Northland Part 3

Near Paihai on the east coast you will find the historic Waitangi Treaty grounds. It was here in 1840 that a treaty between some Maori leaders and the British Crown was first signed. It is celebrated today on Waitangi Day every 6th February. 

An original copy of the Treaty, badly damaged. Some Maori chiefs signed on the day and many more as copies were circulated around the islands. It has been controversial from the start (not all signed) and the Maori and English versions differ slightly in their meaning. Meant to give protection to the Maori property rights it was in fact widely ignored on various occasions. This has led to the Waitangi Tribunal now looking at individual historic cases and attempting redress.

I took an excellent guided tour which set out the historical context. This was followed by a performance of Maori songs and traditional dances/training. Always a tricky one watching these shows put on for visitors, however it was part of the museum's activities and very informative. There was also a very good museum and war memorial.

For the 1940 centenary celebrations a huge traditional Maori canoe was built. As in Canada traditional carvings had previously been prohibited so this was an important way to keep skills and knowledge alive. The canoe is taken out every year, but has to soak a few days beforehand and nearly doubles in weight.

The main body of the canoe was made from two sections of one kauri tree, spliced together:

You can see the splice above. Faces along the canoe represent family who are accompanying the paddlers on their journey. Those at an angle represent ancestors and those upright represent living relatives.

One of the canoe shelter supports showing ancestors

After leaving Paihia I made a stop near Whangarei and had a very wet walk to Bream Head in the mist (so no photos!). I stayed at a lovely Air bnb where the owner had built his own bar and served free home brewed beer, so that helped.

From there I headed further south (beyond the reach of the map I posted) to Warkworth and a lovely little museum and kauri park. Another place saved by the foresight of a few individuals.

Kauri

In the kauri park

Nikau palm

Reconstructed school room in the Warkworth Museum

Rules for teachers - not sure these would go down well with the unions today.

Be interesting to know how today's modern NZ girl would be portrayed.

My last night of the trip was at a really special place. Mangapiko School, built in 1880 then moved to its present location in 1976:

Lovely inside and a whole folder of fascinating local history. 

More rules for teachers

Excerpt from the school history

The next morning I took a walk up Mount Kakepuku:

This area was swampland until the nineteenth century. European settlers cleared the native bush and drained the swamps to create rich farmland. The hills today are small islands of protected nature in this great sea of fields.

I'm now house and dog sitting once again in Ōakura, this time for a Dachshund and a Dalmatian. At the end of the month I head down to the South Island for a new adventure.