Waitangi Day 1960s - Waitangi Day

• Waitangi Day - A History
• The First Waitangi Day
• Waitangi Day 1940s-50s
• Waitangi Day 1960s
• Waitangi Day 1970s
• Waitangi Day 1980s
• Waitangi Day 1990s
• The Treaty House
• Biographies
• Image and Media Gallery
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The Waitangi Day Act 1960

The four Labour-Ratana Maori MPs (Tiaki Omana, Tapihana Paikea, Iriaka Ratana, Eruera Tirikatene) persuaded Labour to promise in its 1957 manifesto that 6 February would be declared a public holiday in view of the treaty's historical significance and its influence on Pakeha-Maori relations. Labour won the 1957 election, and finally passed the Waitangi Day Act in 1960.

The sixth day of February would be known as Waitangi Day, and would be observed throughout the country 'as a national day of thanksgiving in commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.' The act did not provide for a public holiday, although any locality could substitute Waitangi Day for any public holiday it already observed. A copy of the treaty in English was appended as a schedule.

Without the holiday the act was not much more than a gesture, but Prime Minister Walter Nash defended it. He noted Maori requests for a day of thanksgiving, and that 6 February was already being marked overseas as a New Zealand Day. The Prime Minister envisaged schools building on the recognition that some had been giving the day since the 1940s. But a paid public holiday would be too costly. Nash was also anxious to minimise any suggestion of divisiveness: 'We should not think of ourselves as Maoris or pakehas, but rather as one people.'

Maori requests for a national day and a public holiday continued, and in 1963 a National government passed the Waitangi Day Amendment Act. Waitangi Day now supplanted the Auckland provincial anniversary day for Northland - a move that merely served to reinforce identification of the day with the north. But the National government was no more ready than its predecessor to introduce a new universal paid holiday, nor to substitute Waitangi Day for the country's provincial holidays.

The 1960s: Historic Commemoration

Legislative recognition of the day was a first step towards creating a public holiday, and the annual commemoration built upon it. In 1960, for the first time, Waitangi Day ceremonies had been held at night and attended by members of the diplomatic corps.

Theatrical touches, with naval ships illuminated offshore, enthralled the 4,000-strong crowd. It was a performance to be repeated, and it was. Royal visits continued to play an important part in developing public sentiment and attachment to Waitangi. The 1963 visit was arranged so that the Queen arrived on the Britannia from Fiji, first stepping onto New Zealand soil at Waitangi. Speeches made much of the harmony between the two races.

Turi Carroll, chairman of the New Zealand Maori Council, made it clear in his address to the Queen that Maori wanted the treaty to have further statutory recognition. Besides long-standing grievances there was irritation over recent legislative measures, which indicated a drive towards assimilation of the races.

Interest in Waitangi Day increased in both Maori and Pakeha communities in the 1960s, but it was obvious that the focus for each was different. Broadcasts and telecasts carried Waitangi Day into the nation's homes and raised public interest in what was still generally perceived as an historic commemoration. Media coverage was no doubt of interest to Maori too, but their involvement was different. When speeches dwelt on racial equality, a unique history of harmonious race relations, and a unified nation, such expressions were likely to generate very mixed feelings among many Maori participants and listeners. By the late 1960s organised Maori activity was directed towards securing a national holiday as a first step towards legislative recognition, usually referred to as 'ratification', of the treaty.

Next page: Waitangi Day 1970s