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Story: New Zealand identity

Kiwis celebrating Waitangi Day in London

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Kiwis celebrating Waitangi Day in London

Sheep, fern leaves and the colour black seem to be the symbols of New Zealand for these expatriates in London in the early 1990s. On the Saturday closest to Waitangi Day each year New Zealanders set out on the Circle Line pub crawl, in which they drink half a pint of beer at a pub at each of 27 stops along the underground line. The crawl ends up at 5 p.m. at Westminster Abbey, where the Kiwis take part in a massive haka. Many New Zealanders express their national identity more conspicuously overseas than at home.

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How to cite this page

Fiona Barker, New Zealand identity – Understanding New Zealand national identity, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/34594/kiwis-celebrating-waitangi-day-in-london (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by Fiona Barker, published 17 April 2012.