Harmonious Waitangi Day marked

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From the Far North to the deep south, Waitangi Day this year was a harmonious affair.

At Saturday's dawn service at the Treaty Grounds meeting house at Waitangi, about 500 people, including Prime Minister John Key and Labour leader Phil Goff, marked the 170th anniversary of Waitangi Day.

Key thanked those who signed the treaty for their "wisdom in that decision and in the bravery in taking that bold step".

He also recognised those who 35 years ago signed legislation that led to the Treaty of Waitangi claims process.

Goff lauded those who helped found a nation "where largely we live together in harmony and mutual respect and tolerance".

Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias honoured the man who helped produce the 1975 treaty legislation, then Maori Affairs Minister Matiu Rata, and former Maori leader Sir James Henare.

Later, a waka built for the centennial of the Treaty of Waitangi, Ngatokimatawhaorua, took to the water.

In front of several hundred people at Onuku Marae near Akaroa, Ngai Tahu was held up as an example of leadership by Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand for forging the way for other tribes in the settlement process.

But on Stewart Island, the country's southernmost Waitangi Day celebrations took a much different form.

There, residents dispensed with long speeches, prayers and politically correct conversation, playing instead Maori v Pakeha rugby league.

The tradition started in 1991 and at least half the island's population watches, making the day a family affair with a sausage sizzle raising funds for the island's school.

The Maori team has won the most games, which the Pakeha contingent say is due to a biased referee.

Jack Frew, 61, is quarter Rakiura Maori. He has refereed more than a dozen games but a back injury sidelined him this year. "I'm a bit biased. But only when the Maoris are trailing."

This year, Christchurch referee Peter Inder called the game "good and clean".

- © Fairfax NZ News