Hard Waitangi Day word search

About this word search

Te Tiriti o Waitangi was translated into te reo Māori by the missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward in a single night just before the signing. It speaks of kāwanatanga, governorship, and of tino rangatiratanga, the full authority of rangatira over their lands and taonga, and the differences between the English and Māori texts are still debated. Hōne Heke, an early signatory, later cut down the flagstaff at Kororāreka, now Russell, more than once. Today the Treaty grounds hold the Treaty House, the carved Whare Rūnanga and the great waka Ngātokimatawhaorua, built for the centenary in 1940.

Ngātokimatawhaorua and Tino rangatiratanga each fill all eighteen letters of a row, column or diagonal, so there are only a few places they can fit. Treaty grounds, Public holiday and Henry Williams have thirteen. Waka and Haka are the shortest, at four. Treaty grounds and Treaty House share their first six letters. The macrons disappear in the grid, so look for NGATOKIMATAWHAORUA, KAWANATANGA and KORORAREKA. Words run in all eight directions, backwards too.

For a senior class, give pairs one of the longer terms to research, such as kāwanatanga or tino rangatiratanga, and let them report back in two sentences. The puzzle gives the words, the discussion gives them meaning.