September 20, 2022
Real Auckland birthday marked
Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei has launched a digital billboard campaign calling for the Auckland anniversary date to be moved.
Spokesperson Joe Pihema says the current date of January 29 marks when Captain William Hobson arrived in the Bay of Islands to secure the Treaty of Waitangi.’
He says the founding of Auckland can be traced to a ceremony at Point Pritomart, Te Rerenga Ora Iti on September 18, 1840 where a flag was raised over land Apihai Te Kawau transferred to by then Governor Hobson to create a new town.
The change of date would give Aucklanders a way to make a more physical connection with the story.
“You’ve got Hobson buried up in Grafton there. You’ve got the uri of Apihai still very much alive and well and you’ve got the 3000 acre parcel of land which was allocated by Apihai to Hobson as the place for a new colony so you can walk it, touch it, feel it, and what would be a more authentic way to celebrate our shared collective histories as Aucklanders than the 18th of September,” Mr Pihema says.
This year’s birthday was marked by a ceremony featuring Ngāti Whātua, Crown and council representatives.