Story: Anniversaries

Bishop Vercoe's speech at Waitangi, 1990

The words spoken by Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, the Anglican bishop of Aotearoa, at Waitangi on 6 February 1990, have become one of the most famous speeches in New Zealand history. Before Queen Elizabeth, many dignitaries and a large crowd, and on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Bishop Vercoe suggested that New Zealand had failed to honour the treaty, and had marginalised Māori, one partner to it. Watch an excerpt from Bishop Vercoe's speech.

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How to cite this page:

Jock Phillips, 'Anniversaries - Sesquicentennial, 1990', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/43033/bishop-vercoes-speech-at-waitangi-1990 (accessed 20 March 2024)

Story by Jock Phillips, published 20 Jun 2012