Monday’s commemorations will take place at historic Mangungu Mission Station, by Northland’s Hokianga Harbour. Photo: RNZ / Peter De Graaf
Hapū from around the Far North are expected to gather by the shores of Hokianga Harbour today to mark the second, and biggest, signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
More than 60 chiefs signed Te Tiriti at Mangungu Mission Station on 12 February, 1840, many more than the 43 who put their tohu [sign] to parchment six days earlier at Waitangi.
Despite the scale and importance of the signing at Mangungu, in South Hokianga, it has long been eclipsed by events in the Bay of Islands.
This year's commemorations at Mangungu will also be relatively low key, but with around 400 people expected to attend instead of the usual 300.
Coordinator Lydia Pomare said people usually thought of Waitangi when it came to Te Tiriti, and many didn't realise the second signing was far bigger.
This year's commemorations were starting with a haka pōwhiri at 10am, followed by mihimihi [speeches] and karakia [prayers].
Children from the nearby Te Kura o Horeke would re-enact the signing at noon, while a fleet of up to six waka would perform a salute on the harbour at 12.30pm.
Waka on Hokianga Harbour during previous Treaty commemorations at Mangungu. Photo: RNZ / Peter De Graaf
The kaihoe [paddlers] would be welcomed with another pōwhiri at 2.30pm.
The day's programme concludes with a hākari [feast] around 4.30pm and whakawhānaungatanga [establishing relationships].
Pomare said there would be live music as well as bouncy castles and a water slide for children.
Two of the waka taking part were based in Hokianga while the others were coming from as far away as Tūtūkākā, in the Whangārei District, to support the kaupapa.
The Hokianga commemorations would be the first since 2022, with Cyclone Gabrielle forcing the cancellation of last year's event.
The historic Mangungu Mission Station, established in 1828, is located on Motukiore Road, just west of Horeke in South Hokianga.
An estimated 60,000 people took part in Waitangi Day commemorations in the Bay of Islands this year, with thousands more taking part in the preceding days' events.
