Waitangi Visit

Waitangi Day is Feb 6. It is the day the nation celebrates the forming of the nation of New Zealand. So it is kind of like Canada Day or 4th of July. The resort I am staying at is right next to the Waitangi treaty lands so apparently the Prime Minister, riot police and protestors will be arriving at any minute as surprisingly not everyone thought the treaty was that great a deal. As the tour guide said " they discovered the treaty was like a marriage with no hope of divorce". Basically , the British with their clever use of flags( see attached flag pole) claimed the land for Victoria in 1840. They were really doing this as a favour to the Maori as the French had also tried to settle near by and really, who wants to be ruled by the French - think Laos , Vietnam, heavy garlic, no soap etc etc. Anyway, they all got together, had a big meeting and shook hands on the deal. The British had learnt past lessons in Canada when dealing with the French so there is no bilingual stuff going on here. The Maori's did try to get out of the treaty with some wars back in 1860 hence the discovery that there was no possibility of divorce.

Waitangi is on a beautiful spot overlooking the Bay of Plenty. A Governor General Bledisoe bought the lands in the 1930's and gave them to the nation of NZ as a Trust.   At the site is a Maori meeting place with amazing carvings as well as the world's largest war canoe. This is documented in the Guiness Book of records. It was built for the 100 anniversay of the treaty using traditional methods. It was made from a single Kauri tree. It holds 120 men and is used at the Waitangi celebrations every year.