Waitangi Day - NZ as we might have known it

Post date: Feb 06, 2016 12:32:8 AM

Today is Waitangi Day - this year as in past years there is discussion about whether this is truly New Zealand Day or whether it is a day that most people would rather forget.

Listening to radio this morning I have heard some interesting things I didn't know

    • Since the Treaty Settlement process began something like 80% of all claims have been heard. Resolved claims now cover all of NZ land. Remaining areas in dispute include sea, air, and some land that was seen as resolved but not by all. Given that the Treaty settlement process happened within all of our lifetimes I think this is impressive

    • There are a group of NZ based translators that have set out to translate the English and Maori versions of the Treaty (they are different which is a large part of ongoing disputes) into 30 languages representing the main languages currently spoken in NZ. This will make 62 Treaty versions.

    • The translators say one of the reasons for confusion is that the people who wrote the original translations did not follow best translation practice

    • There's a new museum being opened in Waitangi this weekend - Tenei Ko Waitangi (This is Waitangi).

Our Waitangi celebrations are not likely to involve much Te Reo Maori - heading to Auckland for Bernie's 50th birthday.