Kia ora tātou! Hello everyone!

February 6th is Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s national day, and this great country, so far from anywhere is really a favourite of mine.

Beautiful Akaroa bay Near Christchurch. It is the submerged crater of an extinct volcano. Photo courtesy of Edward Manson, UNSPLASH

It is one of the most progressive and liberal democracies in the world, and is a seat of innovation and skill in everything from manufacture, to services and food. To say that this land of just 4.5 million people punches above its weight is an understatement.

Situated to the east from Australia, New Zealand was first reported by Captain Cook, and in the 1830’s, settlers were beginning to arrive on the shores, for whaling and to harvest the flax.

Flax or Phormium tenax is widely used in the world as a landscape feature plant. It is also very nifty to make things with.

Despite already being widely populated by the Maori peoples, New Zealand was claimed as a territory of the British Empire on February 6 1840, with urgency, as French ships were rapidly claiming swathes of Polynesia and Micronesia.

Wikipedia writes:

the national day of New Zealand, commemorates the signing on 6 February 1840 of the Treaty of Waitangi. Ceremonies take place at Waitangi (Northland) and elsewhere to commemorate the signing of the treaty, which is regarded as New Zealand's founding document. The day is observed annually and is designated a public holiday, unless 6 February falls on a Saturday or Sunday, when the Monday that immediately follows becomes the public holiday.

What is so remarkable in my mind, is that with such haste, such a non-typical colonial treaty was made, whereby lands were owned by the Maori, could be sold to the crown and that all peoples had the same rights and duties under the law. This was such a different arrangement to any other British colonial agreement. In Australia, there wasn’t even a treaty with the indigenous peoples, still isn’t. In Australia, the British just casually swept aside and killed its first nations peoples, because they weren’t considered worth the bother. The British really were a naughty bunch.*Sigh*

But this is the modern history. There were already peoples inhabiting New Zealand ie; The Maori’s are believed to have arrived in New Zealand in the late 1300’s from nearby Polynesian islands. They also refer to themselves as tangata whenua or “People of the Land”. They brought customs and traditions with them, but for several hundred years in isolation, their unique culture developed and it is marvelous. You see it all around and it is something all New Zealanders are proud of.

Original replication of a Maori canoe. Photo: Author

A tribal mask, used to scare away boogymen. Photo: Author

Like in Australia, there is still some controversy around the status of the indigenous people in New Zealand, their health and wellbeing, and the opportunities that are available to them in a predominantly European styled culture. In both New Zealand and Australia, much can still be done to close the gap between the richest and poorest parts of society, and not unlike anywhere else in the world, the richest parts are predominantly the white ones.

Australians and New Zealanders have always had a special relationship. We are regional siblings, and like siblings, there are many similarities in our personalities, as well as many differences. We tend to love to highlight these differences, save anyone ever confuse us. However I think we all share a feeling of security that we know we each have one another other there as good mates.

One thing New Zealand and Australia share happily is an abundance of sheep. Australia’s sheep population in 2019 hovered around 70 million. At peak sheep in 1982, New Zealand had more than 70 million sheep dotted around the place. By 2019 that figure had reduced to 27 million. Why the decline? Diversification of rural activity mainly, with pasture converting to vineyards, kiwi orchards and dairy.

New Zealand has a LOT of sheep and a LOT of wool. Praise be to THAT! Photo: Martin Bisof, UNSPLASH

Despite this, the wool industry is thriving as evidenced by the woolON festival held annually in Alexandra, central Otago. This is a glittering fashion event, showcasing the best of New Zealand fashion design using wool. You can see what happens there here.

The woolON event occurs annually, showcasing innovations in wool fashion. Photo: woolON

Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa or the National Maori weavers collective aims to preserve and foster the traditional arts of Maori fabric making and their work is spectacular. Symbolism about the world and maori life is woven into the mortifs, the patterns and the combinations of colours to stunning effect. Don’t we all wish we had the skill to do this? I visited a Maori craft centre in Rotorua a couple of years ago and I was just so humbled by the skill and beauty of the fabrics being produced.

On this visit to New Zealand, I took my father there for his last ever holiday abroad. Being Scottish, he had only ever looked west toward his homeland and to France for his vacation time, so it took a little persuading to get him across the Tasman Sea.

Me and my Dad. I think I had eaten the North Island by this stage of the trip.

We had an absolute hoot and he loved every minute of it, as did I. We were struck with how friendly and welcoming the people were, how charming and thoughtful the people in the towns were. We travelled by car around the south island first, visitng Milford Sound, Quenstown and Invercargill.

We experienced all the regular touristy things such as the mudsprings and the Geyser in Rotorua. the forests and Zorbing - a peculiar form of extreme “sport” that originated here. I’ve always wanted to do it, until I found out that the inner sphere you roll around in is filled with water and with the extreme movement inside the plastic ball you friction burn most of the skin from your body. It didn’t look like that in the pamphlet.

At Milford Sound I was inspired by the beautiful soft hues of greens and grey, soft yellows and a lovely organic feeling of mist that I find so hard to describe. It was the colour of the mosses that clung to the rocks in the fjords. This is a beautiful unique landscape that we were so lucky to see on a sunny day.

Spectacular Milford Sound. It’s honestly a humbling experience to visit this place.

One of my earliest colours was inspired by this trip. I wanted to capture the beautiful subtle green shades of the temperate rainforests of Milford Sound, and the vibrant energy of the flax. I didn’t really succeed with this colour so I have given it a bit of a reboot and here it is. It is actually In Store right now under greens and you can get it here.

New Zealand is a gorgeous complex and sophisticated country, and it was such, way before white man got there. Perhaps that’s its success and charm. The progressive liberal government has proven to the world that action, particularly with Covid, can be swift and if you have all the people in the country on board with a cohesive vision for a better future together, you can move forward relatively painlessly. New Zealand really is a success story on a global level and all New Zealanders should be very very proud and appreciate how lucky they are to be from such a wonderful country.

Next Stop: Guyana!

Chapter 12. Waitangi Day