We found a variety of different ways to acknowledge Waitangi Day this year, but for all of us, the day was an opportunity to reflect on the history of Aotearoa while also appreciating the beauty of a summer’s day and our uniqueness as a country. These are some of the highlights and reflections from Waitangi Day 2025 with the NSPR team:
Kate: This year we spent Waitangi Day with friend and whānau, and chasing tamariki around. Each year I’m trying to grow my own knowledge of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as well as my family’s, and continuously trying to be a better Te Tiriti partner than the year before. We read lots of bi-lingual story books (a current favourite is Titiro by Gavin Bishop) which help with both keeping a toddler entertained and growing my vocabulary of te reo Māori kupu.
Josie: I loved joining Waiheke whānau at Piritahi Marae to gather for Waitangi Day. My daughter and I rode our bikes along the Esplanade, and we could hear the music from across the water and feel the good vibes as soon as we arrived. There was lots of good kai and community spirit to keep us going. I’m also looking forward to continuing my te reo and te ao journey with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, starting this March.
Rebecca: Waitangi Day prompted me to reflect on its meaning for the next generation. I smile when my two boys bounce in the door from school to show me how they’ve mastered their pepeha or singing songs and counting in te reo Māori. It’s great that our schools are now teaching the full history of Aotearoa New Zealand and honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Robyn: Like many of my generation of Pākeha, I grew up thinking of this day as nothing more than a final taste of summer holiday bliss with friends and whānau before the daily grind of another school year. I thrived on learning to speak a number of European languages but woefully mispronounced beautiful Māori place names, had no inkling of the profound discrepancies between the Treaty and Te Tiriti, and didn’t really understand why Waitangi Day was such a contentious holiday for so many Tangata Whenua.
Over time, I’ve listened and learned a great deal, and although I still love spending this day at the beach with my kids, Waitangi Day has also become a reminder that we are never too old to learn something new, to rethink long-held ideas or to find fresh meaning in a favourite holiday.
Niki: Since my te reo Māori journey began a couple of years ago, I have learned to look at Waitangi Day very differently, compared to when I was growing up. I always try to read something about Te Tiriti, and this year I visited the kōroua I meet with regularly and we read the te reo Māori version of the fantastic comic book, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, by Ross Calman, Mark Derby and Toby Morris so I could continue practising my pronunciation.
I also spent time at our local marae on Waiheke, Piritahi Marae, watching local kura perform kapa haka and waiata, eating some great kai and speaking te reo Māori with several people, including these three who I attend te reo Māori classes with on Waiheke. I was excited and blown away by the number of whānau with tamariki and mokopuna enjoying the manaaki of the marae – Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti side by side. My takeout from this year’s Waitangi Day is this: despite what is going on politically, at a grassroots level, there is a huge love of, and respect for, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Tangata Whenua, te reo Māori and te ao Māori.
#toitūtetiriti
