February 6th: Waitangi Day

On February 6th, New Zealand celebrates the national holiday, Waitangi Day. It commemorates the day the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British and the chiefs of many Maori tribes, the indigenous people of New Zealand, in 1840. The treaty converted New Zealand into a colony of the British Empire while guaranteeing the land rights of the Maori and recognizing them as full British subjects. Of course, nothing is ever as easy it appears. There are two language versions of the treaty, one in English and the other in Maori, which have their differences and have inevitably led to disputes. The treaty is considered by many to be the founding document of New Zealand as a nation. At the same time, the Maori’s insist on greater recognition of their rights as guaranteed in the treaty. It wasn’t until 1973, that the day was first celebrated as a national holiday, known as New Zealand Day.