The Wellington event of the Tuia 250 commemoration of the first encounters between Māori and Pākehā in New Zealand has been disrupted by protesters.
Protesters have disrupted the Wellington event in the Tuia 250 commemorations, calling for a boycott of the replica Endeavour ship. Photo: RNZ / Harry Lock
The event included an appearance by a replica of Cook's ship the HMS Endeavour, with speeches from the city's mayor Andy Foster and the Endeavour's captain Frank Allica.
The Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla also includes traditional waka and the Spirit of New Zealand.
A group of Mana Whenua protesters stood to the side of the welcome, holding a banner which said "Celebrating Colonisation is White Supermacy". One of them, Mahina-a-Rangi Baker, said the commemorative voyage should not be happening in the first place.
"All the work that's being done in the country at the moment to come to terms with our history, to teach our history in schools," she said, "this kind of event goes completely against the grain of the progress that we're making, to raise awarenss of what the real origins of this nation are, which is the arrival of our people."
But one of the Tuia 250 coordinators, Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr, said that as a result of the voyage, they have been able to engage with a lot of different communities.
As a result, he said, there had been honest conversations.
"We've been having these opportunities for these different communities - who may not every have got a chance to talk about their histories or their stories - for us to sit down and listen to the things that they have to share with us."
The arrival in Wellington marked the final stopping point for the Endeavour before it sets sail for Sydney on 2 December, with an expected arrival on 22 December.
The captain, Mr Allica, said the conditions had been challenging but it was an important experience.
"The relationships that we have established, with the waka, with the other tall ships, that's been a feature of the whole voyage."
"We've had encounters with the local marae, and been welcomed onto the marae in almost every place we've been to, and that's been warm and heartfelt."
There have been calls since it was planned for the commemorations to be boycotted, highlighting atrocities committed by Cook and his crew.
Far North iwi Ngāti Kahu banned the Endeavour from docking in Mangonui, and four major iwi in the Tūranganui ā Kiwa region around Gisborne refused to hold a pōwhiri for the fleet.
A group of protesters used a loudspeaker to interrupt proceedings, although other people attending the event intervened, repeatedly disconnecting the speaker.
Wellington is the final stopping point for the Tuia 250 fleet that has been travelling around the country's coast for two months.
Wellington iwi group Mau whenua, who are made up of descendants of Taranaki Whānui, lit fires in protest along Miramar peninsula, as the ship made its way into Wellington Harbour yesterday.
Fires were also lit at O-Rua Iti Pā, and Rangitatau Pā.
The Tuia 250 commemorations began with an event in Tūranganui a Kiwa and has marked Cook's stops in Tōtaranui and Meretoto/Ship Cove.
The final Tuia 250 event will be in Te Māhia on the East Cape on 17 December.
British High Commissioner Laura Clark made an expression of regret on behalf of the UK for the deaths Cook's first visit to New Zealand inflicted on tangata whenua before the flotilla embarked.
