Waitangi National Trust Meeting In South Island

The Waitangi National Trust is holding its quarterly board meeting in Christchurch on Friday 9 June. The South Islands visit started with a pōwhiri and meeting with Ngai Tahu on Thursday afternoon. The Waitangi National Trust meetings are normally held at Waitangi, but the June meeting is Hon Kate Wilkinson’s last meeting after serving diligently on the Trust for nine years as a representative of the people, Pākeha and Māori, living in the South Island. Chairman Pita Tipene thus deemed it appropriate to have the meeting in Christchurch to acknowledge her significant contributions to the Trust over her tenure as a trustee.

Pita Tipene said ‘The people of the South Island have had a strong and enduring connection to the Waitangi National Trust since its inception. This is represented in the gift of the carved chair by Ngai Tahu to Lord Bledisloe in Picton in January 1834 in recognition of the Governor General’s gift of the Waitangi Estate to the nation. The special chair is now proudly displayed in Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi’.

The carved chair was the focus of meeting discussions with Ngai Tahu who included Sir Tipene O’Regan and the chair of Ngai Tahu, Lisa Tumahai.

The Waitangi National Trust Board, established by the Waitangi National Trust Board Act (1932), includes descendants of key people involved with the first signing of Te Tiriti at Waitangi in 1840, as well as representatives of all geographical regions of New Zealand. Trustees are appointed for an initial three-year term and can serve a maximum of three consecutive terms. Trustees are entirely voluntary and receive no remuneration for their service.

© Scoop Media