Edwardian Games

NewsHub today asked questions relating to the Council’s involvement in the timing of an ‘Edwardian Games’ event that had been scheduled for Waitangi Day. The following response was provided attributable to Manager Community Facilities and Activities Corin Haines:

A member of the community has organised an ‘Edwardian Games’ event that they wanted to run on Waitangi Day at Queen Elizabeth Park here in Masterton.

We have received community feedback that they thought this event could be seen as inappropriate to be run on Waitangi Day given the day’s significance and had asked if the event could be moved to a different day.

I contacted the organiser and explained the situation. We obviously want their event to be successful but also must be conscious of the concerns of the community. In this conversation, I asked whether the event organiser would be willing to move the date of the event. They indicated they would look to move it.

Waitangi Day is a significant day in that it commemorates the signing at Waitangi of the agreement that Aotearoa New Zealand is built upon.