Hīkoi mō te Tiriti passes through Waitohi Picton
Monday, 18 November 2024
The Tino Rangatiratanga flag has been flying high in Waitohi Picton as a convoy passes through on the way to support Hīkoi mō te Tiriti at Parliament.
Michael Makirere from Blenheim was waving the Tino Rangatiratanga flag proudly at the foreshore on Monday. He had come with his young sons to “tautoko” (support) the “wider whānau” travelling with the hīkoi.
“Yeah, proud to be Māori, proud to be here. It’s a good day for it.”
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti (March for the Treaty of Waitangi) set off from Cape Rēinga last week, and the kaupapa was echoed in the South Island with marches and demonstrations. A convoy had come up the east coast on Monday morning, pausing in Kaikōura for karakia before a ferry crossing in Marlborough that afternoon.
A crowd of people, including students from Bohally Intermediate School, had gathered outside Blenheim Railway Station on State Highway 1 on Monday morning, to cheer on the hīkoi as it made its way to Waitohi.
The hīkoi was in response to the Treaty Principles Bill, which was introduced to Parliament last week and had its first reading on Thursday afternoon. The bill sought to re-interpret the Treaty of Waitangi.
Makirere said he was pleased to see about 100 people to come together on the foreshore to support the hīkoi.
“Especially with these younger kids, there’s a lot more to it. But yeah, proud to be here,” he said.
He said he supported those heading to the capital on Monday “100%”.
“There’s going to be a lot of other whānau that I have over there too that are ready,” he said.
“It’s going to be a big event.”
The PSA union had set up near the Bluebridge terminal in Picton, providing kai to those in the hīkoi.
They’d delivered sausages to people in vehicles in the queue to board the ferries, at the terminals and on Picton foreshore.
PSA organiser Kate Davis said they’d also handed out sandwiches and cake last week when 2000 hīkoi supporters stood together in solidarity in Whakatū/Nelson.
“It’s just been so well received and we’re just really delighted that we can assist and offer support, because we strongly believe in the kaupapa,” Davis said.
Edwin Wikatene had come up to Waitohi Picton with his partner and daughter from Ōtautahi Christchurch with the hīkoi on Monday, stopping off in Kaikōura along the way.
His reason for joining the hīkoi was a “real easy one to answer”.
“Ever since the coalition government has come into leadership of the country … anything that enables Māori to progress in life has been basically stripped away, from as small as Māori words, to bigger issues,” he said.
“Essentially I think it feels like anything that has the word Māori on it, or a Māori word, seems to be under the microscope of the coalition government.”
Wikatene said he was one of the thousands that crossed the harbour bridge with the hīkoi in Tāmaki Auckland last week.
“You feel all the heartstrings being pulled by the movement, and iwi and hapu communities mobilising themselves on a common goal, which is to express how we feel about what’s happening at the moment,” he said.
Wikatene said he couldn’t follow the hīkoi to Wellington due to other commitments.
“So we thought, ‘OK, what kind of level of commitment can we contribute to the whānau, so let’s go for a ride to Waitohi, Waikawa, Picton, and support the whānau that are going there and send them with our wishes, and good wairua vibes’,” he said.
“And the hope that everybody looks after each other, looks out for one another and make sure they stay focused on the kaupapa.”
People from all over would converge on Wellington on Tuesday, meeting at Waitangi Park in the central city by 9am.