New Zealand: Waitangi Day

By British Expat, 5 February 2011

Waitangi Day, 6 February, marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the Maori people of New Zealand and the British government in 1840, the act which marked the founding of the nation of New Zealand.

Even though the treaty itself still has only limited standing in New Zealand law (partly because the Maori and English versions differ significantly, partly because the European settlers largely ignored the constraints that applied to them), it’s still commemorated by Maori and Pakeha (New Zealanders of European descent) alike.