Followers of the Rātana faith have today commemorated 100 years since their founder Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana took a landmark petition around the world.
The document, signed by 30,000 people, called for the Crown to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and demanded redress for land confiscations.
About 100 mōrehu (members) marked the occasion in Auckland, where the historic pilgrimage began.
"In 1924, he leaves on a steam ship for Sydney, Australia," said Rātana apostle Kereama Pene.
"He also carried an original copy of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There's three original copies of the Treaty and he actually had one of them. So the whole North came down, because of the mana of that Treaty, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, all of them, came down to give it to him."
Wiremu Rātana and a group of about 50 kaumātua, children and performers visited more than 60 countries.
He also hoped to present the petition to King George V but the meeting never went ahead.
"The government had lapsed looking after the principles of the Treaty. It had totally lost any mana," Pene said.
"Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana refered to King George as his father, the father of the Māori nation. He, as a child of the father, wanted to speak to the him about how [Māori] had been treated."
A number of movements, including the Māori Language Petition, followed.
And in 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act was passed, paving the way for Treaty settlements.
"We've come a long way but we've still got a long way to go," Rātana leader Ruia Aperahama said.
He said the struggle for Treaty justice continues.
"There's a generation coming through the education system of our country who are a lot more aware. I have trust and faith in that generation."
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