Okains Bay Museum, in partnership with Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata, will cohost Waitangi Day Commemorations on Tuesday 6 February 2024. Historically, the Okains Bay Waitangi Day commemoration is the longest-running in Te Waipounamu and is an iconic event on the national calendar.
 

In an important new direction, the day will be run as a free community event which will ensure that cost is not a barrier to whānau participation.
 

“This is in keeping with the tikanga of the day as set down by our kaumātua/kuia and an acknowledgement of the wider Ngāi Tahu whānui that have been involved with the Waitangi Day commemorations at Okains Bay throughout its forty-seven-year history,” says Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata Chair, Mananui Ramsden.
 

Christchurch City Council will be supporting the event by sponsoring important infrastructure and services.
 

Christchurch City Council has had a longstanding relationship with the Okains Bay Museum. The Council is a regular funder of Museum projects through contestable funding and is represented on the Museum Trust Board. Councillors and Community Board members also regularly attend the Waitangi Day commemorations at Okains each year.
 

“After a two-year COVID-19-enforced hiatus, the return of Waitangi Day Commemorations to Kawatea Okains Bay in 2024 will be more popular than ever,” says Museum Manager, Wendy Riley. “More details will follow as planning progresses.”

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