Auckland's first Anniversary Day Regatta

Auckland’s Anniversary Day commemorates the arrival of Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson in the Bay of Islands in 1840. Today it is best known for the huge Anniversary Day Regatta on Waitematā Harbour, which has been held every year (except one) since 1850 and is often described as the largest one-day regatta in the world.

The first ‘regatta’ on Waitematā Harbour was held on 18 September 1840, the day an advance party arrived to found the colony’s new capital (Hobson didn’t set up residence there until March 1841). The first event was an impromptu three-race affair, held after the official party rowed ashore from the barque Anna Watson and raised the flag in the name of Queen Victoria. The New Zealand Advertiser and Bay of Islands Gazette of 24 September reported that in the afternoon:

a regatta took place between a five-oared gig belonging to the Surveyor-General, and a six-oared gig belonging to the ‘Anna Watson’, both pulled in excellent style by amateurs. This was followed by a match for a purse of five pounds between two whale boats pulled by sailors – and by another between two large canoes, paddled by Natives.

In 1841 the government chose 29 January as Auckland’s official Anniversary Day. This date marked the anniversary of Hobson’s 1840 arrival in the Bay of Islands, rather than the establishment of the city (18 September), the governor’s arrival there to set up his capital (13 March) or – perhaps most appropriately of all, according to historian Russell Stone – the day of its first land sales (19 April 1841). 

The first Anniversary Day regatta was held on 29 January 1842. Horse racing at Epsom was the favoured Anniversary Day event for the next few years, but in 1850 the regatta on Waitematā Harbour was revived. It became an annual event and since that year has been cancelled only once, during the South African War in 1900.

In the early years of the regatta a variety of craft, including ship’s gigs, dinghies, whaleboats and Māori waka (canoes), provided much interest for spectators. Some of the most exciting racing was between fishing or other working vessels such as centreboard mullet boats and scows. Powerboats took part for the first time in 1903, and in 1919 there were races between seaplanes. In 2016 there are races for waka, tugboats, dragon boats and radio-controlled (as well as conventional) yachts.

Image: Auckland City (Flickr)