The New Zealand Day Act 1973 made 6 February a public holiday in New Zealand. The day had been known for some time as

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day ( mi, Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Wai ...

and commemorated the signing of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...

. In 1960 the first

Waitangi Day Act There have been two Waitangi Day Acts passed by the New Zealand Parliament: the Waitangi Day Act 1960 and the Waitangi Day Act 1976. Neither made 6 February (Waitangi Day) a public holiday; this was done by the New Zealand Day Act 1973. The firs ...

was passed by the

second Labour Government The second (symbol: s) is the unit of Time in physics, time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally t ...

, enabling any area of the country to substitute a Waitangi Day holiday for its provincial anniversary day. This was done for Northland in 1963 through the Waitangi Day Amendment Act passed by the second National Government.

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

's Māori Affairs spokesperson,

Matiu Rata Matiu Waitai Rata (26 March 1934 – 25 July 1997) was a Māori politician who was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Labour Party from 1963 to 1980, and a cabinet minister from 1972 to 1975. In 1979 he resigned from the Labour Pa ...

, had introduced a New Zealand Day Bill in 1971 but this was not passed. Labour won the 1972 general election and subsequently introduced another New Zealand Day Bill, which passed in 1973. The creation of a new public holiday was part of the Third Labour Government's programme of creating a distinct New Zealand identity. Before this act was passed, New Zealand had no real 'national day'. New Zealand Day was intended to create a greater sense of pride and unity amongst New Zealanders. The decision to call the day New Zealand Day rather than Waitangi Day was made by various people within the government, including Prime Minister

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at a ...

and his

Minister of Māori Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

Matiu Rata. They felt that the name New Zealand Day would emphasise that the day was New Zealand's national day, and that it was for all New Zealanders, not just

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

. It may have also been intended to divert attention away from the Treaty of Waitangi, which had been the subject of Māori protests at Waitangi Day in the years before 1973. Many Māori, including the Māori Women's Welfare League, were unhappy with the change of name. The name was changed back by the Third National Government in 1976, in the Waitangi Day Act 1976, which repealed the New Zealand Day Act.

Debates

*New Zealand Parliamentary Debates vol.373 (1971), pp. 2551–69. *New Zealand Parliamentary Debates vol.382 (1973), pp. 793–7. *New Zealand Parliamentary Debates vol.385 (1973), pp. 2886–902. *New Zealand Parliamentary Debates vol.386 (1973), p. 4326.

References

{{Treaty of Waitangi Statutes of New Zealand Treaty of Waitangi Māori politics 1973 in New Zealand law Repealed New Zealand legislation Public holidays in New Zealand