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Waitangi Day (Māori: Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing—on 6 February 1840—of the Treaty of Waitangi.The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement towards British sovereignty by representatives of the Crown and indigenous Māori chiefs, and so is regarded by many as the founding document of the nation.
In 1973 the New Zealand Day Act made the day a public holiday and renamed it New Zealand Day, and also abolished the Waitangi Day Act 1960. Many Māori felt that the new name drew attention away from the Treaty of Waitangi, [2] and campaigned for the name to be changed back.
Although a large proportion of chiefs had signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, there were almost immediately disagreement over British sovereignty of the country, which led to several armed conflicts and disputes beginning in the 1840s, [2] including the Flagstaff War, a dispute over the flying of the British Union Flag at the then colonial capital, Kororareka in the Bay of Islands.
The main celebrations will be held on Feb. 6, marking the day in 1840 when the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs.
Waitangi Day is thus celebrated as New Zealand's national day. Some constitutional lawyers, such as Moana Jackson, have argued that the Treaty did not cede total sovereignty of New Zealand to the British Crown, and argue that the Treaty intended to protect tino rangatiratanga or the absolute independence of Māori.
The anniversary of the signing of the treaty – 6 February – is the New Zealand national day, Waitangi Day. The day was first commemorated in 1934, [198] when the site of the original signing, Treaty House, was made a public reserve (along with its grounds). [69] However, it was not until 1974 that the date was made a public holiday.
Depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, at Waitangi, United Tribes of New Zealand (modern-day Northland Region, New Zealand), between Māori rangatira (chiefs and rulers) and representatives of the British Crown. The treaty between is considered the founding point ...
The decision to call the day New Zealand Day rather than Waitangi Day was made by various people within the government, including Prime Minister Norman Kirk and his Minister of Māori Affairs Matiu Rata. They felt that the name New Zealand Day would emphasise that the day was New Zealand's national day, and that it was for all New Zealanders ...