Governor-General to visit Waitangi

Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright today confirmed she would be visiting Waitangi as part of this year's Waitangi Day commemorations.

"Waitangi Day is a very important day for our nation and I am delighted to be spending part of it in the place where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed," Dame Silvia said.

Dame Silvia will be chairing a meeting of the Waitangi National Trust Board, which administers the estate around the Treaty House at Waitangi, on 5 February. In the evening, Dame Silvia and other board members will hold a reception at the Copthorne Hotel.

On the morning of 6 February, Dame Silvia will be attending festivities in the treaty grounds and will mix and mingle with the crowds before travelling to Wellington where she will host a Waitangi Day function at Government House in the afternoon.

Dame Silvia said she was looking forward to spending time at Waitangi. "Waitangi is a place where all our people, whatever their origins, whatever their cultural backgrounds, are entitled to stand and acknowledge their heritage and their identity as New Zealanders.

"Waitangi is a place to unite, not divide. It is a place of togetherness and understanding and mutual respect, where New Zealanders can reflect on our history and look to our future."

Dame Silvia said the Waitangi National Trust Board, which celebrated the 70th anniversary of its first meeting at Waitangi last December, and the Commemorations Committee would be organising a host of activities in the Treaty House grounds on 6 February and all New Zealanders were most welcome to attend the commemorations.

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