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Ngati Whatua Orakei is inviting people to join them on Friday to mark 40th anniversary of the end of the occupation of Bastion Point.
The occupiers led by Joe Hawke had been on the land for 506 days to uphold their claim to the land which the then National Government wanted to sell for upmarket housing.
The day will start with a dawn service on Takaparawha for Joann Hawke, who died aged five in a fire in September 1977.
Her father Alec Hawke says she is still in his thoughts every day.
He says the commemorations which Ngati Whatua holds every 10 years are a reminder of how far not just the iwi but all of Maori have come.
"The stand that we took was for all Maori. Joe and Grant and our mum and dad and Mike Rameka were those others who had the vision to sort of educate us on that long journey. It’s been the catalyst I think for a whole lot of others. We’re very humble in this though because we understand there was hundreds and hundreds of people that came up to support us," Mr Hawke says.
Those people are invited to come and share their memories, with the powhiri starting at 10am.
Other activities include Not One More Acre, an exhibition of occupation photos at Auckland Museum, and a memorial concert at The Tuning Fork beside Spark Arena on Friday evening featuring Herbs, Ardijah, Moana, Che Fu and others.
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