Kiwis get chance to sail aboard Māori double-hull canoe as part of first contact commemorations

A new initiative from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage gives Kiwis the chance to sail aboard a Māori double-hulled waka as the country marks 250 years since the first contact between Māori and Europeans.

James Cook and the Endeavour arrived at Gisborne in early October of 1769 and the Ministry is this year leading a commemoration of that first contact.

Fifty years ago, the scope of this commemoration was largely planned to be European-only - celebrating the navigational prowess and feats of James Cook - but a renewed focus encompassing the experience of Māori has now been incorporated into the event.

Among those events is a a call for Kiwis aged 15 and over to come aboard a waka hourua - a double-hulled canoe - as it travels around the country between October and December this year.

Speaking this morning to TVNZ1's Breakfast programme, master navigator Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr said the event will "open up this opportunity for us to go down a pathway of talking about stories of discovery.

"There's this narrative around, not just in New Zealand, but other places around the world that have been 'discovered' by these explorers from the west, whereas they get to places [and] there's already people living there who have already sailed across the ocean and found these places," he said.

Mr Barclay-Kerr said the commemoration of European contact is "challenging" for many Māori.

"As many Māori communities know, some of these first encounters between the people of the Endeavour and their communities ended up in some of their people being shot and killed," he said.

"What we are starting to see is that we need to try and bring out these kinds of stories and to talk about these stories openly amongst the national community because for too many years these kinds of things haven't really been spoken about.

"To understand the depth of feeling from people who are descended from the people, who have been killed on these beaches during some of these first encounters, is an important part of the history of New Zealand.

"Us as New Zealanders need to know that these are some of the things that maybe some of us haven't heard about or haven't had the opportunity to learn about."

Mr Barclay-Kerr said the double-hull canoe voyage will commemorate and celebrate ocean voyagers from all cultures.

Those interested in applying can get more information here .