IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 137, 18 March 1940, Page 5

IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY

SIGNING OF FAMOUS TREATY RE-ENACTED AT ROCK' The historic highlight of the day, last Saturday, was undisputediy the presentation of the signing of the Treaty of Wailangi which took place at the Pohaluroa Rock at 11 a.m. Careful research and painstaking planning by the Historic subcommittee were? rewarded by a faithful cameo of the Victorian era which was fully appreciated by the thousands who witnessed it. The large procession, led by the augmented Pipe Band, arrived and filled the reserved area to capacity, the Malatua section of the Maori Battalion earning warm applause from Lho onlookers for their smartness and bearing. The attention ol the crowded quadrangle Was rivetted on the dais erected on the greensward on thi! approximate- spot where it is understood the original Treaty was signed. The Rev. Wharcfini Rangi, as official announcer, kept the public informed as to tiho historical signifieance of the event and also dwelt on the local history of the surroundings. Iho arrival ol the official party from the direction of the waterfront was the signal for increased interest on the part o! the crowd. The group of waiting chiefs, I,he direct descendants of the original signatories rose to their feet as Captain*Fedarb, the Governor's representative (x\lr M. -W. Claris, of Awaken) and the Rev. Maunsell, veteran Anglican missionary (Rev. S. G. Caul ton) and Interpreter (Mr A. O. Stewart) arrived with an escort of rcd-coats. Reading of Treaty. Tlie address of welcome was delivered bv Namai Mokai,, Captain Eedarb responding in the following words: "My Maori friends, I have to thank you for the cordiality of yes-ii- reception. ou know the reason for ray presence here today, and ihc important task I have to accomplish on behalf at His Excellency Governor Kooson, and in the interests of Her Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, X now invite you to pay careful attention to your missionary friend and adviser, the Rev. Maunsell who ' will read to you the terms of the treaty which wisl make iviaori and Pake!;a as one united people living under the freedom and protection of the British flag." The tonus of the Waitangi Treaty were then read by the Rev. Maunsell, the interpretation following. The red-coats, posted either side of the dais, the flagged- tabic, the feather quils waiting in readiness, and the parchment, replica of the Treaty itself, all went to create the correct atmosphere ol 18-10,. Paitiei'darly impressive was the role of Captain Fedarb,. whose voice could he heard by ail see-nous ol the crowd, when addressing the Maori chiefs, he said: "The treaty yen have just heard has been approved by your kinsmen in many parts of the Norm Island. Recently it was signed by your . neighbours at CpoGi.i and Torere. You have listened attentively to it, line by line and will see that it means and guarantees equality of action for she people of both raccs. I,a the name of the great white o.ueen who dwells far over the wide ocean I now invite you to sign the Treaty which I lay before you, and become her inyni subjects and proud citizens of a great and mighty Empire." One by one the chiefs mounted" the platform, and ifivder the directions of the Rev. Maunsell appended their signatures as their ancestors had done a .hundred years ago. The names of those who signed were as follows:

ROMAN Y TAUTARI NAINAI MOKAI HO AXI NUKU TAKARUA TAMERAU IHAKA TUNUI kereopa hotene WJREMLI WAAKA TAK AO TAMAIIvOHA PURE W1 KEEP A REUPENA TOM A TEA MOKAT. 'The only woman signatory was Ngawai Himiona, a direct descendant of the old chief Pairiari. Final Scene. When the last Maori had left the dais Captain Fedarb read the Royal Proclamation. At* its conclusion the Union Jack was run to the masthead, tills being the signal for the well known haka by the assembled Maoris, 'Kaniate,, kamale, kaora, kaora.' The final scene was the address by Captain Fedarb, greeting the Maoris as new citizens of the British Empire, in which he said: "My friends I now greet you as fellow citizens. By your action you have voluntarily becomes members of a nation whose possessions reach across the oceans of the world—the greatest nation the world has known. Yet although she is great her ideal is 'freedom' and her watchword 'peace.' The spear club and tiaha of your ancestors must be dropped. Tribal -warfare must cease in the interests of peace and prosperity which will make this green and fertile land blossom like the rose. Only by co-opera-tion of both races can we achieve this, and with you I visualise the picturc of the future, with Maori and Pakeha living in harmony together and march ing- shoulder to shoulder to greater things in the years to come."