Story: Anniversaries

An unidentified group stands in front of the jubilee pole opposite Rangiātea Church in Ōtaki. The pole had been erected in 1880 to commemorate 40 years since the beginning of the Christian mission on the Kapiti coast, and was painted with the years between 1840 and 1880. The statue behind was also erected the same year to the memory of Te Rauparaha on the instigation of his son, Tāmihana Te Rauparaha. Once Europeans brought the Western calendar to New Zealand, Māori quickly adopted the idea of recognising anniversaries.