Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day is a public holiday observed throughout Aotearoa New Zealand to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and Māori at Waitangi in 1840. The Treaty of Waitangi is a founding document of government in New Zealand and the day has been a public holiday since 1974.
Waitangi Day 2021 marks 181 years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on
6 February 1840.
Treaty signatories
The tangata whenua of the District are Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, including whanau and hapū. In the 1820–30s they were firmly established in the District and were signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi at the following locations:
- On board the ship The Ariel at Port Nicholson in Wellington (29 April 1840)
- Queen Charlotte Sounds (4 May 1840)
- Rangitoto (d'Urville Island) (11 May 1840)
- Kāpiti Island (14 May 1840)
- Waikanae (16 May 1840)
- Ōtaki (19 May 1840)
- Manawatū (26 May 1840)
- Motungarara Island (4 June 1840)
- Guard's Bay and Cloudy Bay (Te Koko-a-Kupe) in Te Tau Ihu (17 June 1840)
- Mana Island (19 June 1840), and again on Kāpiti Island (19 June 1840).
Waitangi Day on the Kāpiti Coast
Waitangi Day is commemorated each year in partnership with tangata whenua and moves to different marae and locations around the District. Waitangi Day on the Kāpiti Coast has evolved into a community event that celebrates whanaungatanga and diversity.