the conflict would not build the same kind of understanding of those events.
Key event organiser Ruakere Hond said the New Zealand Wars had always been about Waitara, where the first shots in the conflict were fired.
In their haka powhiri, the warriors paid homage to all their tupuna who died in the New Zealand Wars around Aotearoa.
Today, people will have the opportunity to visit local pa sites in Waitara where the conflicts took place.