Kaumatua celebrate Treaty in diverse ways | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

They are two of Hawke's Bay's well-known kaumatua and one will spend Waitangi Day in the company of the Governor-General in Wellington while the other wants to take his family to where his ancestor signed the Treaty, near Clive, 172 years ago.

Former national sports stars Heitia and Margaret Hiha, from Napier, will be among the guests of Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae at a special Waitangi Day function at Government House on Monday.

Mr Hiha said it was not his first time as a guest of the Governor-General but it would still be an honour to be part of a small group spending the day in the capital.

"In the past, we have gone to Farndon Park in Clive to join the Waitangi celebrations there and then last year we also went over to the other Waitangi Day event at the sports park in Hastings," he said.

"We would have possibly done the same this year or taken the family to the beach."

Mr Hiha is a former Maori All Black while is wife Margaret is a former national representative hockey player.

Mr Hiha said if he has a chance to speak to the Governor-General, he would like to talk about Sir Jerry's relationship with Kahungunu, which may lead on to a visit to Hawke's Bay in the future.

Waitangi Day was a chance to remember how far the country had progressed in terms of the partnership between Maori and the Crown.

"Growing up at school we used to hear about the Treaty ... but in the late 1950s and 1960s there were a lot of Maori that took up studying the Treaty. You had groups like Nga Tama Toa, people like Pat Hohepa and even [Labour MP] Shane Jones, who started off as quite radical people.

"Since then people have decided to learn more about the Treaty and what it means."

Kaumatua Jerry Hapuku is a descendant of chief Te Hapuku, who along with other Kahungunu leaders, Waikato and Mahokai, signed the Treaty of Waitangi when it arrived on the HMS Herald near the Tukituki River, Waipureku (East Clive) on June 24, 1840.

"I always go over to Clive to celebrate Waitangi Day because that is where it all happened way back in 1840," he said.

"Every time we have breakfast on Waitangi Day morning, I always tell my children and grandchildren the story of Te Hapuku, they will pass it on to their children and grandchildren."

Mr Hapuku, of Havelock North, said the move to hold another Waitangi Day event at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park had the potential to divide people.

"That is just my personal opinion. My tipuna didn't sign the Treaty at a sports park, they signed it at the river mouth of the Tukituki River and so for my family, we need to go back to where it all started," Mr Hapuku said.

He was happy more New Zealanders were beginning to explore what the Treaty meant for their own families, especially as the debate over whether the country should be a republic surfaced each year.

"I'm not a political man but in my view, the Treaty was a partnership with Queen Victoria and I am for the status quo."