The New Zealand 1990 Commission was established on 3 December 1988 to initiate activities and events for celebrating the 150th anniversary of New Zealand as a nation, 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 ...

, 1000 years of known human habitation of New Zealand, and the 75th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli. The Commission was initially made up of 12 persons and the

Minister of Internal 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 ...

, with the Minister as chairperson.

Michael Bassett Michael Edward Rainton Bassett (born 28 August 1938) is a former Labour Party member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and cabinet minister in the reformist fourth Labour government. He is also a noted New Zealand historian, and ha ...

(the minister) appointed Don Hutchings to the position of CEO of the commission. Four regional offices were established in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

and

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. In order to fulfil its statutory functions the Commission had two major roles, that of an advisory body, and the body responsible for the distribution of funds for 1990 celebrations. There was an initiative to diversify New Zealand's imagery such as using the kōtuku (white heron) instead of the

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

silver fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

as its logo. Committees were formed throughout New Zealand based on the then existing local boundary authorities. Community groups, organisations and individuals wishing to organise 1990 events worked with these committees who in turn liaised with the nearest 1990 office - Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington or Dunedin. The New Zealand 1990 Commission encouraged participation and involvement of many New Zealanders in the 1990 celebrations. In doing so the Commission hoped to: *increase the understanding and awareness of the Treaty of Waitangi *increase awareness and understanding of alternative points of view and differing cultural backgrounds *to encourage planning and thinking for the next 50 years to lay a better foundation for the future The Wellington office also had responsibility for advertising and communications for the New Zealand 1990 Commission. This included the coverage of events such as Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

attending the 1990 celebrations at Waitangi, and television campaigns covering other celebratory events. The events began on New Year's Day 1990 with televised coverage of a dawn ceremony of a waka welcomed into Gisborne accompanied by song from Kiri te Kanawa. In February the successful launch was followed by the disastrous Sesqui 1990 fair in Wellington that shut down after just two weeks due to a lack of attendance with debts exceeding NZ$6.4 million. The impact of the 1990 celebrations mostly were not lasting. However the first volume of the ''

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online ...

'' was launched (despite not initially being planned as a 1990 commemoration project) and an oral history project was started after a financial contribution from the Australian government. The

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

proved so popular however that it was made permanent. Initially based in Wellington it has been in Dunedin since 1999 and still uses the 1990 Commission logo in its branding.

Notes

References

*{{cite book , last= Bassett , first= Michael , authorlink=Michael Bassett , title=Working with David: Inside the Lange Cabinet , edition= , year=2008 , publisher=Hodder Moa , location=Auckland , isbn=978-1-86971-094-1 , oclc= 1990 in New Zealand 1988 establishments in New Zealand 1990 disestablishments in New Zealand Regional centennial anniversaries 1990 festivals

See also

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References