Thursday, 9th May 2024 - Waitangi Treaty Grounds

 9th May - our 54th wedding anniversary.

Breakfast this morning at the Whare Waka Café (at the Waitangi site) before spending the morning at the Treaty Grounds.

A visit to the grounds starts with an informative guided tour with a local guide including the artifacts museum, a visit to the world's largest ceremonial war canoe (the 35.7-metre Ngatokimatawhaorua built for the 1940 centennial commemoration of the signing of the treaty) and an outline of the actual treaty process, finishing up at the historical Treaty House and the Māori Meeting House.  Here we were treated to a cultural performance beginning with a traditional Māori welcome followed by performances of Waiata (singing), Māori weapons, stick games, the Poi, and the haka.

The Treaty itself was signed at the treaty house on 6 February 1840 and is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand and its constitution.  The Treaty is an agreement, in Māori and English, that was made between the British Crown and about 540 Māori rangatira (chiefs). The main purpose of the Treaty was to ensure that both parties to it would live together peacefully and develop New Zealand together in partnership. The Treaty does this by assuring Māori that their interests will be protected and confirming citizen equality.  There is quite a lot of discussion these days on just how successful that has been but for all its limitations it is a far cry from what has happened in other countries, Australia included.

After the performance, we spent some time at the treaty house - originally pre-cut in Sydney out of Australian hardwood and shipped to New Zealand for assembly on site in 1834. The building provided a home for the official representative of the British Government in New Zealand, James Bushby.  In 1840 the house consisted of a parlour, or living room, one large bedroom, a central hall, and a small dressing room. A separate building housed the kitchen, storeroom and servants’ room. In 1841 three bedrooms were added to accommodate Busby’s growing family.

We then wandered back to the museum area (there were actually two of them) through the forest.  The museum's main display spans the treaty history from the initial tentative contacts through to the signing in 1840 and included copies of the actual documents.

We were pretty much on information overload at this stage so despite the ticket being for "two days" we decided to head back to Bushby Manor for a rest via Haruru Falls.  After all, we were heading out again for our anniversary dinner at the Terra Restaurant.

The Terra proved to be a cosy establishment.  Quite small and a bit fancy without being over the top.  Jill had duck, Alex had filet steak followed by Orange and Almond Cake (Jill) and Crème Brûlée (Alex).  All very nice.