Waitangi at Waitangi

Reflections of an event seen first hand

Growing up as a white kid in Wellington, I never really understood what to do with Waitangi Day.

It was a day loaded with past hurt of which I only had a vague sense and no real understanding. It felt shameful to celebrate in the sun. It’s bad isn’t it, what happened? Tight lipped funeral smiles, we would nod to each other. Yes, shall we go to the beach…