At the estuary bridge connecting Waitangi’s treaty grounds to its township, children lined up to leap from the fence railings into the sea, competing for the biggest splash. A team of rowers carved their oars into the water, guiding a waka (traditional canoe) out towards the open ocean.
In the wind above them, a thick row of flags rippled: not the Union Jack-embossed symbol of the New Zealand state, but the red and black curl of tino rangatiratanga, representing the Indigenous battle for self-determination and governance.
